Member-only story
What Gen Z Can Teach Us About Living Authentically in a Digital World
Authenticity: The Gen Z Way
I used to think I knew everything about authenticity.
I was wrong.
It took my younger siblings — both Gen Z — to show me the truth. They’re a different breed, these kids born with the internet in their veins. They navigate a digital world I still stumble through, and somehow, they make it look easy.
It started with my sister’s Instagram story.
She posted a selfie. No filter. No perfect lighting. No “subtle” edits. Just her, barefaced and grinning, with a caption that read: This is me, post-cry, pre-coffee. Deal with it.
I stared at it.
And then I stared some more.
I couldn’t have done that. My feed was curated, polished, and filtered to oblivion. Every post screamed, Look at how perfect my life is! Meanwhile, she was out here just being herself — no apologies, no edits.
So I asked her why.
Her answer?
“Why fake it? People know when you’re lying.”
That hit me hard.
Perhaps, it ain’t all Gen Zs. Perhaps, it’s unique to my siblings. But we can all agree Gen Zs have a different…
