Gen Z can be a paradox, an amalgamation of stress, spirituality, freedom, and heavy constraints. Navigating a world so different from that of even their own parents or siblings just a generation prior can make everything seem daunting. New technologies, high competition, grind culture, and the question of whether AI will ruin all potential job opportunities. On the other side of that coin is a generation that has fallen in love with spirituality, wellness, and meditation. Gen Z has always loved blending the modern with the foundations of tradition, and spirituality is another sector they have explored. Finding ways to make the practices more accessible through social media, guided courses, and new definitions of what it means to be spiritual. Mindfulness apps, TikTok tarot readings, and a vast collection of crystals, spirituality has become mainstream in many communities.
Meditation as Self-Care, Not Religion
“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there, buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.” — Deepak Chopra
Meditation can now come to your screen as easily as ordering a McChicken through the McDonald's app. It's being woven into the wellness routine of every influencer alongside a plant-based diet, journaling, and a relaxing skin care routine. With all the craziness in the world, personal pressures, and rising prices. According to CivicScience, 1 in 5 Gen Zers have used meditation apps that offer daily guided meditations, such as Calm or Headspace. This rise can show the need for younger generations to feel closer to themselves through meditation, opting for a convenient version of it when also tackling a hectic schedule. Mindfulness apps have allowed for spirituality to be easy and cheap when needing a healthy way to relieve stress. Meditation for stress and anxiety has become a common way to destress before or after long and demanding days.
Meditation has deep origins within the popular and traditional Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. These practices all began having been ways to achieve self-realization and peaceful mindfulness, yet were heavily tied to the beliefs of the religion for centuries. These practices were originally taught and practiced through the guidance of religious frameworks. According to the Survey Center on American Life, more than one-third of Gen Z identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated. With the trend showing lessened ties to organized religion, many spiritual practices close this gap for people. As the shift away from religion trends in the West, meditation has been severed from its original religious roots and has been rebranded as a secular self-care activity.
As the spiritual world becomes more popular in the West, how far until it will no longer honor its original roots? Modern spirituality seems to further detach itself from its origins. While its origins do not exclude those outside of the religion, paying homage to where the traditions came from can help add depth and connection through cultural context, instead of making it seem like a universal practice. Learning about its origins and history allows the practices to feel more authentic and grounded. Many aspects of spirituality are eye-opening with a rich history, yet are overlooked in Gen Z spirituality. Understanding where they came from can be more enriching as it adds a new layer of depth to a healthy practice and mindset.
TikTok, Aesthetics, & Accessibility
From ancient Hindu doctrines to 6-second TikTok trending sleep meditation audios, the home of spirituality can easily be accessed through TikTok meditation trends. It allows the practices to spread easily and become more accessible for people from around the globe. These trends help push meditation and mindfulness practices to become common and easy to interact with. More easily digestible than the anxiety of going to a physical space and joining people who have been in the community for longer. It is also beneficial for more introverted people as they can access information and a community through their screen.
While many people may be sharing their love for spirituality with a wider audience, some people’s hearts may not be in the right place. The rise of tarot readings forecasting the futures of thousands of viewers can be problematic, taking something with a rich history and exploiting it for views. This type of content can be harmful, as it can feed into the delusions of younger or more vulnerable viewers. It can also reduce spiritual practices to a content creation machine, cheapening its public image and making the practices more superficial. When spiritual content is shared without the correct intentions simply as a cash grab, this can be extremely harmful to viewers' perceptions of the practices.
When powerful practices are oversimplified and commodified, they can lose their meaning and become another cog in the capitalist money-making machine. The best practice is maintaining authenticity in spiritual spaces to benefit everyone involved.
