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Naomi Anderson’s recent column on The Washington Stand makes a blunt point: telling Gen Z to “live your truth” has not been the kindness we imagined. She uses her own story and Barna polling to argue that the slogan, meant to free young people, has become a heavy burden. That argument deserves a straight answer — and a little common sense.
The burden of “live your truth” and Gen Z
The slogan sounds great: be yourself, speak your truth, don’t let anyone tell you who to be. But Anderson and a lot of data now say that message can leave young people unmoored. Barna polling — the same researchers faith groups and reporters often cite — finds roughly six in ten Gen Z say moral right and wrong depends on the individual. At the same time, independent health data show higher anxiety and depression among young people than older generations. Put those together and you get a lot of freedom with nowhere stable to land.
What the data really shows about moral relativism and anxiety
Yes, polls like Barna’s show many young people lean toward moral relativism. And yes, federal and academic studies show rising rates of anxiety and depression in adolescents and young adults. Those are two separate facts that can be linked without pretending we’ve proved a one‑cause miracle. Social media, economic pressure, broken institutions, and messages that say identity is up to you all push in the same direction. The result is a generation told to be their own map while walking through a dark forest — not exactly a recipe for calm.
Faith, community, and a steadier kind of truth
Anderson’s solution is straightforward: truth that is outside yourself — a steady authority and a community that teaches it. That’s not a nostalgic dodge; it’s practical. Families, churches, mentors, and traditions provide guardrails. They teach young people how to make decisions when feelings shift. If “live your truth” left plenty of kids anxious and exhausted, maybe the answer is not more slogans but more steady anchors — spiritual, moral, and communal.
We can mock the old rules or insist young people stay free to invent themselves forever. Or we can give them something that lasts when phones die and trends change. Anderson’s op‑ed is a reminder that freedom without anchors quickly becomes a burden. If conservatives want to help Gen Z, let’s push institutions that teach responsibility and a stable moral compass — offer maps, not mirrors. That would be worth their attention.
