Gen-Z Keep Furious! You Are Our Future Congress
Today, there are 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10–24. They are the largest number of youth in human history. According to the United Nations, youths are a driving force to support the development and contribute to peace and security, because they have the necessary skills and opportunities needed to reach their maximum potential. Youth has crucial roles on the SGDs which are critical thinkers, change-makers, innovators, communicators, and leaders. As the digital age improves. Generation Z as a majority of youths is fully conscious of any issues that have happened. Most of them plunge into activism at early ages. Young activists have relied on social media to reaffirm and endorse their causes. Digital activism in this generation gains massive social awareness and support.
Society has underestimated our generation as self-absorbed, materialistic, and too lucky. We are the opposite of it all. It is best to not overstate what society has viewed this generation. Each generation is more awake than the last concerning social justice issues. Our generation is tech-savvy and has unique ways to influence the viewers on social media. The activist movement itself is experiencing a broader cultural resurgence, led by other generations. Conflating so-called ‘activist’ sentiment with activist action is inaccurate and misleading.
Digital activism by youth is called the most influential and succeeds to break through several flawed systems. They gain the public’s attention. There are lots of youth platforms that have been provided by the government and Non-Government to help youth prioritize current challenges and represent youth’s voices to be heard. Young people are interested in engaging with themselves within the context of wider political structures. The issues they care about are very much based on identity, body image, self-acceptance — these are all political things.
There is no doubt that this generation is the wokest yet but the relationship between activism and action is convoluted and conflated. Definitions of what constitutes activism are shifting, with new digital methods of engagement that require less commitment and have lower barriers to entry. As an example, this generation enlivens Twitter with #ReformasiDikorupsi. The same generation who was thought to be apolitical was also involved in digital activism that raised issues of corruption, human rights, and other politically laden issues. They even mobilized the masses to take to the streets and carry out what is said to be the biggest student action since the 1998 Reformation. As a result, the ratification of several bills was postponed.
We could conclude that Generation Z activism in action, is not active. It’s reactive. This generation is not critics, but cynics- attempts to rectify social injustice and inequality should be applauded and supported. But let’s be certain of what we mean by ‘activism’. Never forget the millennial pioneers or boomer organizers who have laid the trails for the younger generation’s effort. But, we all could admit that the future change-makers are this generation who’s busy elevating their voices through the TikTok account, glorifying their demand for a far more equal future and recognition of sustainable living to prevent climate changes, progressing gender equality and finding their wealth-field from the updated cryptocurrency.
