A special blog by BSWN Intern Adan Jirde
My name is Adan. I'm 18 and currently doing an internship at Black South West Network (BSWN). Having been raised directly in the middle of this complicated Generation Z, I have first hand experience of the strengths and challenges of our generation. We are the first generation to be born directly into technology, meaning during our entire lives we have had access to mountains of data and information on any topic that passes our wild imagination. The biggest effect this has had on us is that everyone now craves constant and immediate feedback. This is the result of having every query addressed with a few keystrokes.
Want to know when the next Fast and Furious comes out? Google it.
Forgot which chapters to read for biology? Text a classmate.
A photograph of Adan in Brunswick Square, Bristol.
I also believe that due to growing up in this technology-based era, our generation tends to learn differently with us being able to find answers with one Google search. I believe the education system is now more challenging for a lot of people as the struggle to learn the traditional textbook way is causing people to turn to friends for answers and Google answers for homework. This puts a lot of pressure on students who then struggle to consume the knowledge. The people of our generation have never had to leave a voicemail or send off an email and wait days for a reply. We want information now and have the tools to do so.
“Growing up in this generation has been interesting to say the least, especially being a young Black man myself. I have been subject to a lot of racism but have seen more cultural appropriation on the whole.”
Especially during secondary school, it was quite weird if I'm honest, the transition from being impacted by racism to facing cultural appropriation as a lot of kids went from having racist opinions to embracing Black culture like it’s their own. By the time I was leaving school, it was almost like being Black or Mixed heritage was the ‘cool thing’ to be to the students. Of course, the teachers still had their own bias or opinion.
I have even faced these institutional racial injustices my entire life throughout primary school, and mainly during secondary school when I attended a Grammar School where the environment was so hostile I ended up transferring to a comprehensive school. This was due to the Grammar school being built upon old systemic rules from as late as 1700s, and the fact that the majority population of the school was from a white Upper class background. It became almost impossible for me to fit in.
“It was specifically my relationship with the teachers that made me uncomfortable as I felt a lot of teachers had favourites and I was definitely not one of them. I felt it made me unable to excel when teachers have taken a disliking to me before we have even met.”
The transition to a Comprehensive school really changed my perspective on education, as they were very diverse and from when I arrived during Year 8, they were very welcoming. I believe being in an environment where you feel comfortable is essential to being able to thrive in education. Otherwise the pupils will feel demoralised and lethargic, leading to them potentially falling behind their classmates.
But we are also growing up and shaped by a world impacted by 9/11, Afghanistan wars, The War on Terror and a whole load of Racial Injustice giving us a sense of social justice, philanthropy and maturity. Personally I believe this had an impact on maturing me from a young age as I was fully conscious of everything going on in the world and the negative impact this is having. More specifically, the War on Terror had an impact on me as I was growing up as a Black Muslim during the rise of ISIS and other Muslim Extremist groups. There was even some racism I faced from it, but all of this led to me being extremely conscious of the social injustice all around the world.
We are also a generation heavily influenced by Influencers, whether that’s a big celebrity or a small Youtuber these influencers are able to share experience and opinions people trust and agree with. This is due to the relatability - some people feel inspired by them as these influencers are of similar age with some of them being as young as 15 or 16. A lot of these influencers tend to speak up about the injustices around the world and with how impressionable they are, they really get their messages across to the youth.
“The BLM protests really touched the hearts of our generation with a lot of us having first hand accounts of Institutional Racism. Young people took social media by storm, using our platform and influence to get our message across with hundreds of thousands of retweets on thousands of posts. ”
Especially during the BLM movement, these influencers were vital in leading virtual protests on social media and sharing key information daily, which really provided youths with important information they may not have had access to otherwise. This played a key part in making the BLM movement take off in the fashion that it did.
Another standout characteristic is how open our generation is about our anxiety and mental health, with a lot more people seeking help than in previous generations. Research suggests this spike in anxiety is most likely caused by social pressure applied by peers at school and the constant pressure social media puts on everyone to maintain a certain look. This is something I think almost everyone in my generation can relate to. Due to the rise in popularity of social media and influencers, everyone has gone through a moment where they feel pressured to purchase something or look a certain way because it’s trending or the cool thing to do. This is the downside of the Influencer-focused era we live in. this way, impacting their success.
Since I finished A-Levels, I have been working as an intern at BSWN which has given me fundamental skills such as working in a team. But more importantly, it gave me a broader perspective of racial injustice and the importance of the work they do by supporting independent and Minoritised communities and organisations, supporting them to have a voice which can be heard breaking away from the institutionalised past. As someone who may not have had a voice before, I find it inspiring knowing there are people working towards a society where Inequality is absent.