As a member of Generation Z (I was born in 2000), I was born into the age of activism. This isn’t to say that other generations, especially those who lived during the turbulent times of the Stonewall riots and early feminism, did not experience activism. That activism was necessary to create change; all activism serves a purpose and free speech should be encouraged, however there are issues with living in an age of mandatory activism.

I say “mandatory” because in Gen Z ‘culture’ there is an expectation of constant activism. This goes beyond exercising free speech and enters a realm of pandering, reminiscent of the black squares on Instagram, a movement that Black Lives Matter activists said afterwards negatively affected the movement, since it flooded out all posts that were educational about the movement and instead because a flood of black screens posted by mostly white teenagers. (https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/blackout-tuesday-black-lives-matter-instagram-trnd/index.html)

In an age of performative activism, societal rule dictates the masses opinion on the tiniest details, movements such as Black Lives Matter become entangled with Body Positivity which becomes entangled with movements about Islamaphobia and so forth, a hivemind of shared beliefs that, if you deviate on a single one, label you as a ‘bigot’ despite you agreeing with the vast majority of public opinion and believing in equality.

For the record, I am a liberal leaning, left leaning independent. I’m sure many of you imagine me being a stereotypical secret racist who equates free speech with the right to spew hate with no consequence, but that is my point all together. The public opinion seems to be that you are either an activist, or a traitor. “Silence is Violence” is a common phrase that I do, for the record, understand the meaning of. Those of us in a position of privilege are in the best position to stand up for others. And I do, when the time presents itself. I’ve done my fair share of arguing with strangers on the internet in the defense of others and educating friends on their incorrect interpretations of past history.

The problem is that me, and plenty of other Gen Z people, are mentally exhausted. Waves of negativity in the media and pressure for constant activism grows continuously as the world grows more turbulent politically. Every moment of self care becomes an “act of violence” if you pay attention to the Twitter community (which for your mental health I hope you are not too big of a user on).

The whole point of my article is to remind you that being born does not mean you need to spend every moment of your life fighting injustice, especially if you go along with whatever the popular opinion is and disregard your own opinions and feelings. You can agree with one movement and disagree with another popular one, this doesn’t make you a monster. It makes you a human with individual needs and thoughts, somebody conditioned by what they’ve seen rather than what the internet tells them to fight for.

You can do both. You can fight for movements you agree with and take a day off to watch television and eat nachos. You don’t have to be shot in the eye with a teargas canister every Friday night to justify your existence as an American. If your mental health is in shambles, take care of yourself before you try to change the world. Mentally unstable activists who don’t prioritize themselves as individuals and hive mind whatever the popular opinion is are the ones who created the stereotype of “woke” teenagers who are unable to have a real conversation without consulting the internet. Do both, do better, and remember that mental burnout is real, legit, and it doesn’t make you a failure to say “ef this” and focus on your mental and emotional health first before moving on to bigger, better things.

Faith Larson is a horror author, blogger, and Youtuber. You can find her on Instagram or Twitter @Idiocyreleased