Co-authored with Dr. Daniel Trottier

In our previous article, we explored how Gen Z is experiencing a quiet, collective grief over a vanishing sense of security, possibility, stability, and imagined futures. These intangible losses are shaping a generation in profound ways, and recognizing them is key to both personal healing and meaningful social change.

Grief awareness matters deeply, as people search for new meaning in the wake of economic disruption and collective loss. When we orient to grief together, we can re-conceptualize a deeper understanding of the world, our shared place in it, and how we relate to one another.

This process of reorientation of communal grieving can create the conditions for empathy, solidarity, and purposeful change. Without recognition, though, collective grief can also fuel political polarization, radicalization, and despair.

Grief doesn’t always look like crying or wearing all black clothes. Sometimes, grief presents itself as outrage, scapegoating, conspiracy thinking, and online radicalization. When a society or larger culture refuses to hold space for feelings of grief, it can mutate into something darker, more reactive, and dangerous.

We see this unfold in real time across digital platforms. Many people express their distress online, often blending grief with grievance. Economic........

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