“Follow your heart.” “Live your best life.” “Manifest your success.” “Be the real you.” These philosophical proverbs, only rivaled by those of Socrates and Aristotle, are shaping the young minds of the 21st century. Gen Z is finally growing into its own, a generation of social warriors who are smart enough, compassionate enough, and confident enough to conquer the challenges of an evolving society. We are so secure in our unique identities that we can acknowledge our flaws, even to thousands of strangers on social media. However, anyone who does not accept us “as we are” deserves to be unfollowed on Instagram and should repent of their toxic negativity.
We are told that it is “okay to not be okay,” and yet, no one actually seems okay with that reality. From 2007-2017, the suicide rate for 10-24 year olds in the U.S. increased by 56%. The Covid-19 pandemic made this crisis significantly worse. Studies have found that “depressive and anxiety symptoms” in teens doubled over the course of the pandemic, and youth emergency visits for attempted suicide in 2021 were 51% higher for girls and 4% higher for boys than in 2019.
So why is there such a disconnect between the self-love culture of Gen Zers and their record-breaking rates of mental health issues? Allie Beth Stuckey’s 2020 book “You’re Not Enough (And That’s Okay)” provides the answer: the “self” cannot be both the source of our problems and the solution.
Doubt and insecurity are ubiquitous features of human life. Yet, the modern quest for self-love (mainly targeted at females) tells us that insecurity will disappear once we get the right amount of “good vibes” telling us that we are enough. According to Stuckey, this kind of thinking is extremely dangerous. The truth is, “you’re not enough, you’ll never be enough, and that’s okay, because God is.”
No one is perfect. Hannah Montana taught us that at the ripe old age of 7. Hence, the constant reminders that we are “perfect the way we are” will always sound superficial in the long run because deep down we know it’s not true. Self-help gurus, self-love influencers, and positive self-talk are good for nothing more than an emotional high that keeps us going until we see “that girl” mocking us with her perfect life and perfect body from the next post in our feed.
Our emotions are fickle. They build us up and tear us right back down again twenty-four hours later. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Yet, the entirety of secular social media culture is based around following your heart to a love-filled utopia of good vibes and self-fulfillment. Why is it any surprise that Gen Z is more depressed than ever?
When the truth of God’s Word is removed from attempts at finding purpose and worth, validation is always temporary. The realities of a broken world will come crashing down, and no amount of “manifesting” is going to provide lasting peace. The issue is not self-improvement. Setting and achieving goals is how we mature; however, failing and learning to rely on God in weakness is also part of growth. The problem occurs when our value is defined by our level of self-improvement and we spend hours scrolling through social media, searching for any way to pick up the slack.
When self-love is not rooted in the truth of God’s word, it becomes a violent cycle of good vibes quickly turning into depression and anxiety. Secular culture relies on the self — the broken, imperfect self. The only cure for a broken self is a perfect God, and until we recognize that, our pursuit of “enoughness” will destroy us.