The Feminine Energy Shift
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Cyclical awareness to align with the moon to groups of women gathering to channel goddess energy together, spirituality, and the feminine have started to go hand in hand. Feminine energy practices have become powerful ways to foster connectivity and deeper meaning within groups of women, combining their energies. Meditation has often been regarded as a discipline-based practice from the old world, led by monks and those on a higher plane. Now it has become more accessible with less hierarchy, which has led to the rise of feminine energy entering the space and finally being at the forefront of the spiritual world. The shift toward intuition, creativity, and connection in feminine ways can be a powerful change in the movement, one that might be likely to stay, as primarily women have begun creating content and taking charge of community meditation efforts.
Feminine energy within spirituality can trace its roots back to early Hinduism through Shakti. Shakti encompasses the divine feminine energy, creation, and flow. This energy can often be channeled through different goddesses or as a female being. Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Kali are all the goddess personifications of Shakti. They highlight how feminine energy can be bold as well as nurturing, how the feminine divine can shine through in different energies.
While many spiritual people in the modern sphere of spiritualism may not learn the origins, it makes sense that similar teachings would resonate with the younger generation. The feminine in Western culture is usually seen as being tied to motherly duties and passivity, often mocked for being less important than stereotypically masculine traits. In spiritual spaces, the feminine becomes a source of power, where these traits are not weaknesses and are more multifaceted.
Skepticism & Authenticity
In an era where eating takeout on TikTok live can make you a millionaire, the era of constant monetization can lead to inauthenticity within spiritual communities online. Performative spirituality is constantly filling up hashtags. This can be misleading, and in some cases cause physical harm.
For example, in recent years, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand released a Yoni/Jade Egg promising that it would have healing properties that would increase overall feminine energy. In reality, healthcare professionals highly dissuaded consumers from using the product as it was unsafe and led to a refund for all buyers, and a fee had to be paid. Extreme commercialization and inflated claims that products can offer spiritual healing or unlock people’s inner energy can be dangerous and overall harm the public image of spirituality. Making those against it chop it up to something that greedy people use to profit off of people’s craving for healing.
Profiting off of sacred traditions is harmful to those who believe in your messaging and deeply disrespectful to those whose cultures have been watered down to a price tag. In the era of callout culture, there is still a prevalence for creators to push their own opinions and products as the highest form of enlightenment, with no real backing. Spirituality is more than a trend or phase; it is a way of life in many cultures and should be respected even when practiced thousands of miles away from its birthplace. While these practices should be inclusive to everyone, there should be a level of respect paid to where they came from.
Finding creators who embody the true meaning of spirituality rather than just following TikTok meditation trends can be empowering. It can be a way to meet like-minded women and heal together, especially within marginalized communities. Lauren Ash founded Black Girl In Om, which was created as a safe space for women of color to breathe, highlighting spirituality. Other creators, such as Sunaina Rekhi and Wellness with Manisha, help make spirituality accessible for all while staying grounded in the origins of the practices.
Why Meditation Resonates
Inflation, job markets on the decline, increased societal pressure, and endless competition, Gen Z is one of the most stressed generations yet. This has led to the push towards meditation as self-care and an emotional regulation process. When you are constantly being fed a stream of anxiety through technology, unplugging and becoming one with yourself can be one of the few times when you can truly breathe. Meditation for stress and anxiety is an unskippable itinerary item for many people’s daily routines.
The correlation between the high anxiety levels within the generation and their heightened importance on wellness cannot be seen as simply a coincidence. Modern spirituality has become an outlet to forget external stressors and connect with oneself or others. These practices can help regulate the nervous system (example: breathwork) and can help be a tool for grounding. Reclaiming agency, a sense of self, and inner tranquility in a world that seems so often up in flames can help lead to long-term resilience and clarity.
The open embrace Gen Z has given spirituality can be seen as a sign of the times. Looking toward the ancient world in times of modern uncertainty can provide clarity. Remixing the old and new to come up with new ways to handle a stressful world with constant stimulus can be empowering across all demographics. Younger generations are heading the new wave of modern spirituality in ways that are more inclusive, progressive, and often community-based (whether physically or digitally). When these practices are shared with positive intention and a deeper understanding is sought, they can form long-lasting healing and healthy mindfulness for a wide audience.
by Maya Shah