Gen z is not exceptional. Large swaths of gen z propagated Facebook-uncle tier misinformation to smear Amber Heard for speaking out about their favorite pirate actor. People are convinced “deadass no cap on god” is “tiktok speak” and not butchered AAVE. Many are already starting to define themselves as a generation of work ethic and meritocracy, unlike those whiny debt-riddled millennials. It’s becoming humiliatingly clear that this generation is not exceptional, it’s not radical just by virtue of being young (and we won’t be young forever), and it’s not going to fix everything “once the boomers die out.” We are speedrunning the stereotypical “hippie to Reagan voter” trajectory of the boomers, whose counterculture at the time frankly puts ours to shame. So are you going to put in the work, or are you going to gloat about being young and special and then shit yourself when you turn thirty?