“Is Gen Z Too Emotionally Literate to Feel?” | Thred Media (Publication)

Quick Overview

In this feature article, I explore how Gen Z’s heightened emotional literacy — reflected in the proliferation of trauma language, mental-health discourse, and social-media definitions of feeling — may paradoxically distance the generation from genuine emotional experience and vulnerability. The piece examines the intersection of digital culture, youth activism, and emotional expression to ask: What happens when knowing becomes a barrier to feeling?

Context & Background

As Gen Z navigates a landscape of global crisis, algorithmic intensity, and mental-health awareness, new forms of emotional expression and identity emerge. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Threads amplify trauma-language and self-diagnosis, making emotional literacy widespread. Thred Website This moment prompts a deeper question: Are we cultivating emotional fluency or emotional distance? The article situates itself at the crossroads of youth culture, digital media, wellbeing, and generational change.

My Role

As the author, I conducted cultural analysis, synthesized media and digital trends, and drew on qualitative insights from youth discourse to craft an accessible critique. I situated the argument within broader scholarship on emotional intelligence, burnout, and generational activism — weaving narrative, research and reflection.

Impact & Learnings

Writing this article reinforced my conviction that youth voice and cultural literacy are vital to understanding social change — not as detached commentary but as lived experience. It deepened my capacity to translate systems-level questions into narrative forms that engage youth and cross-sector audiences. More broadly, it sharpened my sense of how emotion, culture and civic imagination intertwine in young people’s activism.