When was the last time you heard someone say, ‘youth is wasted on the young’? Been a while hasn’t it.
Even without rose tinted glasses on (and we have a pair each at F&F) it’s hard not to think that youth just used to be better; more free, more sex, less responsibility, less pressure, better drugs, parents who didn’t track your every movement, Andrew Tate didn’t exist…
Today young people, especially those over 18, are the most stressed out, the most depressed, the most anxious and the most lonely people on the planet.
When we meet young people they talk about being unable to find a partner, being too tired to dance, unable to work out their purpose in life, giving up on systemic change, monetizing their every move in the name of hustle, and never being able to afford to have a decent life.
This is what happens when a generation comes of age in a world of disruption, instability and crisis. But perhaps most importantly, a world that feels like it’s coming to some sort of end.
Where youth used to be a time protected from adult responsibilities and dedicated to preparing for adulthood via education, play and experimentation it’s now a time where our kids are bombarded with doom, porn, pressure and hate. And on a screen alone in their bedroom.
Unfortunately the youth experience now is simply wasted.
Welcome to issue 4 of Bones – The Youth Issue..
– Ian Pierpoint
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Boys Will Be Boys?
One of the assumptions about the youth experience is that it’s always more progressive than what came before. Whether it be attitudes toward diversity or drugs, young people are usually one step ahead of those a little older, right? But in our research we keep seeing and hearing things that make us think that…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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The Dream of Calm Boredom
I spend a lot of time talking to youth, and one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to stereotypes about them is that they’re “addicted to their phones”. Most of the young people I hang out with are being quite thoughtful about what they do with their time, are being purposeful with how…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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Corporate Networking is Cool!
Interview with Cindy Gallop Make Love Not Porn We seem hell bent on supporting youth and sex through banning, censoring, ‘protecting’, blocking, editing, ignoring and conversion therapying. Society is obsessed with sex, yet we seem only capable of making it more fake and contrived as people seek the authentic, more commodified as the web gets…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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BONES ON THE STREET: GEN Z
In our industry, Gen Z is one of the hottest topics. It seems like everyone has an opinion and as researchers and filmmakers, a lot of these expert opinions on the generation seem far too simplistic, especially once you actually spend some time around the subjects in question.
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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Conversation with Isaias Hernandez the Queer Brown Vegan
Isaias Hernandez is an educator and content creator devoted to improving environmental literacy, storytelling and advocating for the lives of humans and animals alike. He’s most commonly known by his moniker: Queer Brown Vegan. Also the name of his independent media platform, where you can find all his content. Covering topics like ecological wealth, vegan…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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Today’s Parental Paradox
Navigating the topic of having children has long been the bane of many a family dinner discussion. Traditional beliefs have perpetuated the idea that a woman’s primary purpose is to become a mother. Yet we’ve all heard it in the news that we are currently experiencing historically low birth rates. Why would you want to…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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Uppers + Downers
PROTECH YA NECK UPPER Despite how very cool and glamorous it is to sport the delicate hunch of tech neck, Gen Z is yet again bucking the mold. A recent resurgence of dumb phones is blossoming alongside the growing mental health concerns stemming from overconsumption of social media. I wonder if they come with Snake?…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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Give it to me straight, Doc. How long?
Interview with Maitri Many people can relate to experiencing sleepless nights following the release of a new climate report. The mind helplessly oscillates between states of anger, despair and suffocating dread. Or if you’re lucky you can completely dissociate from your emotions for long enough to fall asleep. For those old enough to remember at…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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Featured Artist – Austen Renzi
I grew up at a young age capturing film photographs and continued in my teenage years using a digital camera. Moving to NYC and studying photography at school there opened up a whole world of creating images of people right in the moment. Whether it was a friend, family, stranger, or scene without anyone in…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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The Evolution of Vice
“Jesse X,” offers a unique approach to selling drugs, delivered right at the doorstep. This Gen Z runs a thriving business, indicating a shift in drug culture. We talk ADHD diagnoses and the popularity of Ketamine.
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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About Those Online Friends
Youth today is deeply tied to social media and online culture. Digital reality is a foundational part of young life, and that means that it’s an undeniable part of friendships and other relationships. It was, after all, the inaugural promise of the internet: to connect with new people from across the globe, to expand the…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi
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The Cops Killed Howl Kalashnikov
Kabuki-chō: a wonderland of desire and temptation, secrets around every corner. Japan’s biggest red-light district; a maze of neon-slicked pavement where tourist traps share elevators with whorehouses, loan sharks with blowjob bars. For the gen-z escorts whose faces plaster entire facades in advertisements boasting of their nightly earnings, it’s a place to get rich quick,…
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– Photograph by Austen Renzi