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The article explores how members of Generation Z (born roughly 1997–2012) have embraced merch from legacy brands like Nirvana, Thrasher and Bass Pro Shops—not necessarily because of deep fandom, but because the items have evolved into style signals and badges of identity. It notes cases where teenagers don a pink Nirvana sweatshirt—but admit they don’t know any songs from the band—turning the merch into more of a “brand” than a music-tribute. The piece traces how these items

Once the cultural tastemakers of the internet age, millennials have now become the butt of the joke — especially among Gen Z, who see their older peers as the embodiment of “cringe.” The article traces how the generation that popularized Instagram filters, skinny jeans, and avocado toast has lost its cool factor, replaced by a Gen Z aesthetic defined by irony, chaos, and digital fluency. On TikTok and other social platforms, Gen Z users gleefully mock millennial staples — fro

Gen Z communicates through the visual language of comedy, sarcasm, and common experiences. And so, memes are Gen Z's preferred medium for communication. Memes—giggles and chuckles galore! They are whimsical flashes of online absurdity that sprinkle our feeds and light up our group chats! But memes are like delightful little nuggets of humour wrapped in clever captions. They are the ultimate literary wizards of Gen-Z, capturing the spirit of the times in ways that old-school l

Gen Z Is Redefining Entertainment — and Hollywood Is Struggling to Keep Up At this year’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Hollywood’s focus on moviegoing nostalgia masked a deeper crisis: Gen Z no longer sees films and TV as central to entertainment culture. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Digital Media Trends report, 56% of Gen Zers say social media content feels more relevant than movies or TV — far higher than millennials (43%) or Gen X (26%). They also feel a stronger personal bond

Another shortlisted word is linked to when Oasis concert tickets rocketed amid huge demand “BRAIN rot” has been voted word of the year after its usage rocketed among Gen Z. The condition, which is not medically recognised, can be caused by watching addictive memes and videos on social media for hours, experts say. It triumphed in a poll of more than 37,000 people by Oxford University Press, which defined it as the perceived deterioration of a person’s intellectual state, espe

From rap feuds to viral fashion, Gen Z is steering the global cultural narrative. February 2025 proved it — a month where music, sport, and marketing collided under their influence. At the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar’s performance of Not Like Us turned his feud with Drake into a global event. With 133.5 million viewers, the set broke records, sent bootcut jeans trending, and flooded TikTok with memes and lyric breakdowns. It was a masterclass in how Gen Z transforms entertain

TOMORROW X TOGETHER and BIGHIT MUSIC will contribute US$1.4 million to UNICEF over the next two years, with plans to raise additional funds through fan engagement and other activities. Source: Bighit Music NEW YORK, 30 SEPTEMBER 2025 – Gen Z icons TOMORROW X TOGETHER, its record label BIGHIT MUSIC, and UNICEF announced a new partnership today to support the mental well-being of young people worldwide. The partnership was launched at an event at UNICEF Headquarters in New Yor

Young people from Gen Alpha (born after 2010) and late Gen Z are massively into a meme trend called “Italian brain rot” — surreal, AI-generated animals with Italian-style names like “Chimpanzini Bananini” (a chimp–banana hybrid) and “Ballerina Cappuccina” (a dancing coffee cup). These characters go viral on platforms like TikTok, paired with rapid-fire AI-generated narration and loose Italian-sounding nonsense. Their appeal lies not in meaning but in absurdity — weird, funny

A new survey reveals that 51% of Gen Z in Asia are experiencing poor mental health post-pandemic as they struggle to separate work and personal life. If Gen Z — the ‘future of work’ — is already feeling burnt out today, what lies ahead then? | Source: Shutterstock The future lies in the youth. We’ve heard this line repeatedly that while it serves as an inspiration for Generation Z , it’s also probably adding to the mounting pressure they’re carrying. Gen Zers currently accoun

Support from adults can help young people nurture social connections This article is the second in a series on youth mental health co-written by youth development researcher Kathryn Bates and young people with experience of mental health conditions. The messages and formats of each article were led by the youth co-writers, and draw on both lived experiences and evidence from the research. We might assume that loneliness is most likely to affect older people – but 16- to 2

Why are resilience and mental health such critical issues for Generation Z? Elizabeth Oldfield and Freya India discuss the influence of social media, individualism, left–wing ideas and changes in parenting on Gen Z. We explore themes such as divorce and family breakdown, the pervasive influence of the mental health narratives on youth and the search for identity and spiritual meaning in a disenchanted world.Freya India is a Gen Z writer and journalist, featured in The Spectat

The water-cooler era of TV is over — if a show doesn’t trend on TikTok, Gen Z probably won’t see it. Channel 4 executives say younger viewers increasingly discover programs through viral social media moments, not traditional TV schedules. Chief content officer Ian Katz cited Virgin Island — a reality show about adults on an intimacy course — as proof that social buzz now drives awareness. “It takes a show to become a social hit for a young audience to know it exists,” he sai

The debate is about a lot more than a look. According to many Zoomers, concerning reports of a “Gen Z stare” may be overblown. If it exists, they say, it’s simply a response to the idiocy of their elders . Somehow, though, the concept — recently articulated on TikTok — gained instant recognition from millennials, Gen X, and boomers, who describe it as a blank, if not worried, look as a response to a direct question or interaction. Sometimes, it can be a lack of any greeting

A new Deloitte study finds Gen Z increasingly prefers creator-driven and social content over big-budget entertainment, as streaming prices rise. Over half of Gen Z (56%) and 43% of millennials say social media content feels more relevant than TV or movies, and many feel a stronger personal bond with creators than with actors or hosts. Gen Z spends roughly 50 minutes more daily on social media than traditional media, shifting the “attention war” toward platforms powered by cre