How the pandemic and TikTok radicalised Gen Z
What started as baking bread and playing Animal Crossing quickly morphed into the beginnings of political revolution and the rise of leftist ideology among Generation Z and millennials. Whether that was because we had nothing better to do, or because the pandemic amplified all the existing problems in our society, we have undoubtedly seen a radical shift in politics because of everything that has happened since March 2020 – and the fact that none of these problems are going to go anywhere once the pandemic is over.
While the world has been through many pandemics before, most people alive today, particularly those of us belonging to a younger generation, have not experienced the world shutting down the way it did. “Quarantine” , “social distancing” and ”unprecedented times” might be terms that make us want to gouge our eyes out now, but last spring these were essentially new concepts.
What is fundamentally different this time around is that we live in the digital age. With the invention of smartphones, our world has become a lot smaller and more globalised. Social and political movements are now more accessible than ever, and voices all from across the political spectrum are arguably more amplified than they ever have been.
Social media, in particular, has effectively changed the way we experience life, especially when we’re not allowed to go outside. One student said: “We have access to widespread information and resources in a way that generations before us haven’t… we’ve all spent a lot more time on our phones reading things we otherwise wouldn’t have and seeing more people’s opinions.”
While we were stuck at home with nothing but our phones and our own thoughts, I suppose it was only a matter of time before all that stewing on the unfairness of the way things are would get to a breaking point. For many people, that breaking point manifested as becoming radicalised leftists and anti-capitalist. “I think Gen Z really got to see how broken our current system is. We witnessed a recession and employment crash all within a few months of each other,” said Abiha, a university student.
Not only was this the worst recession since the financial crash of 2008, but for those of us who are students, we also came to ugly realisation that most institutions put us on the back burner unless we are directly giving them money. Hundreds of thousands of students were forced to drop out of school, and those of us who stayed were given little to no resources to be in any way equipped to deal with the cards we were dealt with. For many of us in the western world, this was the first time we had experienced the very harsh, very real consequences of having a system that thrives off of the inequity of different classes.
Quarantine began with a sense of unity. After all, we were (and still are) all going through the same pandemic. And frankly for many people, it started as a three week break from school or from work. It was a vacation that was going to be written about in history books, more or less. Social media and Zoom felt new and exciting in the ways they allowed us to connect with each other.
The first two weeks felt like the whole world took a pause as we watched air pollution clear in India and fish return to the rivers of Venice and people sang national anthems from their balconies. However, the longer lockdown dragged on, the more rampant the virus became, the more difficult it became to pretend that we were all given the resources to handle the pandemic in the same way. Especially when we all have access to the lives of people all over the world who were documenting their experiences in real time.
The bubble shattered around the time a bunch of celebrities teamed up to film themselves crying, or singing John Lennon from the comfort of their million-dollar homes. All while hospitals were overflowing with people who couldn’t afford to protect themselves, families were having to struggle through meetings and classes on limited bandwidth and millions of people were barely surviving off of stimulus checks.
Mutual bonding over dalgona coffee, TikTok and Tiger King could not disguise the fact that the system our society has built forced our most vulnerable population to bear the brunt of catastrophe while the wealthy got to live their lives as normal. Instagram and TikTok in that moment became our way of seeing how abundantly clear it was that the higher your tax bracket is, the more you could ignore the pandemic and all its subsequent issues.
And that on top of everything else that happened that wasn’t directly pandemic related all snowballed into a resolve for change that we can only hope carries into the post pandemic world since, after all these issues, did not just arise in March 2020, nor will they go away post-covid. The pandemic only allowed us to see all the flaws in our system under a magnifying glass – how we choose to solve them is up to us.
I love how you reviewed this with a timeline that starts with bread baking and ends with becoming anti-capitalists! It seems like an absurd progression but, as you said, made a lot of sense when people were finally forced to pay attention. Particularly loved this quote:
“For many of us in the western world, this was the first time we had experienced the very harsh, very real consequences of having a system that thrives off of the inequity of different classes.”
I think we forget that one day it might well be us who face the consequences of an inherently exploitative system. This serves as an apt reminder. Great article overall!
I’ve read a lot pieces on life in the pandemic but personally don’t feel like I’ve seen too much centred around younger people, especially the indirect consequences like the radicalisation you mentioned, so it was really refreshing.
Great piece! I love that you identified the turning point as celebrities singing Imagine (so awful ahahaha). But this pandemic has clearly gone some ways in forcing us to address the fundamental issues with our society and it clearly reached a breaking point. It’s good to see a generation forming that is so politically and ethically active in this way
Loved this article ! I especially loved how you did a nostalgic trip down memory lane during lockdown one, the anti-capitalist approach as well as mentioning the slight downfall of the public entertaining tone deaf celebrities whilst conveying how hospitals and families have been struggling. Such a great read !
Hi Sylphia, this is a fluently written feature which captures a good sense of the frustrations and anger that have built up among younger people since the pandemic began. It could use more secondary research (e.g., about how young people have been more likely to lose their jobs and struggle to find news ones). This also applies to demonstrating that the pandemic has radicalised young people: I have no doubt there is some truth in this, but where is the evidence to support your position (beyond a single quote about Gen Z seeing how broken the system is)? I have added a rights-free pandemic-themed photo from Pixabay as the one in your piece seemed a bit random (and was just placed at the end of the text). Note how this is the designated feature image, complete with linked credit at the bottom of the story. Overall, though, this is a strong piece and a good read.
This was so nice to read!! The title and the smooth transition into the topic are so nicely done! I loved the Gen Z focus and the bigger picture perspective on this past year.