Blog Prompt 1-2

My very first college homework assignment was to read a chapter about the ages of media and how the media format has changed from era to era. There are 5 eras with the final era being digital. This chapter went on a tangent about how gen Z is the first born digital generation and went on to say that it has a direct correlation to poor mental health and the overall disconnection of kids these days. This caused me to ask what are other factors that play in to poor mental health? This idea was also heavily talked about in Menand’s essay called “Its Time to Stop Talking about Generations.” However, Menand brought up numerous times that a serious factor, such as mental health, is not entirely related to heavy digital use. There are other factors such as family situations, the historical time frame, and past experiences (Menand 9). Overall, the poor mental health rates of gen z are due to multiple factors. Menand tries to persuade the reader into thinking that behaviors and attitudes come from the way someone was raised and the time they were raised in. When it comes to mental health, covid was a “time” factor that likely played into a downward slope in gen z mental health. Rather than using the idea of generations as a reason for larger things, the Pew Research Center defines generations as likemindedness between people of similar ages. “An individual’s age is one of the most common predictors of differences in attitudes and behaviors” (Pew 1). The question this brings up is what shapes someones attitudes and behaviors? Like Menand said, the way someone grew up, the historical time frame they were in, and past events they may have experienced. Also when looking at attitudes, it is important to understand that people mature and attitudes/mindsets develop with age (Pew 1). My classmate Aysia Burner said this perfectly. She said that her way of thinking at 19 will be completely different then the way she thinks when she is 40 (https://lms.hypothes.is/lti_launches?group_set=20514&canvas_file=true&file_id=55565617) With all this being said, it is important to understand that there are multiple factors that play into the way a generation thinks. It is also valuable to note that with aging comes perspective which can also change the way someone thinks. To conclude, gen z should not be defined as poor mental health due to technology when the only correlation between the two is the media era we are in. Generations are defined by a common likemindedness and how people who are your age relate to one another.