From what I can see on YouTube, where I understand they mostly exist, Gen Z are not funny.
My apologies, I have become every old bore tutting through a crack in the curtains at the culture that succeeds them. Gratefully, I’m so out of the loop, eternal, I’m probably judging the wrong feed in the wrong content-trough. But even macabre curiosity won’t let me unseal TikTok.
In years of skimming the void, not one of these hackneyed micro-skits has gifted me a single chuckle. Not even drawn up the early twitches of a smile - and I’m easily amused. My life’s mission is blasting away the stigmas around easy amusement, one uproarious guff at a time.
These young adults are just not tickling me. Obviously, young adults should not be tickling me. I’m a rabid technophobe whose favourite social media platform is Google Drive.
On paper, my perspective is ‘I understand humour shifts between generations’. Not this paper, of course, the paper it’s written on, which my perspectives are not worth, apparently. See how the mumblings of legendary stand-up and catalytic potty-mouth, Lenny Bruce, hold up today. Even the greats don’t stand the test of time. These jump-cut comics don’t stand the test of a 15-second watch.
The very best comedians strike on a truth we all share within ourselves, a thought each of us felt was ours alone.
YouTube comedians harvest observations from every last grain of the human experience. Overacted sketches so on the nose they render the audience cross-eyed. For those chasing #InstantLaughs, the meaning of ‘on the nose’ is now ‘on the money’. That was on the nose, bruh. Direct hit!
Partisan podcasters celebrate the toilet spiral of traditional media. Crying out for the defenestration of Hollywood, with its meddling execs and clipboard-swinging gatekeepers. Turns out, on the other side of those gates was a tidal swell of talentless berks. Gates keep idiots off your front lawn.
Of course, a person is judged on the content of their character, not the characters of their content. In their defence, I’ve never met an unedited member of Gen-Z. I wonder how unfunny they are? No, I’m sure there are still weird little communities where wit flourishes.
Either way, the junk we consume is a reflection of the culture. I wonder if idolising the short-witted can stunt a teenager’s funny bones. They say Gen-Alpha is post-humor.
I know funniness is subjective, but if that’s what funny is now, then being funny is no longer my goal.
I have a theory that those who are funny often prefer to spend their time doing other things than making Tiktok videos or such. Could be wrong though. Love the content-and-character double whammy there. That will stay with me. (Still having interesting thoughts about houses on fire getting on...)
I am also conscious of being “that guy” and bemoaning the younger generation’s lack of wit etc. but… agree, much of it is just unwatchable.
Does Jackass, Salad Fingers etc. hold up, I wonder? Probably not.