Explosions pounding into the ground and the sounds of guns and grenades being launched: World War II had millions of casualties and caused damage to many countries. With the small threat of another World War from the tension between the US and Iran, the teenagers of today’s world have a different view of the situation. 

Generation Z has experienced a higher rate of school shootings than any other generation, and with the rate of climate change growing, teenagers have experienced things like the California forest fires and the polar vortex. But Gen Z has also grown up with social media, cell phones, and the Internet. Through social media, people are able to share real or fake news in a matter of seconds—with millions of teenagers on the receiving end. 

“I think [social media] allows for false information and fear or increased fear amongst people who won’t go to the step further and actually look at what’s going on,” John Burkle, a social studies teacher at City High, said. 

On Twitter, the hashtag #ww3 was number one on trending from January 1 to January 7. Memes of a possible threat are on almost every social media app, depicting teenagers going into the draft and Donald Trump having mishaps with Siri. 

Since the development of Youtube in 2006, many teenagers and young adults of Generation Z and the millennial generation have tried to get famous online through videos, vines, and more. TikTok, which was previously known as Musically, is the newest way to become famous online. People can get famous for making 15-60 second videos of lip-syncing, dancing, drawing and painting, and memes, and getting them on the For You page, a selection of videos that appear on other people’s For You pages. 

In recent weeks, TikTok has blown up with short videos of people in uniforms “getting ready” for the draft, people reading and reacting to twitter memes, or talking about moving to another country or continent before it’s “too late.”

“I definitely think [trying to become famous] is where [the] majority of the jokes have come from,” Teddy Heredia ‘23 said. “While they’re funny, it’s also like, once again, you’re not understanding what’s actually going on.” 

There are many possible outcomes that could come from the recent news of the death of Iran leader Qasem Soleimani. It has increased tensions between the US and Iran but no further military action has been taken against the US from Iran.