Woke or just a clueless Genz?

Posting isn’t protesting, buying isn’t activism, and awareness is just another overpriced trend.

By Tiya Chugh

Remember the days when people actually fought for change, whether through revolt or revolution? Fast forward to today, and everything’s shifted. Back then, being “woke” meant awareness with action. Now, it’s all Instagram posts and hashtags. Enter GenZ, the new “enlightened” generation, fighting for change, one post at a time. Who needs protests when you can just share a story and call it a day? The revolution seems more like a trend, but hey, at least the likes are real.

Nothing proves this better than activism turning into a fashion statement, literally. Brands have mastered selling social justice, and people buy it without question. Gap once released a “Empower” hoodie as part of a women’s equality campaign in 2018-ironically, it was reported to be made in factories where female workers faced low wages and poor conditions. Nike preaches equality but dodges labor abuse scandals. And H&M? Oh, they love the word ‘sustainability’, as long as you don’t ask why their factory workers are still struggling to survive.

But does anyone care beyond the aesthetic? As long as the tote bag screams girlboss and the sweatshirt has a recycled tag, they will flex their wokeness on Instagram, blissfully unaware they are funding the very exploitation they claim to fight. Woke culture isn’t about real change anymore. It is just another luxury label, and its most loyal customers are the same people, who claim to be against Capitalism, while wearing overpriced “activist” merch.

“GenZ’s so-called activism is more about validation, and clout than real change. They hop on trending issues not because they genuinely care but because it gets them views and engagement” says Manav Sharma, a 24-year-old from Lucknow, who runs the Instagram page ‘humorwalaladka.’ He may not love being Gen Z, but even he admits, the real cause here is attention, not activism.

And this isn’t new. Take the India’s Got Latent controversy—suddenly, jokes are treated like crimes? Samay Raina isn’t forcing anyone to watch his content; it’s behind a paid subscription, meaning people choose to pay, watch, and laugh. But the moment it became a trending outrage, everyone jumped on the bandwagon. “Nothing will change unless people stop performative activism and start changing themselves first,” adds Manav.

“Honestly, half the time I forget what the outrage was even about. It’s like, everyone’s angry, then suddenly we’ve moved on to the next thing. If activism’s just whatever’s trending, is anyone actually doing anything?” says Arav Choudhary, 21, a communications student from Pearl Academy.

As Socrates said, “True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.” Too bad Gen Z missed that memo. They can’t last 10 hours at work, but will confidently school you on social issues they just Googled. Half-baked facts with full-blown opinions. If half-knowledge is dangerous, what do you call loud ignorance? Oh right, a GenZ trait.