11 Things Gen Z Complains About That Don’t Matter To Anyone Else At All
We all have things we love to complain about, but many of Gen Z's biggest complaints simply don't bother people in older generations.
Mix and Match Studio / Shutterstock As the younger end of the Gen Z spectrum enters middle school, the older members are settling into adulthood and all the responsibilities and challenges that come along with it. Gen Z ranges in age from 13 to 28 years old, making up just over 20% of the U.S. population. Most of the problems Gen Z faces are highly relatable, like the difficulties of finding full-time employment and affordable housing. Yet some of the things Gen Z complains about don’t matter to anyone else, at all.
That said, even if Gen Z’s complaints don’t always make sense to older generations, their experiences are still valid and worth taking into consideration.
Here are 11 things Gen Z complains about that don’t matter to anyone else at all
1. Paying with cash
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Gen Z’s digital literacy outpaces older generations, which puts them in a position to drive major changes, especially as consumers. Gen Z is shifting the financial market, especially when it comes to how they buy things. Gen Z complains about paying with cash, which doesn’t matter to anyone else.
According to one financial report, 85% of Gen Z would rather use contactless payment over cash. They think using actual paper money is an outdated and inconvenient way to buy things. They want shopping to be a quick, seamless process, and paying with their phones makes that happen.
As convenient as they may be, digital wallets come with hidden costs: 60% of Gen Z said they spend more money with tap-to-pay than other methods. Paying with cash makes purchases tangible, while using a digital wallet makes it harder for people to track how much they’re actually spending. As much as Gen Z complains about not having enough money, they complain even more about paying with cash.
2. Writing emails
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If there’s one thing that sets Gen Z apart from other generations, it's the way they communicate. They’ve mastered the fine art of using emojis and distilling conversations down to the bare necessities, but their hard-and-fast approach doesn’t always set them apart in a positive way. Gen Z complains about emails, but their discomfort doesn’t matter to anyone else at all.
Gen Z might make fun of older generations, but Millennials and Gen X understand the nuances of crafting the perfect work email in a way Gen Z doesn’t. They’re entirely accustomed to the formality of emailing, especially in the corporate world but Gen Z complains that emailing is inefficient and anxiety-provoking.
A survey from language learning platform Babbel reported that Gen Z leaves their emails unread at a higher rate than other office workers do.
“Gen Z’s communication preferences are heavily influenced by the prevalence of instant messaging platforms and social media,” explained Esteban Touma, a linguistics and culture expert at Babbel. “The structured and formal nature of email communication may feel unfamiliar and more complicated” to Gen Z, which is why they’re so vocal with their complaints.
3. Websites that load too slowly
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Slow-loading websites are something Gen Z complains about that doesn’t matter to anyone else. Every generation that came before remembers the screech of dial-up modems that tied up the phone lines, making it literally impossible to go online if anyone in your family was expecting a call.
They were haunted by the image of a pixelated hourglass that appeared whenever a website loaded slowly, which was most of the time. Patience was a requirement of the early internet experience, which Gen Z never had to deal with.
A survey from IBM reported that 60% of Gen Z refuses to use apps or websites that are slow to load. They have high standards: They want “frictionless, fast interactions,” and effortless navigation. In the grand scheme of things, slow websites are a minor inconvenience that don’t matter to anyone else aside from Gen Z.
4. Brands being unsustainable
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Gen Z does more than just hold individuals accountable for how they interact with the world, they hold companies accountable for their actions, too. They don’t buy mindlessly, instead, they make an effort to shop according to their values.
According to McKinsey, Gen Z cares about “consumption as access rather than possession, consumption as an expression of individual identity, and consumption as a matter of ethical concern.”
Ninety percent of Gen Z think companies should actively address environmental and social issues, and almost half report being more likely to engage with brands they deem trustworthy and transparent. Since they see themselves as “inclusive consumers,” Gen Z has serious complaints about unsustainable brands, which doesn’t matter as much to anyone else.
5. Trends changing too fast
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As much as Gen Z cares about the social impact of their shopping habits, they also want to look cute. Keeping up with trends takes commitment. Gen Z complains about trends cycling through too quickly, which doesn’t matter to older generations. Boomers lived through the 70s the first time around, and Gen X and millennials lived through the 90s remix of the 70s, which means none of them care that 90s trends have come back around.
