Nina To/The Cougar
Since the dawn of time humans have loved fashion, art and media. From releases of blockbuster hits Obsession and Backrooms to hobbies like crafting and bedazzling, this past summer has pulled us further toward this attraction like a moth to a flame.
Renewal of people’s enjoyment of films and hobbies has united people with the belief that things are looking up in the creative world.
This seems positive at first but unfortunately as quickly as trends emerge, they die. People constantly crave something new to satisfy them.
Gen Z constantly searches for the next new trendy thing.
Dissatisfaction: A passed down trait
An article released by BBC in 2023 attributes the start of hustle-culture as we know it in the modern age to the “entrepreneurial boom in the 1990s and early 2000s.” Social media was born and constantly growing in popularity creating a new market to expand into.
A narrative began that you too could be like these emerging tech moguls and millionaires if you just worked hard enough.
At this same time many of Gen Z’s parents were entering adulthood, hearing everyday that they could be the creators of the next big thing. Naturally, this belief was passed onto, but it manifested in a different way.
Now, we don’t expect this level of constant manufacturing of excellence from ourselves, we expect it from the world as a whole.
This might be occurring for a few reasons.
Firstly, it could be as a result of the fact that year by year, the amount of niches and trends to follow only continues to grow.
Our brains have been conditioned to consume everything from entertainment to news with an aggressive fervor, not wanting to miss the train of hype that always appears to be leaving the station.
Another cause is Gen Z has been raised in a time of great uncertainty.
The economy, career landscape and politics of America have proven that at any point things could be upended and life as we know it can transform. The natural response to this is to try and accomplish as much as possible while things are stable and preserve good things while they last.
For whatever reason this phenomena occurs though and despite the positive results it may yield at times, it could be doing damage to our ability to find peace.
Satisfaction: A goal to be aimed toward
If we are constantly striving for better, at what point do we get to celebrate the things that have been accomplished?
Stagnation is something worthy of being combatted, however, when someone does something worthy of praise, wondering what they’ll do next can lead to burn out and increased fear of failure.
The music industry in particular is already suffering from these effects. Artists are taking longer to release music under the heavy thumb of public anticipation for constant speedy production of albums that are better than the last.
It would be a shame to see this happen to other art mediums. Even more than that though, it would be a shame to see this obsession with newness, greatness and speed be the thing that dims the passion of creators.
Satisfaction is not synonymous with weakness or complacency, and should not be viewed as such. Instead, we should show appreciation for the things we consume and allow greatness to come with time.
opinion@thedailycougar.com
