Are We Killing Our Emotions Because We Don't Want to Get Hurt? — Z Generation's Fear of Rejection and the Future of the Sacred Blank
【Genre】Philosophy, Society
日本語(original) | English version | 繁體中文（台灣）版 | Tiếng Việt
Hello everyone. This is Akira.
The other day, I read an article from Nikkei BP that left a deep impression on me.
I was particularly struck by the part about the emotional state of young people.
The desire to avoid getting hurt has become so strong that many hesitate to take any action from the start.
As a result, both joy and sadness become dulled, and emotions gradually flatten out.
On a quiet Sunday night, alone in your room, have you ever felt that your inner world is strangely still?
Like a calm sea with no waves and no wind — just a flat, motionless surface.
On such nights, many women feel that their emotions are too quiet.
According to a Cabinet Office survey in 2023, 64.5% of people said their purpose for working was “to earn money,” while only 12.8% answered “to find meaning in life.”
It has also been pointed out that the emotional range of younger generations has been reduced to about one-tenth of that of older generations.
This is not simply “laziness” or “not caring.”
It may be an emotional self-defense mechanism that modern society is forcing upon young people.
In an age of permanent digital records on social media and under the name of preventing harassment, expressing emotions itself has come to be perceived as a risk.
The pain of rejection now outweighs the joy of acceptance.
Because of this, romance has become more conservative. People escape into one-sided, low-risk relationships with their favorite idols (oshi-katsu), or they use personality tests as an excuse to connect with others.
When the brain becomes completely exhausted, people choose not to create emotional waves.
In that stillness, a quiet form of self-defense is born.
However, we must ask ourselves:
Is this state of “trying to keep emotions flat” truly protecting us?
Or are we quietly letting go of something essential in our souls?
Is this “calm” really a form of protection?
Or is it the beginning of the desertification of the soul?
This is not the “authenticity” that Heidegger spoke of, but rather a life that blends into society without making waves.
It resembles what Kierkegaard called “despair” — the state of “ceasing to be oneself.”
When you read this, how did you feel?
If, on a Sunday night, you feel even a slight discomfort in your chest,
it may be a sign that the desire to “avoid getting hurt” is quietly stealing your life away.
The courage to take the risk of reaching out to someone.
The moment of betting on yourself, even while fearing you might get hurt.
That single step may be the first step toward reclaiming the sacred blank.
Akira
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