Gen Z is a unique generation that has quirks that would’ve been deemed too strange or unusual decades ago. Gen Z had also grown up with the internet, which has helped jumpstarted Gen Z’s ability to connect with each other with their unique interests, which is a skill that previous generations did not. Things that were once considered “niche” or unusual back then have now become trendy.

History Teacher Max Ames is relatively unfamiliar with Gen Z trends, pointing out that each generation has its own “trendy” social media platform. When he was in high school, people were on Facebook and when he was in college, people were on Instagram and now, people are on TikTok. He believes that Gen Z likes single songs, rather than full-blown albums. When he was younger, people would often find music through CDs and listen to the entire album rather than making Spotify playlists. He believes this is the golden age of TV shows, since a lot of streaming services are competing against each other, he personally believes Shameless and Stranger Things are great and watched some episodes of Criminal minds. He understands and loves Gen Z humor, adoring the absurdist post-post-modernist humor that Gen Z has introduced. Mr. Ames considered himself to be exceptionally nerdy back when he was in school, being one of the three kids that were familiar with Marvel characters, such as Doctor Strange or Iron Man before any of the MCU movies came out. Mr. Ames points out that things that were once considered very “niche” are now popular, such as comic books or anime. Mr. Ames is all for older fashion trends coming back in Gen Z and believes we should revert to 1920s fashion with top hats and canes.

Math Teacher Jessica Lynch believes there’s an obsession with social media and TikTok and is damaging for teenagers. She thinks it provides a distraction, but could also serve as a way for people to connect with each other. Ms. Lynch believes it depends on the music and thinks that the lyrics have less meaning than they used to, saying that she isn’t a fan of music with more electronic sounds. Ms. Lynch enjoys some Gen Z shows, she thinks that Euphoria is a show that’s more mature than its audience. Ms. Lynch thinks it’s cool how people are expanding their horizons by watching different shows and forms of anime, saying it’s good for people to gather knowledge on other cultures as well. She notices how older fashion trends are interesting and aren’t really that new of a concept, stating that each generation has a fashionable resurgence where clothes that were once worn decades ago would be considered “cool.”

Journalism teacher Leslie Chaussee states that she finds the popularity of anime skyrocketing to the mainstream very interesting. She flew to South Korea the summer before the pandemic and found it fascinating how so many younger people were interested in South Korean culture. Mrs. Chaussee then told us Morgan had a really popular anime group about 5 years ago, and they went to comic-con on a field trip. When asked about old fashion trends coming back, Ms. Chausse said, “That always happens. In every generation, old things come back. It’s a cycle, don’t throw away your old clothes since they might be quite fashionable in the near future.”