Paper Instructions:Write a self-directed 3-5 page, double-spaced paper that addresses a question/topic you choose and would like to explore based on any content covered in class. The topic and paper discussion must relate to young adults in some meaningful way. This can be an in-depth exploration in which you discuss various aspects of a topic or a “thesis-style” paper in which you present a perspective of a particular topic and support your argument. Please note these are sample paper topics of many possibilities. You can write your paper on any
topic related to course content that is directly related to young adults in some way. I broke down
the topics based on course content, but you can certainly pick a topic that cuts across course
content. Please read the syllabus details for paper instructions.
Paper 1 (topic related to classes 1-4):
Class 1: Defining “Adulthood”
Class 2: Emerging Adulthood Theories & Concepts: Part 1
Class 3: Emerging Adulthood Theories & Concepts: Part 2
Class 4: Culture & Context: Part 1
Sample topics:
Pros and cons of “Delayed Adulthood”
Is the Emerging Adulthood theory valid?
What’s with the age of “self-focus”?
Is identity exploration a universal concept?
How does culture influence the transition to adulthood?
Paper 2 (topic related to classes 5-8):
Class 5: Culture & Context: Part 2
Class 6: Current societal events impacting your Emerging Adulthood
Class 7: Cognitive & Identity Development
Class 8: Mental Health in your 20s – Part 1: The “Age of Instability”
Sample topics:
How are today’s emerging adults different from past generations?
How self-worth and identity are tied to employment pathways
The Polarization of American Politics in the Age of Identity Exploration
Psychological instability among emerging adults
How will COVID impact emerging adults?
Paper 3 (topic related to classes 9-12):
Class 9: Mental Health in your 20s – Part 2: Building Resilience & Well-Being
Class 10: Changing Relationships: Family & Friends
Class 11: Changing Relationships: Dating, Love, & Marriage
Class 12: Transitions to life after college (1) – Leaving school to “find yourself”
Sample topics:
The Impact of Parenting Styles on Later Romantic Relationships
Where are my friends going without me? How and why friendships change in your twenties
To love or not to love: How dating apps changed dating
Declining marriage and birth rates among emerging adults: What does it all mean?
When and where will I find my purpose?
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Professor Diaz
Twentysomething Paper 2
How has or will social media change the way we conform?
Introduction:
The rise of social media over the past two decades has affected emerging adults in more
ways than we can imagine. Social media can be defined as “the collection of online
communication channels intended to be community-based input, exchanging interactions,
sharing any type of content, and collaboration of all the contributions” (Velez). Humans are
social animals who have a desire to feel connected to others around us, thus we fulfill this need
through the use of various social media platforms. Social media has grown so much that
“approximately 88-90 percent of emerging adults use social media and college students who are
emerging adults use social media for nearly an hour every day” (Rasmussen, pg. 207). With
people having access to connections from all over through the digital era, society has been more
integrated than ever before. As connectedness is so universal, the concept of conformity comes
into question. What role does social media play in the way young adults conform to society or to
other peers around us?
Social media has become the primary forum in which trends spread like wildfire due to
how many users are online to view and interact with. Trends can include new fashion, makeup,
body goals and more that become increasingly popular. Oftentimes, trends become so impactful
that it’s easy for young adults to assume that a specific trend is what society deems desirable,
which in turn causes young adults to conform in order to be liked and accepted by a specific
group. Therefore, I want to argue that social media has and will continue to promote conformity
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within emerging adults through normative social influence and groupthink. However, I also want
to discuss how individuality has emerged in social media through the use of “finstas.”
Discussion:
Social media was created with the intention for users to share photos and content with
their friends and family, a way to keep in touch. As young adults, we experience a lot of change
in a short period of time, such as moving away to college and creating brand new relationships.
