What do you want your life to look like? For some teenagers, from generation to generation, their lives have been written out for them. But now many Generation Z teens, due to their experiences, have chosen very different life paths than those before them. Growing up during the COVID-19 pandemic, international conflict, and economic crises, teens are struggling to make sense of this crazy world and now grapple with existentialist thoughts. A lot of people still follow what their families taught them, but many have abandoned any hope that the world has a purpose or an explanation for our existence. While religion can give a sense of meaning, existentialists create meaning despite not being handed an answer. Existentialism benefits Generation Z because it restores hope in their lives while giving them the ability to take control of their future.
The concept of existentialism was initially introduced in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. People began to lose hope in religious ideals as a result of the existential dread that World War I and similar conflicts that time brought. Philosophers discussed ideas about humanity and started an intellectual movement led by Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All of whom are regarded by many as the movement’s most important philosophers. Jean-Paul Sartre coined the term “existence precedes essence” which has perfectly described the fundamental beliefs of existentialism for decades. Existentialism is a philosophical idea based on human existence and experience, it focuses on the fact that humans don’t have an inherent meaning and make it through their choices and individual ideas. We exist first before our essence. It is up to us as people to define what our life’s purpose is. There is no predetermined way we are supposed to exist, and it is up to us to decide our meaning through the way we choose to live.
Existentialism emphasizes individual responsibility and gives you the right to exercise freedom in your own life. For many, these ideas shape the way they live and they can shape teens’ lives too. Numerous adolescents in the twenty-first century are currently going through an experience comparable to the people who lost their sense of understanding following the World Wars. Due to the isolation and fear that COVID-19 caused, a lot of teens have lost hope and the presence of the internet has not helped. With social media, issues around the world are under a magnifying glass, making teenagers watch video after video showing political and civil unrest. With copious amounts of negativity available on “For You Pages” on platforms like Instagram or TikTok, a loss of optimism is rising. Religion, which was previously an adamant part of many youths’ lives that could help them navigate these feelings is not as popular anymore. According to the American National Family Life, a December 2021 survey on Generation Z and the Future of Faith in America concludes that Gen Z is the generation with the smallest amount of religious beliefs. “More than one-third (34 percent) of Generation Z are religiously unaffiliated, a significantly larger proportion than among millennials (29 percent) and Generation X (25 percent).” Teenagers have been left to question their existence. Now, in 2023, many have kept similar mindsets, resulting in the same feeling of dread. Existentialist beliefs could help teenagers who are still asking the question, “What is the meaning of life?”
To answer this question, Jean-Paul Sartre states, “There is no reality except in action. Man is nothing else than his plan; he exists only to the extent that he fulfills himself; he is therefore nothing else than the ensemble of his acts, nothing else than his life.” There is no meaning or pre-established purpose you have been left on earth to fulfill. A human’s life is chopped up to their choices. We determine what emerges from it. The meaning of life is what we make of it. Existentialism combats the dread that many teens experience today because it shows people that there are no bounds to your existence except your own actions. This belief gives you the ability to free yourself from previous perspectives and expectations that an entity or society has forced upon you.
Having a sense of meaning at a young age is important because it gives you motivation to move forward with your chosen goals. If your purpose is found in what you specifically think is important, it creates a self-driven person. In the past, men fought in wars while women got married and had children. Since teenagers currently have a great deal of freedom, unlike any other generation before, we must make good use of it and stop letting our past hold us back. Existentialism is the perfect belief system for teenagers nowadays because it creates well-driven people. People who don’t let others hold them back and do what they truly want to do because that is where they find significance. A future made up of people who have this belief growing up looks brighter. When you do what makes you happy and when you take responsibility for your life, you will take accountability, and accepting accountability gives you power. It indicates that you’re embracing your situation rather than giving in to it. And that’s exactly what our future should look like.
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