Hi, Mom! My friends want to go play football. Why, Mom? Why do they get to play and not me? Oh man! Yes, a motorcycle. So what? Mom! Why do all my friends
get to have motorcycles and not me? No drugs either? Oh man! Hi, Mom! Why do all my friends get to
find fake love and not me? Oh man! Hi, Mom! Why do my friends get to name
their kids Gaafar El Omda and not me? Oh man! Hi, Mom. The doctor says there's thankfully
no hope in continuing the treatment. Why, Mom? Why do all my friends
get to die and not me? Oh man! Hello, dear viewers. Welcome to a new episode of El Daheeh. Today's episode is about Gen Z. Let me tell you that
opinions are divided on it's definition. When does it start, and when does it end? However, in general, it's agreed on that this generation was
born between 1997 and 2012. Meaning that, Gen Z are between
the ages of 11 and 26. That's in 2023, in case you
watch this episode in 2030. Say hi to me while you're there. Abo Hmeed, I went to say hi,
but you weren't there. Don't say that! There's one important difference from
this generation to previous ones. Besides the fact that they represent
quarter of the current population, this generation never knew
the world without internet. They were born into it. You might think it's not a big deal. -is it not, Abo Hmeed?
-Nope. it's a very big deal. It's not just about
sitting on your phone all day. This generation doesn't
know a lot, my friend. They don't know what it means
to be up all night on Sunday hoping that "El Alam Yoghani" program
would play a Backstreet Boys song. They don't know how
to be on time at 5:15 to see Alam Simsim after
the French broadcast. They don't know life without Google. That's right. If you're Gen Z,
then Google is older than you. Next time you open it, ask for permission. Say: "Look this up..., please." "Please, Sir." Call it Sir as well. Gen Z is the generation of
multiple choices in everything. Everything including friendships. Before Gen Z, friends were
limited to certain roles. The one sitting next
to you in class, your neighbour, or the cousin your age. Whether you like them or not,
that's not society's problem. These are the options. However, Gen Z has an infinite
amount of friendship choices. They follow whoever, follow back whoever, or block whoever. They can stalk quietly
without anyone bothering them. Kids play PUBG in America
from their rooms in Helwan. In short, the difference between
Gen Z and any other generation is that they were born
into a highly accessible world. And also their parents
are always watching them to protect them from the world
that became a tiny village. What do you mean
'tiny village'? it's a wallet. You might think
that Gen Z is lucky, my friend, because they didn't work
as hard as other generations. The generation of
"Tell me Google, show me YouTube, spoil me Facebook,
make me famous Instagram." They didn't work hard like us. Stop, Abo Hmeed. You're born in 1994. You know about that? I'm Gen Y. I was two steps closer to Z, but... But, let me tell you that you're right. This generation didn't
work as hard as others. But, does that make them lucky? That's the point we need to discuss. But before that, I'll exit dramatically,
and come back to tell you everything. Or not. Actually, my friend, studies have shown that this generation
isn't as lucky as you think. But, it's actually the generation
that struggles with loneliness the most. Really? So in the age of the internet,
Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, these kids are lonely? What about our grandparents who
wrote love poems for wooden mashrabiyas? He loved her just by
catching a glimpse of her shadow. You think those weren't lonely? This generation is more socially isolated
than other generations at that age. Besides, some studies say that those
who went to collage from this generation, or even graduated and started jobs,
are not ready for work, or to deal with their co-workers,
or work under pressure. And generally, this generation
was described as snowflakes. To express fragility, and the inability to face real life. The American psychologist
and writer Jonathan Haidt described Gen Z as a generation
that has abnormal high rates of anxiety, depression,
self-harm, and suicide. He described the state that Gen Z is going
through in America as a national crisis. However, the question is: Is Gen Z
like that because it's irresponsible, or spoiled as rumored? The truth is that there are
important reasons behind that. To understand those, allow me
to dramatically exit, and come back. In 1969, in his book
"Between Parent and Teenager", the American psychologist Haim Ginott used for the term "helicopter
parent" for the first time. He used this term to
describe the type of parents who monitor everything their kids do. They restrict all their actions, and circulate around
them all time like a helicopter. At that time, Haim was
describing some parents, and warning against the dangers
of this type of parenting for some. However, over time,
this term was used in a wider range. Until, it was added to English
dictionaries, and became an English term. A term that is linguistically agreed on, and refers to the parents who try
to protect and control their kids too much by interfering in every detail
of their lives, especially in education. Initially, the term was used to describe
only some parents from older generations, especially those born
between the 40s and 60s. They were parents who
were overprotective of their kids, and interfered in everything. However, with time,
