found herself drawn to the peaceful ambiance created by the video. The scintillating candles, the steady flickering of incense sticks in the background. There was a gentle lilting music over the top of the warm, steady voice dispensing spiritual guidance. Normally, this kind of spiritual hokum would elicit an eye roll from Sophia, but today it was… almost comforting. There was something refreshingly serene about the change of pace from flashy materialism, swearing and the generally nauseating harsh colours and blaring music that had become a staple of social media apps in recent years. Not fully convinced by the words the spiritual advisor was whispering, she saved the video for later, feeling a weird sense of unease. She had been non-religious for as long as she could remember, but something about the video spoke to her. Or at least it felt that way. As days passed, the videos began to offer her a sense of safety and solitude. It wasn’t so much that she believed in everything they spoke about, but more that they offered her a sense of peace. The aesthetics spoke to her too: there was something quietly hopeful and peaceful about them. It wasn’t so much that she believed in every practice, more that she found some quiet reflective safety in the videos and incorporated them as part of her routine.
This story was submitted as part of the King’s Study Phase of the Gen Z Role Models Project. Added April 2026.
“found herself drawn to the peaceful ambiance created by the video” (S186) © 2026 by The Gen Z Role Models Project is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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