Some of us want to raise kids who never know a moment of discomfort; some of us are focused on raising kids who achieve all their dreams, no matter how much it costs. Some of us just want to be present and engaged, filling our kids with core memories, and some of us just want to go to bed every night knowing we did our best to keep our kids healthy, happy, and safe that day.
If you're Gen Z, you probably grew up on algorithms that whisper "monetize it" the moment anything feels fun. The importance of personal brands is constantly drilled into you, along with a side of LinkedIn wins, Etsy grinds, and side hustle culture. If you're good at something, you're told to sell it (or at least make it go viral). Google queries for "how to monetize content shot up 305% in the past month, while "how to build a personal brand " is up 67% year-on-year.
The boundaries between reception and response have collapsed. Digital whiplash has branded itself on to my cheek. My psychological tabs are maxed out, and there's no alert to clear storage or update my internal OS.