psychologists discovered that this phenomenon
is increasing, not decreasing. And it kept growing and passed
down from one generation to the other, up until the term
was added to the dictionaries. In the years prior, the term was at the
peak of its usage among psychologists. At the time, a large part of Gen X
was starting to give birth and parent. Don't want to interrupt, but what's Gen X? Gen X is the generation that
was born in mid '60s to mid '80s. What we care about with Gen X is that it's the generation that
was most described as helicopter parents. And that it's the generation
of Gen Z's parents, in addition to some millennials who now have the youngest
children of Gen Z. These parent generations developed
an urge to overprotect their children. That's for many reasons. For example, some economical reasons. Some economical experts say
that the difference between social classes gives parents a stronger desire
to protect their children. That is apparent in countries that
have large gaps between social classes, especially when it comes to education, and parents interfering in their
kids' education too much. Besides the mental pressure put on
kids to achieve things beyond their limits, and forcing them to take part
in activities that exceed their potential. You find kids working
on full time, my friend. The kid wakes up,
no time to say good morning, his mom grabs him, throws him
at school till the afternoon. His day is just starting. He needs to
go home, take a 30-minute nap, but then his mom grabs him,
takes him to the club. She probably got him
a winger's place on team "flowers". Then, she takes him to
a Taekwondo, Karate, kung fu, kickboxing, wrestling,
Greco-Roman wrestling, gymnastics, and sumo practice. And he gets hit in them
all, even gymnastics. Honestly, my friend. you feel like
kids have a full time job in the morning, then, part-time jobs later. After the kid is done with all this
and just wants to relax, take a shower from all the sweat, fighting, and blood. His mom kicks him in the swimming pool where he starts drowning,
and the trainer is yelling at him. It's too much. Too much. We have a lot of
expectations from our kids. "I'm drowning, Mom!" -"Show me 200 butterflies. Now!"
-"Mom!' And when he's done, he has
a piano lesson. He needs to learn music. Then, he goes to school the next day, and gets punished for not doing homework. When will he? There was an Olympic athlete
and singer contest happening the day before. That generation gets stuck
in a continuous competitive state. Between students and parents too. Whose son will get better grades?
Who goes to an international school? And why does Nagwa's son
call it a purse, but you call it a bag? Also, the age and number of kids
play a factor in this. The controversial
psychologist Jordan Peterson, this guy ruffles a lot
of feathers, my friend. What does he do? He does this. *feathers* This guy says that one
of the important reasons that made Gen Z's parents have
this urge to overprotect them is that they aren't many. It's true. You'll find that your
grandpa had 7 or 8 kids back then. Like he's Erling Haaland. How will him and your grandma
gain possession of the game? You won't need a helicopter,
you'll need an F-16 to watch them, protect them,
study for them, monitor their teenage years,
and keep up with it. But, now, it's probably you
and a brother, or a sister. The attention is all on you.
there's no one else. However, with the seven,
ten, or twelve kids, they all raise each other. The old looks after the young. Also, the late age of marriage
is an important reason. For example, imagine back then,
a 17, or an 18-year-old mother. How will she watch
and protect her child, if she herself is a child
who needs protection? That's when, from this young mother, some neglect in parenting
is expected to happen. And in Jordan Peterson's view, this neglect is a useful one. Meaning, you won't take
care of you kid for some time. Not to ditch him, but to look away a bit. He'll do something wrong, and learn it. He'll learn from his mistakes. He'll fall, he'll get hurt.
He'll understand mistakes. He'll know consequences. Of course, he's not saying that
parents will neglect their kids. He's talking about healthy boundaries
that parents should give to children. However, if the parents are in
their thirties and above, and have a kid, or two, then you're the one stage.
All alone without backup. And the father is an older person,
above 30, who has opinions and thoughts. He only has one, or two kids. He read all the modern parenting books, have seen "Kamel El Adad", "El Harsha
El Sab'a", and all women's rights movies. Then, he takes all that knowledge,
and applies it on you. Poor little Gen Z. Someone might say what's all
that Jordan Peterson stuff? Over-protection is a good thing, Abo Hmeed. We must protect our children. Aren't they our kids? Aren't they? I'm dying to know your age. Because I have the stats
for El Daheeh viewers ages. I know it well. Why are you acting? Of course, my friend,
over-protection is important. However, some psychologists think
that if it crossed a certain line, it could grow fangs to bite you. Bites you in your
independence and self-confidence. Because these a big difference between
protecting loved ones from life dangers and not letting them know
that dangers exist from the first place. Due to my fear, I isolate them
from the outside world, so, they fail to
see cruelty and bad people. Careful, my friend.
