THE MIRROR AND THE MICROPHONE

I didn’t plan to become a Gen Z analyst, but something happened recently that made everything about them click in a new way. I have admired them quietly for a while now, and at this point, I am sure people think I am obsessed. Maybe I am. They fascinate me. I love good character development, and they deliver it with style.

 

The more I watched them, the more I realised their boldness didn’t just come from attitude. It came from the world that shaped them. And to really understand that, you have to look back at how other generations were raised.

Older generations grew up in a world that behaved like a mirror.

You mostly saw your family, your school, your church, your neighbours and your workplace. A mirror only reflects what is already in front of you, so your understanding of life came from whatever your environment showed you.

 

If your parents were strict, that was normal.

If no one talked about mental health, it did not exist.

If work was draining, it was simply adulthood.

People learned to endure because the mirror showed the same picture every day.

But Gen Z did not grow up with mirrors.

They grew up with microphones.

 

A girl in Kenya openly talks about burnout.

A boy in Canada explains boundaries like a therapist.

A woman in Brazil shares her healing journey.

A teenager in Lagos speaks on TikTok with the confidence of a lawyer.

 

And Gen Z watched all of this unfold in real time. They did not wait for parents, teachers, pastors, bosses or governments to interpret the world for them. They saw it directly, raw and unfiltered.

 

That kind of exposure rewires an entire generation.

It makes them bold.

It makes them question quickly.

It makes them allergic to hypocrisy.

 

And their confidence shows up in the funniest, simplest ways.

 

A Baby Boomer will stay and complain.

Gen X will endure quietly.

A Millennial will think about leaving the group chat for weeks.

Gen Z will exit mid-sentence without greeting.

Calm restored. Nervous system balanced.

You see the same thing at work.

A Gen Z will say, “I won’t be available after 6, but I’ll handle it tomorrow,” in the same tone they use to order lunch.

Meanwhile, their Gen X supervisor is sweating because boundaries have entered the meeting uninvited.

 

And here’s the truth that many people avoid:

The shift didn’t start with Gen Z alone.

Millennials cracked the door open.

Gen Z walked through and asked why the furniture was arranged like that.

 

That is where the misunderstanding often sits.

Gen Z is not rude.

They simply grew up in a world where information didn’t come with hierarchy.

They do not see age as automatic authority.

They believe respect is mutual, not inherited.

They question because questioning protected them from repeating the mistakes they watched in high definition.

Every generation is shaped by its tools.

Traditionalists had radio.

Boomers had television.

Gen X had global news.

Millennials had the early internet.

Gen Z was raised on the internet.

 

They didn’t come with the internet.

The internet came fully assembled with them.

 

If we had grown up with the same access, many of us would be moving the same way.

 

So instead of arguing about who is right or wrong, maybe the real lesson is that each generation is carrying something useful.

 

The older ones bring steadiness.

Millennials bring balance.

Gen Z brings clarity and courage.

Together, we are building something new.

A world where questions are not feared.

Where truth is not swallowed.

Where people are allowed to be fully human.

 

The mirror taught us who we are.

The microphone is teaching us who we can be.

 

Maybe that is the real Luxury Silk.