I get it, ok? Gen Z's reputation isn't great. Many people see us as lazy, unmotivated, and broken.
Can you seriously blame anyone who is a millenial or younger? Be honest with yourself here. If you really have to compare the war times to say that these generations had it easy, your metrics are messed up to begin with. That is a terrible bar.
Many people are heavily thinking about using services like MAID (Canada) when they get old because they know that they'll never be able to retire, even if they work 50+ hours every week.
An entire generation is being written off, despite the fact that some of them are barely even in high school. Who was supposed to teach these kids how to act, and what to know? Who was supposed to guide them? You don't just get life skills from a box of cheerios.
I'm heavily disappointed with a certain group of Millenials for following the exact same things that they've complained about for multiple years. You can't complain about being judged as an entire generation while also complaining about another entire generation without being a hypocrite. Millions of people are usually not a single monolith, sorry to tell you. You are not an exception. No one is.
I do feel lucky in the sense that Millenials dispelled the "American dream" way before I had a chance to hope for it, although I do feel unlucky in the sense that that hope was never there to begin with. It's felt grim since elementary school, and it's just gotten worse. "Look at all of these bad problems that we'll leave you to solve, well after it's financially or environmentally feasible!" Yet, supposedly young people are dramatic for complaining about it. Hell, a lot of us can't even legally vote yet. Do we have to follow the footsteps of France?
People actively and happily ignore science everywhere. In fact, many older adults have recently tried to LOWER education funding, yet these same people will still choose to blame the kids when they don't magically know things.
There has been a massive uptick in mental health issues in young people. Instead of wondering "What caused that?", many people are very eager to just dismiss it all as kids being dramatic. A handful of kids, maybe, but THIS many? You're kidding yourself. You should keep thinking about the "why". Why are so many kids too depressed to function at a basic level?
Let's see here:
I'll probably never be able to retire.
I'll probably never be able to own a home.
People are still actively ignore environmental change, yet they whine about the price of foods going up. (Look at how the farmers are faring this year ffs)
People actively fight medical science.
People actively fight to control the lives of complete and total strangers.
I'm done pretending it's all ok. I'm done acting complacent for random people to feel better about doing nothing for decades. I'm done dealing with it. Aside from my loved ones and my hobbies, what is there to look forwards to? I know people who have a freaking masters degree, yet they're stuck working in fast food. University is NOT a magical "fix-all" solution. That poor dude is paying off that schooling with a minimum wage job. There are only so many high paying jobs.
We're expected to care about everyone else's struggle but our own. We're expected to just deal with it in silence. All for the sake of older generation's egos? I think the fuck not. I fuck up all the time. If you do, you should own up to it. I'll always respect someone who owns their mistakes WAY more than someone who just pushes the blame down.
Don't lie to us and tell us that life is better than it's ever been. If you truly believe life is fully affordable on these wages, donate everything you have to charity and start from scratch. No degree, work experience, nothing. If it's so easy, do it. Just do it. Please, start all over again if it's so easy. Show us. Let's see how long you last, especially if you're single.
Be angry at me, idk. I am not alone in feeling like this, by a long shot. This collective anger will just keep growing. You can't just brash people into being happy. That's a great way to get ignored.
Again, this is aimed towards the people who say those things. Awesome people are in every generation.
To me, this feels similar to when photography became a thing.
Realism paintings took a dive. Did photos capture realism? Yes. Did it take the same amount of time and training? Hell no.
I think it will come down to what the specific consumer wants. If you want fast, you use AI. If you want the human-made aspect, you go with a manual artist. Do you prefer fast turnover, or do you prefer sentiment and effort? Do you prefer pieces from people who master their craft, or from AI?
I'm not even sorry about this. They are not the exact same, and I'm sick of people saying that AI are and handcrafted art are the exact same. Even if you argue that it takes time to finesse prompts, I can practically promise you that the amount of time between being able to create the two art methods will be drastic. Both may have their place, but they will never be the exact same.
It's the difference between a hand-knitted sweater from someone who had done it their entire life to a sweater from Walmart. It's a hand crafted table from an expert vs something you get from ikea.
Yes, both fill the boxes, but they are still not the exact same product. They each have their place.
On the other hand, I won't commend the hours required to master the method as if they're the same. AI also usually doesn't have to factor in materials, training, hourly rate, etc.