This protection is a fake one. Because it's impossible for any
parent to protect their kids forever. And if the parents have a lot of
money and a good financial life, that doesn't mean they should
make their kids life too easy to the point of isolating them
from reality, people, and social classes. Because at some point, they'll
eventually deal with all of it. We see it in the
series "Mizo" by Samir Ghanim, and in "H Dabbour", "Ibn ezz",
and "El-Wasseya". Then, the kid won't
have the psychological mechanisms to help him deal with these givings. And like my colleague Mohammed Tarek says: "If you worry for your son,
and want to protect him, throw him to the streets! Let life make him a gem." Don't know that sounded
like Ahmed Maher, but I feel good. One of the main reason why Gen Z feels
emotional fragility, and over-sensitivity are overprotective parents who orbit around them
at each and every step. And the teenagers of
Gen Z who went to collage are struggling to adapt there, especially those who leave
their families during collage. Because at collage and work,
things are different. You are now a grown responsible person. And that's hard for some people who
were raised by controlling parents who made all decisions for them. As soon as a person of this generation
imagines a situation where they are solely
responsible for all of it's outcomes, they panic, and get worried. And the words that parents used
to block their kids' ears to avoid hearing, and used to prohibit playing
outside to avoid repeating can easily be heard from someone at work. Here, the kid has to appear
steady in all of this. Meaning, you can't be
a grown man, or a woman who cries in the bathroom
after one problem. Cry in the office. In a survey taken by more
than 12 thousand employee, employees from all around the world, showed that new employees from
Gen Z who have worked for a year, or two, remember, those are the ones
who spent their final collage years in a lockdown due to COVID-19, 91% of them feel extreme
anxiety at the workplace, and put a lot of effort to
deal with co-workers. This anxiety results in a mental
and physical exhaustion all the time. And many of them quit. That's in the first two years. What about after being a part
of the company's family? Imagine quitting in the first year
because you're uncomfortable. And when the manager asks you:
"Why did you quit, Son?" you'll say:"The job is tiring,
and you're a bit toxic, and I feel like in a stadium where Turkey
is playing because of all the red flags. and honestly, I want
to normalize quitting." Meanwhile, on the other side, my friend, teenagers who were raised with parents who gave them a part of
their freedom, and independence, and helped them make
important decisions in their lives, have stronger personalities, and showed a larger ability to
blend in with the real world and adapt with people their age,
collage professors, and bosses. Eliza Fliby, a generations expert and historian of contemporary values, imagine, my friend!
Historian of contemporary values! That's an essay. The contemporary values essay. That lady also works as consultant
for large companies around the world. She advises on how to correctly
deal with their employees. She describes the workplace
as a terrifying place for Gen Z. The simplest problems they face at work, they deal with like
it's a psychological struggle. Even though, it could be perfect
working conditions for older generations. Your mine-working-grandpa,
when he sees you crying on the bean bag because you're sad you
can't find creative ideas, will chase after you with an axe. The question here: Are the controlling parents
who surround their children the only reason for the isolation
and fragility that Gen Z feels? Of course not. There are other reasons. Why would I ask? If there weren't
other reasons, I wouldn't have. I would have ended the episode. Like we said, Gen Z is the first generation
to open their eyes and see internet, smart phones, and social media. And just like that made them good
at quickly learning computer skills, they are in fact wizards, it also gave them an
ability to discover the world behind their phone screens. Being on social media for this generation made it hard for them to be
among a social gathering. Because unlike social media,
I can't click "leave group", I can't log out at any time, I can't react "haha"
while I'm frowning "angry". I have to laugh out loud, and open my mouth on that corny
joke my aunt's husband said. mushroom went to
a party because he's a fungi? That joke is decayed. That joke has rotted. The bottom line is that instead of
relying on themselves, or their parents, Gen Z relied on the internet. And life on the internet is easy. It's easy to do certain things that you
can't do in real life situations. Even phone calls that are still
regarded as a revolution by humanity, that still impress me how I can speak to
my friend in America from Egypt, and how the words
reach both of us immediately, Gen Z was born into it that way. "What are you on about?" Gen Z hates that technology as well. Studies showed that this generation
doesn't like receiving calls. Me too, my friend. No generation like them. Why call me? Just text. What if I'm busy playing a game? I'll see the message whenever,
and reply whenever. I'll also think before I reply. That's important. To come up with
excuses why I replied late. And if it's a voice message,
you can speed it up. You can listen to it from
the middle, an reply whenever too. Or not! But, Gen Z thinks that phone calls
are a burden that causes anxiety. The problem is there's a paradox. Do you know what it is? That this generation, like we said,
is the loneliest generation. The loneliness that they are
