What concerns me today is not that this generation is different. Every generation is different.
What concerns me is that too many of our young people are disconnected from the adults meant to guide them and are increasingly disconnecting themselves from one another. No hello, no goodbye, no effective communication response, no head nods, just a blank stare.
The New York Times called this introverted isolation the Gen Z stare. I once called it “Zombieism.” I now fearfully call this “Disconnected Youth.”
I see teenagers who are confident online but hesitant in conversation. Young people who can text effortlessly but struggle to look an adult in the eye and say, “Good morning.” Rooms where adults and youth occupy the same space, yet rarely share meaningful dialogue.
That silence between youth and adults is costing us more than we realize. Communication between generations is what keeps neighborhoods strong. It is how knowledge moves. It is how mistakes are avoided. It is how leadership is shaped. When that bridge weakens, the entire community feels it.
There was a time when wisdom was passed down naturally at bus stops, barbershops, in places of worship, and dinner tables. Young people learned how to carry themselves by being around adults who modeled responsibility. They absorbed work ethic, conflict resolution, patience, and accountability not through lectures, but through proximity.
Today, proximity has often been replaced with screens. Mentorship has been replaced with algorithms. While technology has brought convenience, it has also quietly widened the generational divide.
This is not about blaming young people. And it is not about criticizing parents. It is about acknowledging a shift. The consequences are subtle but serious. When young people avoid adult interaction, they miss opportunities to mature. They miss hard conversations that build character. They miss exposure to lived experiences that could shorten their learning curve. Growth requires friction, and healthy dialogue with elders providing it.
But adults lose something too.
When youth withdraw, adults lose the opportunity to pass on leadership to transfer lessons learned the hard way and gradually entrust responsibility. A community cannot sustain itself if wisdom stops circulating. Family values, traditions, systems, and culture begin to lose their pathway forward.
If we do not intentionally close this generational gap and reconnect our youth, we risk creating a generation where young people are formed but not informed. And yet, I remain hopeful. Because I have seen what happens when the bridge is rebuilt.
I have watched teenagers open up when an adult listens without judgment. I have seen young people rise when given responsibility instead of suspicion. I have seen elders soften when they choose curiosity over criticism.
Growing up as an adventurous, fearless boy, I am grateful for those who guided me, from school coaches who drove me home to the old-timers in the park who taught me how to play ball. I still remember fishermen who taught my friends and me how to fish at local water holes.
We were just kids on our bikes looking for something to do. Luckily, we were met with patience and a willingness to teach from our elders.
Let’s not allow those moments to become distant memories. Let’s return that spirit to our communities.
If we are serious about strengthening the Bronx, then we as adults must move first. The old principle still holds: Each one, reach one.
Here are five ways we can begin:
- Make conversation a daily practice. Put the phone down. Look a young person in the eye. Ask open-ended questions and truly listen.
- Share your story, especially the struggles. Young people do not need perfect adults. They need honest ones. Tell them about the mistakes and lessons that shaped you.
- Give responsibility before you think they are ready. Leadership grows through trust. Let young people lead something, plan something, own something.
- Correct with patience, not public shame. Guidance should build, not break. Calm correction teaches character.
- Create spaces where generations mix. Stoops. Community events. A pickup basketball game. Service projects. Wisdom cannot transfer in isolation.
The Bronx can never thrive when generations choose to ignore one another. We thrive when we reach back while moving forward. That is how maturity is built. That is how leadership is passed on. That is how a borough stays strong.
Bervin Harris is a Bronx-based youth development leader and the Founder, President, and CEO of Renaissance Youth Center. For over three decades, he has worked alongside families, educators, and community partners to create pathways in sports, music, STEM, and civic leadership for young people across the borough.
