When did caring become uncool?
Photo via vectorstock.com
For some reason, people from my generation — Gen Z — think earnestness is embarrassing. Passion is now cringe. “Tryhard” is used as an insult.
As a young person today, the best thing you can be is detached. We need to be effortlessly good at everything, effortlessly funny, and effortlessly attractive. Effort is always the enemy.
This “nonchalant” way of thinking is the modus operandi of Gen Z. When dating people, we can’t like anyone too much, otherwise we are desperate. In fashion, the more it looks like we don’t care how we look, that’s the way to go. We should never dream too big, or we’ll embarrass ourselves. Any one of us who expresses genuine excitement opens ourself up to ridicule.
But here’s the thing: everything amazing and wonderful in our society has been accomplished by people who were deeply, unabashedly, painfully chalant — people who cared about things more than anyone else.
Think about your favourite artists, filmmakers, musicians, and writers — all of them obsess over their craft. Think of all important scientific advancements; they would not be possible if not for people who spend their entire lives researching, learning, and exploring about the things they are passionate about. From activists, to organizers, entrepreneurs and politicians, none of these important roles in society are held by people who are passive or “coolly removed.” All of them care.
But for Gen Z, that seems to be too much effort. It makes us look uncool. Everything is monetized and graded now, and every failure feels permanent and public. We have to act like we don’t care to protect ourselves. But protection does not bring fulfillment, and sooner or later, the armour starts to feel like a cage.
Detachment is a defense mechanism that Gen Z developed as we grew up watching the world burn — from climate change, to economic instability, political dysfunction, and brain-rotting social media. Late-stage capitalism raised us in a world where nothing should require effort; everything needs to be accessible with the click of a button. Want to find your soulmate? Download a dating app. Want to have a cool drawing of yourself? Ask AI to draw it. Want to have a balanced, home-cooked meal? Have it delivered already cooked and assembled at your door; no need to even speak to the driver.
I’m all for accessibility, but if we want to build meaningful connections and have a fulfilling life, we’ll have to be inconvenienced from time to time. That’s life! A deeply rooted apathy in our generation is destroying our ability to build relationships, community, and meaning, and it is pushing us further apart. No wonder we are known as the “loneliest generation.” Sometimes we have to help our friends move, we have to water the plants, we have to pick up a pencil, and we have to make an effort to be better every day.
We did not deserve to inherit a broken world, and our detachment is a symptom of a bigger problem. Nevertheless, inaction is what keeps us small and suppressed. If we decide not to care anymore, then the world might as well be over now.
Being chalant — caring earnestly and wholeheartedly — is terrifying. We risk disappointment, rejection and heartbreak. But it also opens the door to what makes life worth living: love, art, connection, and joy.
This is a love letter to anyone who still gives a damn. To anyone who still has a dream. To the student who raises their hand, the artist who shares their work, the friend who shows up, and the person who is unafraid to be the most passionate one in the room. You are not cringy or embarrassing. You are what makes the world move forward.
Effort is not a flaw; it is a seed we should all cultivate. Nothing worth doing has ever been done by someone who didn’t care.
