Young people posing on neon-lit escalators in a futuristic urban setting with floating objects.

Being Nonchalant is overrated There has been a recent internet trend of being nonchalant. Videos doing a “nonchalant challenge” where a group of friends each try to do mundane things like stop the elevator or walk down the stairs with an air of indifference, or effortless swagger. While this is just a silly internet trend that lived and died in the span of a few months as nearly all of them do, I think it speaks to the world view of the younger generations at large. While the trend is new, this sentiment from GenZ has been around for a long time. It can be seen in terms like try hard, sweat, or hardo, all of which describe giving full effort albeit to different degrees and in different situations. The glorification of appearing to not be trying and the derogation of being seen exerting oneself combines to make a gross coping mechanism that creates a barrier to living life in its fullest capacity. If the idea of being nonchalant is pedestalized, one's ability to be fully immersed in their life takes a massive decline. It is like listening to purple rain underwater vs being 5 feet away from Prince himself while he plays. You are getting the muffled, watered down experience rather than the deeply meaningful one. To put your full effort on display means that you are vulnerable. With the protection of not trying, people cannot point to your true shortcomings as the point of failure, rather their criticisms can be deflected by saying “I wasn't even trying that hard”. It puts See more