If there’s one word that is unavoidable on the campaign trail this year, it’s woke.
Conservatives hate it, liberals and progressives love it, but neither side can seem to
agree as to what it means.
Elaine Richardson, a professor of literary studies at the Ohio State University, sums it
up this way: “It means being politically conscious and aware, like “stay” woke.”
Perhaps no group of Americans fit the definition of woke more than Gen Z–those born
between 1997 and 2012. Though age wise they may be the most diverse, they’re united
in sharing deep anxieties about the world around them. Recent reports by Gallup and
the Walton Foundation find those in Gen Z have the poorest mental health of any
generation. Just 44 percent of them say they feel prepared for the future.
While they avoided teen pitfalls of many previous generations–lower teen pregnancy
rates and lower rates of alcohol use, they have been dealing with alarming rates of
loneliness, depression and suicidal thoughts. Much of that has been blamed on social
media–but not all of it. Partly by choice and also out of necessity during the pandemic,
Gen Z does much of its socialization online rather than in person–more so than any
previous generations.
Health experts say human contact releases certain chemicals in the brain that boost our
moods. But with the lack of social contact, Los Angeles therapist Alyssa Mancao has
stated that her Gen Z client base “shares a lot of feelings of inadequacy.” It’s that
pessimism about themselves and their world that has led many to seek different
directions with the nation’s politics. “In other words,” she says, “they feel they need an
awakening.”
The reason for this wokeness is fear that the world is more dangerous now than ever
before. Worries about extreme weather, active-shooter drills becoming the norm in
schools, and graduates entering the workforce loaded with student debt, even as costs
for food and housing are ever-increasing. There’s even the fear that AI could replace
the jobs many are studying to someday obtain.
“Across the board, my Gen Z clients are overwhelmed with the uncertainty around
employment and affordable living," said Erica Basso, a therapist with clients
across California. ”Unfortunately, most have had to rely on their parents for much
longer than previous generations and still feel the pressure to hit major
milestones like having kids and owning a home by their age.”
Despite their anxieties, Gen Z is heavily involved in social and political activism,
wanting other generations to join them, trying to shake them and get them to take
action to reverse a course they feel is tearing the country apart.
In other words, to wake them up.