What Gen Z’s dark humor really says about their values

In my assessment, Gen Z’s dark and nonsensical humor does not show a lack of moral values, but it’s instead the product of its desire to engage in more authentic conversations about what they believe. Alienation, not indifferenceResearch shows deep levels of alienation among Gen Z, or young adults born between 1997 and 2012. Although commentators often dismiss Gen Z’s humor as nonsensical or nihilistic meme slop, scholarship suggests that it acts as a collaborative coping mechanism, driven by a desire for authenticity. Casting Gen Z’s reactions as nihilistic obscures the values and institutional distrust connected to them and fails to appreciate their egalitarian and pragmatic ideals. In this case, those boundaries risk ignoring and, thus, further alienating, Gen Z.Gen Z’s humor shows that almost anything can become a joke.