Writings Lockdown Was Not a Pause for Gen Z. It Was an Incubation Chamber
For a long time, the lockdown was described as a break in real life, a period of fear, interruption, and social damage. That description is true, but it is incomplete. From where I stand, lockdown also became a hidden incubation chamber for Gen Z. It gave this generation a rare mix of time, digital immersion, reduced social pressure, and permission to experiment. What is showing up now in startups, side hustles, creative work, and founder culture did not appear from nowhere. A large part of it was incubated in those suspended years, when normal life stopped and possibility became visible in a new way.