Therefore, Rasmussen mentions how “seeking social support on social media may be an easy,
default strategy that emerging adults use to deal with the change in support networks”
(Rasmussen, pg. 210). We naturally gravitate towards social media in order to keep up with our
old support networks as well as our new ones. As the lives of young adults become busier, it
almost feels easier to go on social media and keep up with people’s lives rather than actually see
them or call them.
Next thing you know, celebrities and influencers enter the digital world and change the
way social media is used as trends they set become the new norm for emerging adults. In a way,
trends began to suppress individuality as more and more users fell victim to what these
influencers are promoting and “suddenly, everyone needed to keep up with the trend” (Zainal).
Even if users did not necessarily enjoy these specific trends, young adults succumb to normative
social influence. Velez defines normative social influence as “us going along with the masses to
be liked, even if it goes against our own beliefs” (Velez). This form of conformity is very
prevalent in our society due to how impactful social media is with young adults and teenagers.
As much as people do not want to admit it, teens and young adults care a great amount about
what others think of them. The followers, likes, and comments serve as a measurement tool of
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how much their content is liked or desired. Users often post content they believe will get the
most interactions with even if it doesn’t feel characteristic of them.
Another aspect of conformity that emerging adults cave into is groupthink. Groupthink
occurs “when a group of individuals reaches a consensus without critical reasoning” (Diaz, slide
15). With the ability to follow and like content of their choosing, users can curate a feed of
content that they only agree with. Therefore, we naturally conform to groups with similar beliefs
as us, allowing for little to no critical thinking or other points of view to show up on our social
media feeds. Wolny emphasizes this idea when he states: “Like-minded groups assemble with
remarkable ease on social media platforms, which can also cloud our judgment” (Wolny). With a
clouded judgment, we are unaware of all the information about any given topic which can be
harmful to our decision making, something young adults already struggle with at times.
Furthermore, with how much time young adults spend on social media, it becomes more
difficult to distinguish whether thoughts and opinions are truly their own or if they have been
subconsciously influenced by social media. Those who are seemingly neutral may not be so
neutral as they think since thoughts and media “slither its way into people’s minds giving the
illusion that those ideas are the individual’s own” (Zainal). A blurred line appears when having
thoughts or opinions because we never know if they are truly our own or influenced by
something we see online, potentially allowing us to conform to a specific group who thinks the
same way.
Although social media has promoted conformity within young adults through likes,
trends, follows, and comments, it has also served as a space for individuality through the rise of
finstas. This term is defined as “secondary accounts they create for themselves on Instagram,
where their identities are obscured to all but a small, carefully chosen group of followers”
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(Issawi). Due to seeking approval on main accounts in order to be liked, users essentially post a
highlight reel of their life. However, finstas allow users to post anything they would like to an
audience of their choosing. Finstas became trendy in which many users gravitated towards as
“using a finsta takes away this pressure and allows teens to just be themselves, while still
connecting with those online” (Hackett). Since social media got so big so fast, users quickly
noticed what was liked or viewed as appealing and began posting similar content in order to get
the same reaction of attention or likes. Users then began to use social media to “present a
selective, idealized self on the outside” when they might not necessarily feel that way
(Rasmussen, pg. 210). Finstas were created in order for people to post content they want without
caring so much about the reaction it receives compared to what they would post on their main
account. Nowadays, we see users’ main accounts as a glorified version of their life when in
reality they may not be living as happily as it may seem on their profile. Finstas are what social
media was created to be in the first place, an account where we post exactly what we want about
our lives without caring about filters, angles, likes, etc.
Conclusion:
The surge of social media has boosted conformity within teenagers and young adults. We
feel the need to be liked, therefore succumbing to normative social influence. This generation has
grown up with social media, therefore it naturally makes sense why we so easily follow trends
and conform to groups without even noticing; it’s sadly almost second nature to young adults.
Social media is so prevalent in various aspects of our lives as musicians, politicians, actors and
more are all on the same platforms as us. We fall victim to groupthink based on who we decide
to follow which in turn affects how we make our decisions with the information presented to us.
