The New Kids in Town | Alvira Tyagi | TEDxShakerHS
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yeHGVLfrCI Video ID: -yeHGVLfrCI ============================================================ generation z our first members were born in 1996. we lived during the re-election of bill clinton the introduction of pokemon and the growth of ebay since then gen z has experienced even more the good the bad and the in between i myself am a devoted member of this generation like many of you watching at 17 years old i spend my time doing what most teenagers do scrolling through my social media networks sending my friends amusing memes and browsing trending news stories a few months ago i was munching on some delicious avocado toast and slurping down a vanilla latte when i came across an interesting article on my phone why the z in gen z mean zombie i nearly choked on a chunk of avocado after many hours of online research i had found dozens of blogs hammering and disparaging gen z to the core it appeared that internet users everywhere had ally together to bully this generation my generation it became clear that we needed some backup and that someone from gen z was going to have to do it so here i am standing in front of you all hoping to impart some sense of why i believe that generation z deserves some credit but also how we must continue to be empowered to create reform in our society in the years to come with a wealth of experience at a young age access to powerful technological tools and a competitive desire to be seen and heard gen z is poised to have a lasting and impactful experience on the world our generation is the first to come of age with the understanding that climate and ecological breakdown is not a dystopian movie premise but a real burning possibility but what truly is gen z who are we what do we stand for what is our role in the context of all of the generations that have preceded us these are questions i've had time to reflect on in the past few months particularly as i've determined which college i plan to attend and am embarking on my next steps into adulthood next month even when equipped with years of more life experience than gen z older generations have doubted our participation in societal matters what wars have they fought and died in is one popular question in fact the answer is several including conflicts in iran iraq and syria but it's important to note that waging endless war is not the only way we can fight in this generation developing a wide breadth of knowledge and developing powerful organizational tools is a way we've found to be much more effective generation z has proved that we are not lazy or apathetic through the various teen driven coalition coalitions that have developed over the past few years take the sunrise movement for example a grassroots organization established in 2017 this teen driven coalition has led climate strikes across the world but has also fiercely lobbied congressional and political leaders to take drastic action greta thundberg an 18 year old environmental activist took a 13-day cross-atlantic voyage to decrease her carbon footprint as she traveled to the united nations climate action summit two years ago she has faced relentless attacks from former president donald trump on the weekly yet she still continues her school strikes in the midst of a raging pandemic and let's not forget the ever-expanding march for our lives movement just days after horrifying gun violence erupted at their school parkland students unfurled a campaign dedicated to ensuring that this would never happen again adults had failed them and 17 of their peers had ended up dead this nation's youth is under fire we refuse to accept that daily gun violence is just the reality of life in america older generations need to absorb this rage and ally with us my fellow members of gen z acknowledge that our lives will unfold in a state of emergency without direct reform it's time to hear us it's time to be with us and it's time to view the world from our lens and it's also so important to recognize how crucial it is that gen z has been surrendering our adolescences towards correcting this country's cruel course which was created or otherwise enabled by the neglect of previous generations these so-called zombies are who i'd consider to be bold and unflinching heroes 90 million americans now belong to generation z though most of our population was not of age in 2016. we voted in large numbers this past year and we will continue to do so as we gradually enter our voting ages it's time to see us it's time to be with us enough is enough and while we see new stories about the world apparently crumbling around us every single day it's generation z that's been handed this complex task of reshaping these complex societal structures yet in the midst of it all i sense hope i sense a glimmer of passion i sense the thirst for change activism and growth enough is enough it's time for gen z to wake up and leave this world a better place than it was when we first entered it so i will continue enjoying my extravagant avocado toast feasts along with my vanilla latte on the side i will continue to peruse instagram and snapchat guilt free and i will continue to steadfastly support my peers i'm with gen z and you should be too the new kids are in town and we're not going anywhere anytime soon thank you