Too consumed with the perceptions of themselves by their peers, Gen Z refuses to let go and dance.
Live music has strayed from a place where people find community, and has turned into the audience looking around nervously or on their phones. Has the saying, “Dance like no one is watching,” completely lost its presence in the modern-day going-out culture?
I am a daughter of two “Deadheads” who constantly had the Grateful Dead playing in our home growing up. Whether it was in the kitchen making breakfast, outside grilling on a summer day or in the living room on family game night, my parents made sure the house was filled with the music of Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir.
With this music came dancing, and I have always associated movement with some of my happiest moments with my family.
Growing up with that environment in my house, I was shocked at the difference between my parents’ generation and mine when going to concerts.
Two summers ago, my mom took me to a Grateful Dead cover band show at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park. Being that I was the youngest there by at least 25 years, I noticed a dramatic difference in the audience. Everyone was dancing, laughing, and there were barely any cell phones in sight the whole night. No one seemed to be concerned about what they looked like and only worried about allowing themselves to feel the music as they pleased.
I asked my mom and dad to explain what it was like to go to Grateful Dead concerts in San Francisco in the 1980s. They described these shows as being filled with grandparents, teens and “old-style hippies.” Even with the wide range of demographics, there was never a divide or judgment between the crowd. The acceptance of their peers made the crowd come together and create a relaxed environment that allowed people to feel seen while also not worrying about how they were being perceived.
Gen Z has an unfair disadvantage of growing up with social media being a huge part of how we connect.
In middle school and high school, I saw completely online relationships form among my peers. I would look around during school dances and see everyone filming one another or just standing around scrolling through their phones. It was easier to avoid the risk of being filmed and embarrassed than actually enjoying ourselves and doing as we pleased.
I am not entirely sure what needs to happen for Gen Z to let loose and integrate music and dancing as a significant part of socializing. I think getting out of the mindset that everyone is watching you is a hard thing to overcome, but it always helps to remember that nobody judges you harder than yourself. We are all too busy worrying about how we are being perceived to remember the little “embarrassing” things that the people are doing around us day to day that seem like the end of the world to themselves.
Cellphones make the fear of a large audience seeing you dance and sing a reality, but have we all become so obsessed with our digital image to assume that anyone really cares?
Kaitlyn Stattler is a former Town Crier intern and Mountain View High School graduate who is a senior at the University of Oregon.