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However, the rise of finstas has helped ease the conformity a little bit allowing for users to post
anything they’d like, expressing their true thoughts and photos unedited or posed.
So, what are the consequences of social media conformity? First of all, it affects our
mental health deeply as we naturally compare ourselves to influencers. We also need to be
careful of who we follow in order to limit groupthink and create unique thoughts of our own in
order to make the best decisions possible with the information at hand. But more importantly, we
need to start living in the moment more often. Many people now take photos for the sole purpose
of posting them because many people say, “if there isn’t a photo, did it really happen?” Why
should we care so much about posting the perfect picture with the perfect angle for a bunch of
people we don’t even know to like it? All for validation. The more we stop caring about
reactions, the more we are able to truly live in the moment, the more confident we will become,
and the more memories we will create to be cherished forever.
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Bibliography
Diaz, Yamalis. “Spring 2023 Week 5 Culture Context part 2 b.” Slide 15. 23 February, 2023.
Hackett, Sam. “Finsta Culture: 5 Reasons Behind The Growth Of Fake Instagram Accounts.”
Kicksta Blog, 10 January 2023,
https://blog.kicksta.co/finsta-culture-reasons-behind-growth-fake-instagram-accounts/.
Accessed 3 April 2023.
Issawi, Danya, and Caity Weaver. “What is a ‘Finsta’ Account?” The New York Times, 30
September 2021,
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/style/finsta-instagram-accounts-senate.html.
Accessed 2 April 2023.
Rasmussen, Eric E., and Narissra Punyanunt-Carter. “The serially mediated relationship between
emerging adults’ social media use and mental well-being.” Computers in Human
Behavior, vol. 102, 2020, pp. 206-213. ScienceDirect,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563219303061. Accessed 1 April
2023.
Velez, Vidal. “Social Media Affects Go Beyond What We See; Conformity.” Medium, 13 March
2020,
https://medium.com/@vidalvelez93/social-media-affects-go-beyond-what-we-see-confor
mity-211cb259368a. Accessed 1 April 2023.
Wolny, Nick. “Why social media accelerates groupthink.” Fast Company, 11 August 2020,
https://www.fastcompany.com/90538459/science-explains-why-were-so-much-more-bold
-online-especially-now. Accessed 3 April 2023.
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Zainal, Hayati. “Social media is killing individualism | by Hayati Zainal | Predict.” Medium,
November 2019,
https://medium.com/predict/social-media-is-killing-individualism-d374d3d6a576.
Accessed 2 April 2023.
Celine Yu
Twenty Something
Dr. Yamalis Diaz
4 April 2023
Generation Z: The Anxiousness of Uncertainty
Introduction
Technologically adept, globally connected and on track to become the most-educated
generation in modern day, Gen Z appears to be at a significant advantage in comparison to
previous generations, and yet, these emerging adults are at the center of a serious mental health
crisis. Born between 1997 and 2012, there are roughly 2 billion members of Generation Z, who
currently make up 30% of the world’s population and are predicted to account for 27% of the
workforce by 2025 (Zurich, 2018). Moving away from the millennials, the media is beginning to
examine the values and experiences of Gen Z, discovering that anxiety disorders are at an
all-time high across members of this generation. 46% are anxious at all times (Deloitte, 2022),
80% indicate concern about their futures, and 90% believe their generation is not set up for
success and even at a disadvantage compared to previous generations (Fearnow, 2022).
To a certain extent, employers find these concerns viable. Fragile, entitled,
under-qualified, lazy, and immature, these are just a few of the labels the media has used in the
past to describe millennials and are now recycling them to diagnose Generation Z as the child
that just refuses to grow up and face the real world. But how does a generation built upon higher
education, unprecedented opportunities and state-of-the-art resources in technology become so
anxious about their futures? This essay will explore some of the crucial developmental factors
that have impacted Generation Z in their transition to adulthood and the workplace, and what can
be done to move the mental health movement forward for today’s youth.
