Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with access to the Internet and digital and electronic devices. They were born in the late 1990s to early 2010s. 

Most of them in urban areas have access to delicious food and good clothes. They go to school and attend extra classes, travel a lot, and take part in extracurricular activities. However, they want more than that, according to Tran Van Anh, a psychology expert, who has been running summer camps for secondary and high school students. 

Many of them are “hungry” for cozy meals with the participation of all family members. But they have very few opportunities to do this because their parents have to work with clients, attend parties, and take extra jobs to earn more money. An eighth grader told Anh that he only has several meals with his parents a month. 

Others complain that their parents don’t listen to them and don’t understand them. 

“My mom said she understands me, but in fact, she doesn’t. Every time when I have a problem and seek her advice, she makes me feel that I am guilty,” an 11th grader said. 

“When I was at secondary school, I was bullied by some male students. I complained about this to my mom and she said ‘What did you do to make them act like this?’. The question made me think that I cannot find support from my mother,” she said, adding that she no longer confides in her mother. 

As a student in a high school for the gifted, she has a good learning aptitude and regularly participates in community activities. However, she said she sometimes feels tired about life because her mother still beats her and makes sarcastic remarks every time she expresses a view which doesn’t coincide with her mother’s opinion.

The girl said she hopes that time passes quickly so that she can finish high school and begin leading an independent life. 

Some Zoomers think they are worthless as parents criticize them all the time. Their parents compare them with other children from other families and tell them that they are much worse than other children though they have better conditions. 

Many of them feel a loss of face when being scolded and slapped by parents in front of the school gate, witnessed by friends, when they get bad grades or make mistakes at school. 

Gen Z also feel pain and helplessness when they are rejected by parents because they are part of the LGBT community. 

They also feel pressure from parents when they cannot do well in school like other students. They feel hurt when their names are called out by teachers at school meetings because of their mistakes. 

Even excellent students have problems. They live under pressure and the high expectations of parents.

“I will be scolded if I get an 8 score,” a secondary school student complained. 

One day, Anh attended a parents’ meeting and saw a mother telling her son’s teacher that she scolded the boy because he got only an 8 score on his schoolwork for English.

According to Anh, Zoomers have problems and feel pressure just like adults. In many cases, they cannot seek sympathy from their parents so they commit negative actions. Some of them make friends with bad people, get addicted or drop out. When they are doing these things, they are recognized, listened to attentively, and receive empathy, all of which they cannot find in their families.

“Sensitive” and “fragile” are words that Zoomers use to talk about their generation. 

Anh said that Gen Z needs to be understood, supported and approached skillfully in the family and at school.

Tran Van Anh