A Gen-Z musician pleaded with viewers to stream her music so she doesn’t have to work a corporate job.
In a viral Instagram video uploaded in October, 20-year-old musician Zoe Wynns urged viewers to listen to her music because she doesn’t believe she can physically handle working a 9 to 5 job.
“I know this is going to sound spoiled,” Wynns started off the video. “I know this is going to sound like some artsy creative who just doesn’t want to put in the hard work and hours but I physically do not think I can do it.”
She continued: “I start to cry if I have like three non-creative tasks to do in a day and imagining doing eight hours a day of something that I don’t really love for the rest of my life.”
The young musician, who is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, added that she began to promote her music on social media to avoid the typical career trajectory altogether.
“I heard this quote in a show once and it said ‘people like us can’t live normal lives, if we try it kills us,’” she said. “And honestly, I am throwing myself into that category, ‘cause I think I will simply die.”
In the post’s caption, she wrote that she was “made to create,” before asking people to stream her music once more. Wynn reportedly already amassed a following of 2,500 followers on Instagram, and since she posted the video in October, her video has garnered over 4,900 likes and 2,900 comments.
Her video drew some controversy, with many calling her “spoiled” for complaining about potentially having to work a typical eight-hour day. Across all generations, workers have taken issue with the 9 to 5 workday, but as Gen-Z has begun to enter the workforce, they’ve increasingly taken to social media to voice their concerns.
Wynns’ post went recently viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, in early December after it was reshared by End Wokeness, a provocative, right-wing account that has 1.9m followers. The post received over 2.1m views and was accompanied by the caption: “Get ready. This is our new workforce.”
Users were quick to attack Wynns’ character in the comment section, deeming her an example of everything that is wrong with Gen-Z. One person wrote, “My take is that most of this new generation (not all) lack that hard work ethic we were raised by because they grew up in the instant gratification era. They don’t take pride in hard work. They only do ‘enough’ or the bare minimum because they think they should be paid more to do more.”
“Life is going to be hard for her generation,” another added.
Other people defended Wynn, saying that it was normal for a young person to feel daunted by the idea of committing to the 9 to 5 schedule coming straight out of university. Not only that, but students like Wynn are figuring out what path they want to take, whether that’s aiming for the stability of a corporate job or chasing her dreams.
“She’s clearly stating she has no interest in being a part of the collective workforce,” one person wrote. “She’s trying to do what SHE wants. Not what the powers that be want. There is nothing ‘woke’ about this. We’re told as kids to chase our dreams and then mocked by those too afraid to when we do.”
“When we were all immature, young adults, we all had the same kind of thoughts,” someone else added.
The transition from university to the workforce isn’t always easy, and according to a 2023 study from the Marie Christie Institute, many young graduates aren’t “emotionally” prepared for the workforce. Affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the omnipresence of social media, young adults are at an emotional disadvantage, with more than half of 1,005 graduates between the ages of 22 to 28 admitting that in the previous year, they have sought help for mental health issues like anxiety or depression.
The Independent has contacted Wynn for comment.