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Organized Discussion
Across the different types of anxiety runs a common denominator –– difficulty coping
with feelings of uncertainty: something Generation Z experiences on a day to day basis. In ego
psychologist Erik Erikson’s eight stage theory of psychosocial development, the individual
undergoes a crisis at each stage between infancy and adulthood, testing their acquisition of basic
virtues (Mcleod, 2023). Specifically, between ages 5-12, all Gen Z’ers are faced with the crisis of
competence vs inferiority, a pivotal point where a child’s self esteem is extremely susceptible to
one’s approval by peers. If the child’s ability ––to develop the specific competency demanded by
society (e.g, being independent)–– is uncertain , he or she is highly likely to develop a sense of
inferiority that will make it difficult for them to reach their full potential as an adult.
Generation Z has learned an uncertain sense of independence; raised under the
micromanagement of well-intending helicopter and bulldozer parents who over-involve
themselves in all aspects of their children’s lives. In “The Coddling of the American Mind”,
authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, accuse the spoiling of Gen Z by paranoid parents as
one of the detrimental impacts that has stifled this generation’s opportunities for autonomous
exploration, self governance and a development of grit that previous generations had picked up
throughout early childhood (Cunningham, 2018). Widespread coverage of an increase in child
abductions in the 1990s, understandably acted as a stimulant for parents to believe that their kids
could no longer fend for themselves. Parents started hiring babysitters, fixing any problems their
child encountered and providing less and less responsibilities for the child to assert independence
through (Mcleod, 2023). Excessive sheltering of Generation Z has created a cohort of individuals
who remain extremely anxious about their own abilities to survive in the world and on their own,
we simply can not treat the youth as children and then expect them to suddenly act like adults.
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The absence of exploration in the childhood homes of Generation Z translate just as
pervasively into their early education. From participation trophies, to grade inflation, to
standardized testing, the education system has fostered a class of students who, as financial
educator Kim Kiyosaki describes, “are coming out of school, homogenized and paralyzed,
having been convinced that there is only one right answer” to all of life’s questions (Kiyosaki,
2020). Since grade school, members of Gen Z are told to sit nice and neat in straight rows, stay
docile and quiet, never to make a mistake and for eight hours a day, told what to think (Prince
EA, 2016). In over a century, the world has evolved at an extraordinary rate and yet the way we
teach our children has not only remained primitive, but actively discourages innovation and
change. Gen Z is emerging into adulthood supposedly prepared for the ‘future’ but in reality,
have only been taught the ways of the past; And students are beginning to realize this
discrepancy (Schrager, 2018). In a survey conducted by SHRM, Gen Z “still feels
under-qualified to enter the workforce, with only half of the participants crediting college or
high-school experience as critical preparation for the working world” (Wilkie, Figure I). With
overbearing parents, an outdated education and a lack of autonomous independence, it should not
be surprising how members of Gen Z experience a level of uncertainty when entering adulthood.
Gen Z is the first generation born alongside the ever-evolving landscape of technological
innovation, most notably the implementation of social media, but with its benefits comes a
threatening mental health crisis. Erik Erikson proposed the stage of identity vs role confusion
between ages 12-18, where emerging adolescents search “for a sense of self and personal
identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs and goals” (Mcleod, 2023).
The most common way to explore such values is by gaining information from one’s peers, and as
globally connected citizens, Generation Z now has millions of contenders to engage in personal
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comparison with, thanks to social media. However, Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt soon
discovered a sharp increase in psychological disorders (e.g, depression, anxiety, etc) among Gen
Z students, coinciding with the release of mega social platforms like Instagram and Snapchat in
the 2010s. It jumped from an average of 3.75% to 10% in a span of 4 years since 2012 (Figure II)
and has increased drastically to 42% in 2022 (Survey: 42% of Gen Z…). Each day, Generation Z
is immersed in an alternate reality filled with picture perfect facades reflecting the ‘superior’
lives of others, ultimately holding themselves captive in a state of identity confusion. In order to
cope, Gen Z participates and subconsciously facilitates this cycle of posting and seeking of
external validation, showcasing how the current generation suffers from such low self-esteem
and fragility despite the innovative resources and ‘privileges’ they have grown alongside.
