Fears of all generations

Last night, I ended up having 'Alice in Wonderland Rabbit Hole-esque' conversation with two of my housemates. They are both Gen Z, British, and attend UAL.

The conversation started with who our type of men are. While I listed off how I'd want to marry Kevin Costner, but the love of my life is Nick Carter, that I have a soft spot for Nick Cannon, Tyrese, and Ryan Seacrest, but I would leave everything for Eminem, and the Snoop Dogg has an effect on me like no other man, but the man of all men is Michael Jackson, but just as Voldermort, we don't talk about Michael Jackson because I'm not ready for that conversation yet... my friend was Googling all these names because she's not heard of most of them.

It wasn't because they are not famous now, it occurred to me that it was not in their niche interests. With their love for anime, cosplay, gaming, and niche music I probably don't know, these people didn't enter their circles... or they could just be too old. :D

This conversation lead to a few other topics. I will do my best to take this post through the key points I want to highlight here.

Somewhere along the way after the conversation about ghosts and exchanging ghost stories, and before we talking about how I look like Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony (this is where we got up to go to bed, because the sleepiness was threatening to give hallucinations), we talked about dating.

As someone who attended university in a small town (Canterbury, where it took 45 minutes to walk from one end to the other), with three universities, and having no smart phones, I wanted to know if the 'cuteness' of dating was still alive. The experience of seeing someone interesting across the room, catching their eye, letting them know of the moment, and going with wherever it leads to; whether it's a dance or late night drinks at their place. A genuine question I asked to kickstart this rabbit hole was 'With consent being a very highlighted factor now, do people ever take the initiative anymore?' I am not 20 anymore, and I don't live that life anymore. I was genuinely curious to know the dynamics of dating and how the current world setting affects it.

A few things stood out:

One: Dating apps

The one night stand concept is now easily found through dating apps.

Two: Strange Places

Going to a stranger's place is an actual fear out of (a) recording devices and (b) being physically harmed.

Three: Consent

Going up to a person and initiating conversation is difficult. However, the importance of consent over takes the emotions. I don't have enough information to derive a conclusion from this. What I can take out of this conversation is further emphasis that the 'fears' of this generation is different from other generations'. The smartphone, the internet, and social media is shaping the lifestyle of not only Gen Z, but of every generation. It's shaping the 'times' we live in.