It’s not a great time to be a young person in this world.

On the one hand is a form of flattery and pacification young people are roped into by the capitalist underpinnings of social media – the invitation to be influencer of follower, the false belief that you only need to speak to be heard, the marketing for, to and of youth culture through continuous pop culture articulations of what it means to be Gen Z. That articulation defines Gen Z in ways that are primarily urban and elite, circling around capitalism’s purported glories — luxury goods, picturesque travels and cute coupledom.