There is an obvious irony in nonchalance. Signaling unconcern for other’s opinions or conventions requires more effort than true neutrality in the first place. Simply being laid back or calm isn’t an issue, but many covet detachment, viewing being emotive as undesirable.
Our generation has adopted nonchalance as an accessory without realizing how depressing and materialistic it is to change your personality to fit into a group or trend. Acting immune to sudden bouts of emotion defies human nature and quashes creativity.
Nothing important happens because it was sparked by emotionlessness. Our generation's engagement with politics and creativity has become compromised by our craving for external validation. Expression is the antithesis to apathy; it requires a level of embarrassment, discomfort and obsession. Fashion and attitude are always in tandem with politics and social transformations, their vessels being individuals.
The pioneers of art nouveau challenged established institutions with often obnoxious or corny art — that is how they influenced new and freeing ideologies, as did the flappers, French realists and '70s punks. However, in fearing critique of their personality or actions, "nonchalanters" become overly self aware and void the opportunity for personal and societal growth. To create is to shine light on the human condition, but what happens when we suppress the human condition itself?
Our economic system benefits when we become a labor force free of agitation and fatigue, and our social trends reflect this. The endless demand for labor affects our dispositions, but if people are dissatisfied with current conditions, detachment is not the way to combat them. A surefire way to kill art, innovation and collaboration is to be unaware of how the mechanisms of our surroundings shape or dampen our personalities.
Contemporary creation is how eras of the past are remembered and how the freedom to change the future is maintained. A personality being so performative that a label emerges for it diminishes the range of different perspectives we should communicate. Considering the ties nonchalance has to fashion or comedy, many nonchalanters would be well-suited to making statements people would care about, but they would need uniqueness, assertiveness and vulnerability in their delivery to do so.
It’s not that there isn’t a valid reason for the rise of nonchalance in Generation Z. Financial security and class mobility are declining while the internet is mass-desensitizing us to everything, interrupting our dopamine pathways with information overload. But, closing yourself off by pretending not to care isn’t an ideal coping mechanism; it just makes you lonelier.
Deeply participating in and appreciating smaller tangible experiences, or mindfulness, is a balm to certain harmful thought cycles. Nonchalanters sidestep small, present encounters, like running to meet your friend, stopping to pick flowers or humming on the way to class. Being publicly chalant can let you fear other’s opinions less over time and forge deeper connections. And of course, cheer is infectious.
Gradually, more of us will fall victim to nonchalance. It is a protective mechanism to claim immunity to others’ judgements while agonizing over your reception. This movement away from expressing and receiving emotion, however, is not healthy for anyone. Feigned nonchalance becomes real apathy if such thought patterns stagnate long enough.
