The Viral ‘My First War’ TikTok Trend Is a Perfect Example of Gen Z’s Preferred Coping Mechanism

As tensions heat up in Iran and Israel, Gen Z is doing what they do best: coping with the situation with dark humor. (It’s the IRL “everything is fine” meme with the dog sipping coffee as the room burns in flames around him.) This has sparked a new TikTok trend dubbed the “my first war” trend, where young people are sharing videos of how they are coping with the escalating situation between the two countries in the Middle East.

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For those who haven’t been anxiously following the news...