Review: Gen Z’s relationship with social media is the route into this documentary but it goes wider than that to explore behaviour modification, the “post-truth” political landscape and emotionally manipulative social media business models.
Set against a backdrop of Aldous Huxley quotes and snippets taken from social media, I Am Gen Z interrogates what our increased connectivity is really doing to our brains. Through interviews with neuroscientists, authors, tech developers and behavioural psychologists we learn that, historically, with each major advancement in the way information is controlled, social unrest follows.
I Am Gen Z moves swiftly between topics, covering digital technology’s impact on interpersonal relationships, body image, mental health and more. This ambitious catalogue of themes is stitched together with impeccable, fast-paced editing. The documentary seamlessly moves from explaining the deliberately addictive nature of social media to digital privacy violations and the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Despite its message of hope – Gen Z is the most empathetic generation yet – the documentary doesn’t sugarcoat the way digital technology has changed our lives, not necessarily for the better. I Am Gen Z is an unflinching look at how society’s rules, designed for an analogue world, just don’t work in the digital one.
Ali McClary
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