The internet can be a hostile place. Trolls rule the comment sections, hot takes might as well be called mean takes, and we’re all one wrong post away from being cancelled. Or that was the case until recently.
Over the past few months, wholesomeness has become the new Gen Z aspirational #mood. Across social media, cute puppies or uplifting quotes are only a scroll away. While everybody is crushing on feel-good, non-problematic celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Harry Styles, and Sarah Paulson. As for messy night out vlogs? They’ve been replaced with Sunday morning resets and early night GRWMs (Get Ready With Mes). And although comfort content, like bad reality TV and strange ASMR videos, have been a mainstay for some time now, there’s something different at play here.
“While comfort content can include lots of random content designed to numb your brain and distract from stress, wholesome content has more substance and feels actively nourishing,” agrees Letty Cole, creative strategist at MØRNING and editor of Burn After Reading. “I think it’s a really sweet trend because it’s tentatively optimistic: lots of wholesome content celebrates the joy in life, like the feeling of awe when you see a video of a cool sea creature, or the satisfaction you get from watching someone make a nice meal, or the gratitude you feel when you connect to nature (even if via your phone screen).”
“It’s cool to be kind so there is a rise in it, but it’s both genuine and a trend,” Emily Chapps, digital creative lead at MØRNING adds. “PFPs of cute faces, including a deep-fried image of a kitten in a photo dump or signing off TikTok comments ‘bestie x’ is common; being wholesome is keeping up with the Joneses.”
It’s not exclusive to the internet either. In 2019, student Carlos Beaujean set up the KCL Wholesome society to “create a space for people to interact aside from the hectic social environment traditionally found at university”.
“‘Wholesome’ connotes friendly, supportive, and accepting. We hope that the atmosphere at our events contribute towards students’ positive mental health and wellbeing,” explains Julia Mathews, the president of KCL Wholesome Society. Whether it’s plant-pot painting, gingerbread-house making, or thrift shop crawls, both on campus or online on their Discord, KCL Wholesome Society shuns the more hedonistic side of university in favour of nourishing and well, wholesome, activities.
“I think that ‘wholesome’ means something different to Gen Z, free from those outdated connotations,” continues Matthews. “The word ‘wholesome’ now reflects something more positive, accepting, and feel-good. Perhaps this is in part due to Gen Z’s awareness of the importance of wellbeing and mental health, as well as a desire for positivity in a world with increasingly negative mainstream content.”
In the Nineties, being wholesome was practically synonymous with evangelical morality. Katie Holmes was wholesome. So were conservative family values. Simply put: it wasn’t what young people aspired to. Over the decades, it’s had a rebrand, with the launch of Buzzfeed’s “wholesome” category in 2014, helping to reintegrate the adjective into society. Whether that be through “21 People who restored our faith in humanity in 2021” listicles or “32 of the most wholesome things that have ever happened” roundups.
In an article for Vox, former BuzzFeed staff writer Natalya Lobanova explained why these articles performed well. “They’re basically a break from the constant barrage of bad news of the past few years. Wholesome memes will always do well after something devastating (Trump, Brexit, whatever) because in those moments, people crave to be reminded of good things, and to simply just switch off from feeling uneasy or angry.”
“I think we can see a pretty direct cause and effect,” agrees Cole on the rise of modern-day wholesomeness. “Gen Z are grappling with political uncertainty, a climate emergency, and the loneliness and burnout caused by late-stage capitalism: wholesomeness is just one way to cope. While some young people have found relief in nihilism and irony online (see: shitposting, fried memes, etc), there’s a huge swathe of young people that are seeking solace in comfort content.”
According to Unicef, one in five 15- 24-year-olds around the world “often feel depressed”. While, analysis of NHS data by mental health charity Young Minds found that the number of children in mental health crisis is currently at a record high in England. It’s hardly surprising, neither are the apathetic, hopeless responses that many are having. Faced with a worsening climate crisis, a dwindling job market, rising house prices meaning they may never afford to join the property market, and a global pandemic that stripped them of two years of proper schooling — it’s no wonder nihilism has been so rife.
In fact, in the face of so much superficiality and cynicism, Cole would even go so far as to say that aspiring to wholesomeness is a quiet form of resistance. “By definition, wholesomeness is morally good, and lots of wholesome content revolves around community, self-care, or the natural world,” she continues.
“I’m a huge advocate of seeing the beauty in our IRL lives at a time when we could all do with touching some grass,” Cole adds. “I think and hope wholesome content is a true reflection of our desires to go outside, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy our planet, one that I hope continues to manifest as Gen Z carves a way forward.”
“Wholesomeness is just nice to see — so why not post it?” agrees Chapps. “Why not DM someone a compliment? Why not help out if you can? Why not stop and smell the roses and tell everyone how great that is?”