Gen Z is commonly criticized for their ‘laziness and entitlement’, but when observed
through the grand scope of technology, this judgment perhaps stems from a global addiction
towards impatience as a result of instant gratification. Companies have spent the past few
decades improving services to automate day-to-day tasks, creating systems like Amazon Prime
that have revolutionized the delivery services with single day shipments. Doordash has disrupted
the need for cooking, dates and relationships are only a swipe away on Tinder, while streaming
platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have completely replaced standard cable television for good
(How the Modern..). Instant gratification is a phenomenon that has influenced all consumers of
the technological age, but to Generation Z, it is a deep-seated expectation for life.
Author and influential speaker, Simon Sinek, provides the perfect analogy, “it’s as if [Gen
Z] is standing at the foot of a mountain, they can see the summit and what they want to achieve,
but what they don’t see is the mountain”. One must navigate the terrains of the mountain to reach
the top, but to a generation unfamiliar with waiting, for anything, it becomes disheartening to fail
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continuously after just a few humble attempts, causing Gen Z to often give up and seek other
routes (Martin, 2022). Despite this generation’s desire to succeed, their sense of time has been
twisted, bent and severely distorted by ever-evolving technology and are in need of remembering
that the journey of life is both slow and complex with no skip forward function in place.
Gen Z’ers are emerging in the labor market with demands for fair pay, value alignment,
flexible leave and a healthy work-life balance, ultimately waging war on traditional workplace
‘norms’ as a call for action against uncertainty towards the future. Generation Z has always been
aware of just how unstable and anxiety-inducing the world can be. They’ve “encountered a
recession, a war on terrorism”, witnessed politics at its worst, survived school shootings and “the
repercussions of a global pandemic and are about to see a recession yet again” (Deloitte, 2022).
Generation Z are survivors of trauma. But rather than letting those events define them as a timid,
risk-averse group, Gen Z is spearheading a movement to push back on behaviors that have long
plagued the workplace as a toxic environment. They reject long hours, tyrannical superiors and a
lack of boundaries between the professional and the personal. Most importantly, they are willing
to walk away if their expectations are not met, with 40% planning to leave their employers
within two years if their mental health is not being taken seriously enough (Deloitte, 2022).
Generation Z is actively renouncing archaic mindsets, challenging older coworkers and
embracing a life not limited nor defined by one’s occupation, in spite of their anxiety.
Conclusion
From infancy to emerging adulthood, Gen Z has experienced an arduous upbringing
influenced by personal struggles with mental health and a constant state of uncertainty, which
has strengthened them to become one of the most vocal generations to enter the workplace. For
too long, companies have thrown young employees into archaic institutions expecting them to
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mold themselves to best fit their work culture. When this stops working, leaders often resort to
“blaming the entire generation before looking internally at the systems designed” (Korpar, 2023).
But there comes a point where change is inevitable. Companies must begin placing more
emphasis on mental health, both by introducing a comfortable space for discourse and
implementing flexible new ways of working to prevent burnout, which means giving way to
certain appeals and accepting a new phase in the industry. Since the pandemic, 57% of Gen Z
recognize their employer’s efforts to shift opinions on well-being in the office, but 53% find that
it has not yet resulted in any meaningful impact (Deloitte, 2022). Thus, the changes must reflect
actual methods meant to improve the livelihood of employees, meaning companies will have to
conduct more research to discern which ideas work best and which may not be as effective.
