A Soulful Defence of the So-Called Sensitive Generation
Somewhere along the way, a generation began to be called “snowflakes.” The term, flung like an insult, suggested they were delicate, thin-skinned, unable to cope with discomfort or disagreement. It implied that feeling deeply was somehow shameful — and caring about justice, identity, mental health, or the planet was a sign of weakness.
But what if this wasn’t fragility at all? What if it was clarity?
What if those being called “snowflakes” were actually perceiving something others couldn’t – or wouldn’t – acknowledge? What if they were not collapsing, but responding appropriately to a collapsing world?
I’ve created a companion video for this post that explores the “snowflake” label and why sensitivity might be our clearest form of truth-telling. You can watch it here:
The Snowflake Slur: A Symptom of Cultural Denial
The word “snowflake” has become shorthand for over-sensitivity, particularly when younger generations express outrage, distress, or vulnerability. But the use of this term often reveals more about the speaker than the target. It deflects discomfort. It mocks moral concern. It avoids having to look more deeply at what’s being felt – and why.
In truth, the emotional intensity of younger generations is not a flaw. It is a signal. One that says: Something is wrong here.
They are not “offended by everything.” They are refusing to stay silent in the face of harm. They are not collapsing – they are refusing to dissociate. In a world conditioned to numbness, distraction, and performance, this alone is radical.
Seeing Clearly in a Failing System
Younger people are growing up in a context where the climate is breaking down, inequality is rampant, and old institutions no longer inspire trust. Of course they feel anxious. Of course they question inherited norms. Of course they’re angry, confused, and unwilling to play by the old rules.
This is not a generational weakness. It’s a generational truth-telling.
We could say they are fragile. Or we could say: they feel the tremors first. They name the injustices. They name the grief. They are mirrors we may not want to look into – but urgently need to.
From Snowflake to Seer: Reframing the Role
Instead of pathologising this sensitivity, what if we saw it as a kind of second sight? An emotional and ethical attunement to the deeper currents of our time?
This is the realm of the Edge Dweller – an Alternative Archetype (not yet published) that thrives at thresholds. The Edge Dweller lives at the borders between the old and the emerging, between breakdown and breakthrough. They are not rebels for rebellion’s sake – they are listeners, feelers, messengers. They perceive what’s shifting long before the centre does.
To dismiss them as snowflakes is to ignore the edge wisdom they carry.
In Consider the Ravens, Paul and Karen Fredette share the wisdom of modern hermits. In my review, I reflect on how their witness offers a quiet but radical counterbalance to a culture of speed and distraction, reminding us of the value of stillness and depth.
The Need for Elders, Not Critics
This moment in history doesn’t call for more scorn. It calls for eldership. Not in the sense of age, but of orientation – those who are willing to meet younger generations with listening, not judgment.
We don’t need to harden them. We need to honour them.
To support them not in toughening up, but in deepening their gifts. To create space for their grief, their vision, their fierce refusal to settle for a world that harms.
Choosing How We Respond
What if we responded to the “snowflake” insult not with defensiveness, but with curiosity?
What if, instead of asking Why are they so sensitive? we asked What are they sensing that we’re not?
And what if that sensitivity – far from being a flaw – turned out to be a compass pointing us toward what matters most?
For reflection
- Have you ever been labelled “too sensitive,” and how did it shape your view of yourself?
- Do you see sensitivity in younger generations as a strength or a challenge? Why?
- How might we, as individuals or communities, offer eldership instead of criticism to those who feel deeply?
Coming up
In the next post, we’ll look more deeply at how sensitivity is not just a personality trait, but an evolutionary asset – one that may be essential for surviving and reimagining life in a time of collapse.
Until then, consider this: Have you ever dismissed someone’s sensitivity – or your own? What becomes possible when we choose to see it differently?
Return to the start of this series on Sensitivity here