February 17, 2022
‘Live, Laugh, Love’: The Most Crushing Gen Z Insult, Explained
“Live, laugh, love” is Gen Z’s newest mockery of Gen X phrases, serving as a more of an insult than a genuine phrase for younger generations. An article on Yahoo! Life recently contributed to the conversation, with insights from agency president Stefan Pollack included in their analysis. Pollack is also the author of Disrupted, From GenY to iGen: Communicating with the Next Generation. Here are Pollack’s insights
On authenticity driving Gen Z
“As far back as 2012, when we were initially researching Gen Z for my book, we found that authenticity is one of the primary pillars that drive them. ‘Live, laugh, love,’ for younger generations, embodies the core inauthenticity they see in older generations. It has become shorthand for a society that is viewed as shallow or without true purpose.”
On Gen Z’s use of humor
“As represented in its purest form on places like TikTok, Gen Z humor embodies a sort of optimistic cynicism. In other words, they use humor to detach from what other generations view as important so they can focus instead on what is truly important. They are cynical in that they don’t subscribe to the same values as others, but are optimistic in that their values are stronger in some ways. This unique blend makes their humor more cutting and also more authentically pure than other generations.”
On social media’s impact on the evolution of language
“Gen Z is encapsulating the quick evolution of language through shorthand used on platforms like TikTok. Fluency is based on the understanding of shorthand and self-referential inside jokes, which exponentially increases and perpetuates through the viral nature of social media. Perhaps this effect on language is one of the more drastic we’ve seen in three generations.”
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