It’s no secret that our kids have co-opted the pop culture of our youth — who can blame them? From Star Wars to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to TV shows like Friends (😢) and the music and tech we innovated, our formative years bridged the gap from the “good old days” to today’s chaotic postmodern world. As Brian once pointed out:
As the father of two Gen Z teenagers, I see — for better or worse — that we created the framework they inhabit. There’s nothing they’re down with that shocks me, and I can explain (to glazed-over eye rolls) the influences that inform their obsessions.
Still, there’s something excellent about our kids resurfacing our touchstones, especially how it ushers in nostalgic feelings when we need them most. The latest viral TikTok account, Snoopy Sister (@Snoopyiscool), revives the pop existential perspective we were raised on starting in 1965 with A Charlie Brown Christmas. In the face of a mounting polycrisis, we can find inspiration in the iconic comic Peanuts to help soothe our inner turbulence.
What Dogs Us
Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz couldn’t have foretold today’s troubles, but he could certainly relate to living in challenging times. As Blake Scott Ball, author of Charlie Brown’s America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts, notes:
The comic ‘was about the difficulty of existing as a regular human being in the 20th century … just how hard it is to handle the immensity of problems that faced us, and hold all that together with your daily concerns.
Reconciling that divide isn’t simple. When you witness tragedies from afar by taking in the news, your body and mind react as if they were there in a response psychologists call “vicarious trauma.” This can make you feel depressed, anxious, hopeless, and helpless, leading to paralyzing apathy, which can compound and prolong the pain.
When your anxieties have anxieties, it’s time to take a page out of the Peanuts playbook.
Stay (Joe) Cool
Snoopy is a great role model not just for our kids but also for us when times are bleak. His defining features and go-to activities are the kinds of things necessary to take care of yourself during tumultuous times:
- Don’t bottle up your feelings: You don’t have to talk to let your emotions fly (i.e., crying, even at a party).
- Maintain a regular routine: Keep things like suppertime sacred.
- Adopt healthy coping mechanisms and take breaks: Skip the booze and do things that bring you joy (i.e., read, write, dance)
- Ask for help: Rely on your friends, family, or a good therapist.
And remember, happiness is a warm puppy. So stick there, and you’ll find yourself less likely to feel the urge to scream Good Grief!
The Hero Gen Z Needs (The Atlantic, gift article)