According to the same report from McKinsey, Gen Z sees consumption as a means of self-expression, since manifesting their individual identities is more important than anything else. Gen Z takes their sense of style seriously, which often means their eco-conscious mindset stands in opposition to their fast-fashion habit. Brands like Shein make it easy for Gen Z to chase rapidly changing trends, even when they complain about them.
6. Shopping online without reviews
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Social media permeates every aspect of Gen Z’s existence. Half of Gen Z spends at least four hours on social media every day. Their devotion to scrolling is amplified by their online shopping habits, as a significant portion of Gen Z discovers new brands and products through social media platforms, like YouTube and Tiktok.
Gen Z are conscientious consumers, in that they commit to doing a lot of independent research before clicking the “buy now” button. They outright reject the idea of shopping online without reading reviews, as shown by the fact that 46% of Gen Z reported being “deterred from buying products” if they’re unable to access independent reviews on those products.
They want the most bang for their digital buck, which means they complain if they can’t access all the information they want before making a purchase.
7. Coffee orders that aren’t cute enough
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For Gen Z, coffee isn’t just a caffeine delivery system, it’s part of their aesthetic. They’re not satisfied by basic drip in a styrofoam cup. They want single origin beans, perfectly brewed, complete with an adorable, frothy oat milk design. Gen Z complains when their coffee orders aren’t cute enough to post on social media, while that first-world struggle doesn’t matter to anyone else at all.
This complaint captures the essence of the Gen Z existential crisis: if they can’t post it on social media, did it even happen? As silly as it seems, there’s some substance to their coffee-centric complaints. At its best, social media is a living photo album, a way to mark occasions in an otherwise mundane existence. From that perspective, coffee orders hold significant meaning.
Life is made up of small moments. Joy is fleeting, and we should account for it whenever we can, like noticing how the sunlight filters through the window at our favorite cafe, how that slight beauty takes our breath away, like it’s something we could capture in time, to look back on.
8. Too many group chats
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Gen Z is constantly connected to the rest of the world, and they’ve never really known anything different. They were born into a digital world, but they don’t embrace every element of what that means. Gen Z complains about having too many group chats and text threads, which doesn’t matter to anyone else at all.
Yet just because Gen Z complains that they’re tied up in way too many group chats, that doesn’t mean they take any steps to change anything. Seventy five percent of Gen Z said they spend a majority of their free time online, texting and chatting. They have equal amounts of social anxiety and FOMO, which keep them coming back for more.
Gen Z feels a fair amount of pressure to be “on” at all times, and even when they’re alone, they’re not really alone. Whenever they want to distract themselves, all they need to do is take out their phone and pick up any one of the myriad text conversations that never actually have an endpoint. Gen Z could benefit from taking a more balanced approach and sitting quietly with their own thoughts, every once in a while.
9. Being on-camera for Zoom meetings
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Gen Z might never know the pain of in-person meetings held in the same, beige conference room every single week, but that doesn’t stop them from complaining about having to show their youthful faces during company-wide Zoom meetings. Sure, seeing your own face reflected back to you in a miniature square can be off-putting, but in this case, the ends justify the means.
Being on camera doesn’t matter to anyone else, because they remember how things used to be. For older generations, taking meetings from the comfort of their living room is a gift, which is why they don’t complain about keeping their video on.
10. When TV episodes drop weekly, not all once
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Gen Z is so completely accustomed to the instant access that streaming services provide, they complain if every single episode of their favorite show isn’t available all at once.
Their collective memory is too short-sighted to remember that once upon a time, TV shows aired once a week. Viewers had to wait a whole seven days to get their next fix, but they didn’t complain, mostly because they didn’t know what the future would hold.
Having the option to sink into the couch and watch TV for ten hours straight is a modern miracle. Every time Gen Z complains about a show’s limited release, members of every other generation roll their eyes, because they know how little Gen Z has to actually wait for anything.
11. Networking
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For Gen Z, leveraging their social skills to make professional connections doesn’t come easily, which is why they complain about networking. Older generations might not be as intimidated by in-person work events as Gen Z, but they were once the new kid in the office, and they can probably recall how anxious they felt about talking to their colleagues.
Even though Gen Z struggles with networking, they still see the value in it. According to a survey from Harris Poll, 91% of Gen Z believe that in-person events are the best way to build their social and interpersonal skills. It’s totally normal to complain about the more intimidating parts of life, but Gen Z shouldn’t let their anxiety hold them back from making meaningful connections.
Alexandra Blogier, MFA, is a staff writer who covers psychology, social issues, relationships, self-help topics, and human interest stories.