Generation Z and social media have a long, shared history. During the years in which many of today’s college students were born, sites like Youtube and Facebook emerged as fledgling startups. These platforms rose to fame as these students learned to walk, reached household-name status when Gen Z got their first phones and became prized public forums by the time these students entered high school. Consequently, today's young adults have left an enormous digital footprint, an online paper trail of their past. From abandoned forum posts to middle-school spam accounts, nearly every stage of Gen Z's childhood has been digitized on the World Wide Web. Now, as this generation transitions into college and careers, many young adults have begun to look back on their childhood social media usage. However, these reflections are much more than a trip down memory lane. Gen Z has indeed grown up with social media, and this foundational experience has shaped how today's young adults view art, the outside world and, perhaps most significantly, themselves.
Oftentimes when the past is studied, attention is drawn to a generation's "zeitgeist," defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as "the general beliefs, ideas, and spirit of a time and place." Typically, focus is brought to the pieces of media that shaped the zeitgeist of a specific society, such as irreverent Medieval farces or sensational Enlightenment travel narratives. Gen Z is unique in the fact that many of their zeitgeist-defining cultural moments were preserved and transmitted through digital means, especially through social media. In an unprecedented manner, Gen Z grew up with content that, notably, featured a crucial element for internet success: speed.
Social media never stops moving, and neither do this generation's cultural tastes. Since the moment they created their first social media accounts, Gen Z’s artistic interests have been influenced by the internet’s continuous cycle of change. Marie Shenk, a USC student, provided fashion trends as a real-life example of this effect.
"In the past, fashion trends spread slowly and stuck around for a long time," Shenk commented. "Currently, fashion trends spread quickly through social media and, in turn, die just as fast."
Still, Gen Z’s childhoods were marked by more than just online cultural change: social media has also served as a common area for young people since the 2010s. "The presence of social media has created a sense of unity amongst Gen Z," Shenk said. "Every generation goes through similar experiences, but the difference between Gen Z and prior generations is that Gen Z shares in their common experiences through social media."
These shared experiences are dispersed online through a wide variety of content. Snapchat stories documenting exam week stress, snarky posts on X about contemporary politics and eye-catching climate change awareness posts all connect the personal tribulations of individuals to the generation's shared hopes and anxieties. Shenk witnessed the power of this connection firsthand.
"Whether it’s a PSAT meme or a TikTok complaining about Zoom classes, social media gives Gen Zers the opportunity to see that whatever they may be going through, they are not alone," she said.
Maybe Gen Z's reactions to the experiences of others are so strong because social media has provided easy access to others' opinions. Shenk mentioned how this ease of access allows for the promotion of new and unique viewpoints.
"I definitely think that social media has given me the opportunity to see new perspectives," Shenk reported. "People are now easily able to hear opinions and stories from the average person. That perspective was likely absent from the media in a time where only those who could write literature worthy of publication got to have their words viewed by the public."
Eliminating these barriers to idea-sharing has exposed Gen Z to a range of new voices. As a result, a plethora of narratives have been available for every major event in Gen Z’s lifetime—even if said narratives can be factually dubious or socially damaging. Due to social media’s low barrier to entry, young adults often face copious amounts of online disinformation. As evidenced by the rampant spread of false information during the 2020 election, these malicious forms of social media use have forced this generation to navigate a completely new media landscape.
But, despite the importance of all of these other topics, no social media-related issue has been more widely covered than its effect on Gen Z’s mental health. This generation is among the first to experience a close relationship between online activity and mental well-being, with many theorists suggesting that social media is a primary influence on the mental health of teenagers and young adults. Since psychological studies on social media are still evolving to this day, speculation about this connection remains prevalent. For Shenk, however, social media is not the main player in Gen Z's mental health struggles.
"While I think social media has negatively contributed to the mental health of the youth, it is not the only factor to blame,” Shenk stated. “From what I’ve observed, there are advancements in our society other than social media that weren’t around for the youth of previous generations that are also responsible for increased mental health issues."
However, this perspective on social media isn’t shared by many members of older generations. For example, in 2023, the school districts of Seattle, Kent and Mesa filed a legal complaint against Meta, Google and other social media giants. These districts argued that such companies are responsible for “creating a mental health crisis among America’s youth” by operating “their platforms in ways that exploit the psychology and neuropsychology of their users into spending more and more time” online. Additionally, the state legislature of Florida recently passed a bill that would ban those younger than 16 from using social media sites. According to Reuters, supporters of the bill believe it "would protect young people from online risks to their mental health." Regardless of whether the school districts’ lawsuit succeeds or the legislature's bill is approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a target has been placed on social media's back.
Gen Z’s history with social media is not limited to Snapchat streaks and Instagram stories; rather, social media has become a core component of childhood for the world's digital natives. With Generation Alpha already curating an online presence, debates surrounding the imposition of the online world onto childhood and adolescence are bound to continue. Nevertheless, social media's presence in this maturation has been cemented. Future generations will come of age alongside new developments in media, even despite the grievances of many.