Additionally, several measures should be taken to prevent the rising trend in mental
illness for future generations, specifically Gen Alpha (Born 2012-2025) which is growing up in a
world left wounded by the lockdowns and quarantines of COVID-19. Schools in particular can
look towards paradigms in other countries like Finland, which is making a number of novel
changes that have completely revolutionized the way their children learn, who outrank the US in
terms of academic performance according to the Program for International Student Assessment
(PISA, Figure III). Finland has abolished standardized testing, minimized homework, shortened
classes, and lessened the stress linked towards compulsory education by starting mandatory
school at the age of seven (Colagrossi, 2018). There is no single solution to combat the problems
that have taken years to develop. But regardless of the action, it is crucial that we start
immediately; Because while Gen Z, Alpha and all future generations to come are only a fraction
of our global population today, they are 100% our future that will lead this world after us.
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Appendix
Figure 1
Figure II
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Figure III
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Works Cited
Colagrossi, Mike. “10 Reasons Why Finland’s Education System Is the Best in the World.”
World Economic Forum, 8 Sept. 2018,
www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/10-reasons-why-finlands-education-system-is-the-bes
t-in-the-world.
Cunningham, Jeff. “Why Is Generation Z So Depressed – Overprotective Parents.” Medium,
Medium, 19 Oct. 2018, cunninghamjeff.medium.com/generation-z-1998dd812ea1.
Deloitte. The Mental Health of Gen Zs and Millennials in the New World of Work. Deloitte, n.d..
Dennis-tiwary, Tracy A. “Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 14 July 2018,
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ml.
Fearnow, Benjamin. “42% Of Gen Z Diagnosed with a Mental Health Condition, Survey
Reveals.” Study Finds, 7 Nov. 2022, studyfinds.org/gen-z-mental-health-condition/.
“How the Modern World Makes Us Mentally Ill – Simon Sinek.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Nov.
2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVMRgK6eiA.
“Kim Kiyosaki – Rich Woman: How to Challenge the Way You Think about Money – Part 1/2 |
London Real.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Dec. 2020
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnYnq0ZCLbE.
Korpar, Lora. “What Employers Get Wrong about Gen Z.” LinkedIn, 11 Jan. 2023,
www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-employers-get-wrong-gen-z-get-ahead-by-linkedin-news/.
Martin, Isabella. “Gen Z Isn’t Entitled. We’re Impatient.” Medium, Medium, 17 Feb. 2022,
isabellamartin.medium.com/gen-z-isnt-entitled-we-re-impatient-941aec09db66.
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Mcleod, Saul. “Erik Erikson’s 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development.” Simply Psychology, 29
Mar. 2023, simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html#identity.
Medina, Alison, et al. “How Gen Z Is Redefining Success for Decades to Come.” EY, EY, 27
June 2022,
www.ey.com/en_us/consulting/gen-z-society-change-agents/how-gen-z-is-redefining-suc
cess-for-decades-to-come.
“Prince EA – I Sued the School System (2023).” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Sept. 2016,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqTTojTija8.
Schrager, Allison. “The Modern Education System Was Designed to Train Future Factory
Workers to Be ‘Docile.’” Quartz, Quartz, 29 June 2018,
qz.com/1314814/universal-education-was-first-promoted-by-industrialists-who-wanted-d
ocile-factory-workers.
“Survey: 42% of Gen Z Diagnosed with a Mental Health Condition.” Psychiatrist.com, 17 Nov.
2022,www.psychiatrist.com/news/survey-42-of-gen-z-diagnosed-with-a-mental-health-co
ndition:~:text=The%20younger%20generation%20has%20powered,with%20a%20menta
l%20health%20condition
Wilkie, Dana. “Generation Z Says They Work the Hardest, but Only When They Want To.”
SHRM, SHRM, 16 Aug. 2019,
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/gen-z-worrie
s-about-work-skills.aspx
Zurich. “How Is Gen Z Changing the Workplace?” Zurich.com,
www.zurich.com/en/media/magazine/2022/how-will-gen-z-change-the-future-of-work.
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