The polar bear video on TikTok isn’t just entertainment; it’s a symbol of Gen Z grappling with truth. As smartphones became ubiquitous around 2010, so did mental health issues like anxiety and depression among adolescents.

Research shows that social media doesn't just change what young people consume; it alters how they process reality. Questions of truth now often depend on identity, emotion, and social validation rather than institutional evidence and debate.

New York University's Scott Galloway argues that platforms like Facebook and TikTok are not just social networks but influence engines shaping what millions believe is real. Engagement has replaced human judgment as the organizing principle online.

Climate change activism among Gen Z, such as Xiye Bastida’s work, shows how social media can create an emotional understanding of crises. However, this comes at a cost: credulity in favour of peer networks ensures distributed verification but may lack institutional robustness.

The future of truth might be socially curated and emotionally optimized, pre-curated by algorithms before it even reaches the surface. How will Gen Z navigate this torrent of information?