the only ones who benefit from, and feel comfortable in. A dilemma to make you sympathize
with Gen Z, not attack it. It's a generation that was driven by
loneliness to share all personal details on social media forever. In her book "The End Of Forgetting", the author Kate Eichhorn says that: "the real crisis in the digital age
is not the disappearance of childhood, but it's the ghost of a childhood
that can never be forgotten." In that book, the author says that kids and teenagers
who grew up on social media will be denied
a very good thing, my friend. Which is forgetting. Forgetting? "They said forgetting was a blessing
a million years ago" Mohammed Hamaki 2010. Forgetting is a blessing,
especially in teenage years which is one of the toughest
period of time for man from all the hormones in the body, and an exhausting mental state. A mustache, leg hair, voice dropping. His self-confidence is
more sensitive and shaky. Imagine if the teenager is Gen Z, and every detail of his
childhood and teenage years is recorded and posted for everyone to see. You're brain is a real one. It sometimes blocks from you embarrassing
situations, tough days, and depressing nights you cried to sleep. But, your thumb isn't a real one. Due to social media that this
generation is on all day, he take pictures crying, or go live while to hurt himself. The American psychologist Jean Twenge who specializes in studying
every generation, and spotting differences, wrote a book called "iGen". Let me translate. "iGen: Why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious,
more tolerant, less happy and completely unprepared for adulthood. And what that means for the rest of us." That's not a book name,
that's a disrespect. The author thought
that this generation, the iGen, which is Gen Z, the one we're
talking about, from 1995 to 2012. I think I failed again.
I can't be Gen Z anywhere. I'm 1994. One of the important things
she focused on in the book, and tried to shed
the light on in her studies, is the severe depression that
is suffered by this generation. As a result of smart phones,
and social media. That's why it's not weird to find that
most of the memes shared by teenagers are about loneliness, depression,
and failed relationships. Let me tell you that the most
successful type of episodes on the show are the ones that address that generation,
and talk to them about mental health. The most famous memes for this show aren't the ones where we laugh
and make jokes and all that. It's the memes about loneliness,
depression in man and women, familial relationships, isolation,
romantic relationships. I always find myself on TikTok
with a black and white filter and a sad song in the back. I also find myself saying
things I never said. On twitter, I say things I never heard of. "Sadness is the best gift
one can give to himself"? I never said that! I'm at home, happy,
eating dinner. What's this? Also, a large number of
this generation in surveys say that they don't want marriage. Think about it! People who can't
handle work, won't handle marriage. In a documentary about
teenagers in Japan called: In the documentary, they talk about
teenagers and examine their romantic lives. They discovered that many of them
prefer having a girlfriend on social media, in the virtual reality, and she doesn't have to be human. He can love an anime. Saying it's better
than going to the real world, meet someone,
fall in love, and get married. A lot of teenagers are also afraid
of the idea of attraction. Thank god I'm not Gen Z. I was going to be single
and in love with a peach. The bottom line is,
my dear viewer, I feel confused and I feel very old, and harsh on the new generation saying: "social media, depression,
people are on their phones." The thing is I'm not criticizing
anyone, or praising anyone. I'm giving you what people
have said in the scientific society. People who study this
generation, also study others. These are just some of the phenomenons
that we noticed in this one. We might have been harsh on
them in this episode a little. However, we must not forget that
it's a very smart generation. They have the ability to be
more productive than other generations. They have the ability to be
more forgiving that others. They have the ability to have
started working before many others. They have the ability to
self-teach any time, any way. They can communicate with the entire world. They are flexible and able to
change their career, thoughts and beliefs unlike previous generations. So, we want to say on this show that this generations has it's pros and cons. What we want to say that this
generation is like any other. It has good qualities, and bad ones, and it has qualities we think
are good, but they're bad, and it has qualities we think
are bad, but they're actually good. And it's possible that in
some setting decades later, there will be a cultural setting
with admirable academics who say: "Wow! The good old days of Gen Z! The depression and social media of Gen Z! We never saw better days after them." That's it, my friend. Last but not least, don't forget to watch
the old episodes and new ones, look at the sources and
subscribe if you're on YouTube. Someone might say Abo Hmeed, -you're a helicopter youtuber.
-why, my friend? Because you're always
worried about your viewer. True. I can't sleep at night
if my viewer is in danger. No, and you keep spoiling you viewer too. You keep telling him "you're strong, great, good, kind, and handsome." And you keep spoiling, cradling,
and being gentle with him. Of course, your viewer is spoiled! He can't watch other shows, and know that the world
has other youtubers. That's true, my friend.
I'm a helicopter parent, but I didn't know.