The latest online trend is trauma — and it’s all thanks to a more “self-aware” generation.

Gen Z’s attempt to destigmatize mental health issues and willingness to open up online has spurred a wave of trauma oversharing on social media platforms.

Meg Schnetzer, a trauma-informed somatic practitioner, has seen “an uptick” of young people talking about their past traumas online, going so far as to dub it a trend.

“There seems to be a lot of awareness, so that people are feeling safe enough to open up and share their experiences,” Schnetzer, 32, told Southwest News Service.

“When people are able to work up the courage to share, it ignites a whole movement.”

In contrast, Millennials have been taught to “invalidate” their experiences, which “feels easier” than addressing the emotions, the Deleware resident explained.

“We come from a generation who were invalidated a lot, had emotions minimised and were told to ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ rather than letting your feelings out,” she said.

Gen Z, however, is done “ignoring it.”

“Now Gen Z are owning their trauma responses and making a conscious stand,” said Schnetzer, who boasts more than 23,000 followers on TikTok.

“All in all, I think it’s a great thing that the generation seems to be more self-aware.”

TikTok has “accelerated” the uptake of Gen Z’s radical transparency — two years ago, she said she felt like she felt like she was “speaking into the void.”

“But now — especially in the last six months — it’s everywhere,” she said.

Clients who have come across the so-called trend online have asked the trauma-informed coach, “Why aren’t more people being taught this?”

“So while you can’t reach the entire world on TikTok, it makes a big difference — people don’t know things unless they hear it,” she said.

Despite the sudden interest in the topic of trauma, Schnetzer doesn’t have an issue with “trend” as long as it isn’t “thrown around flippantly.”

However, Schnetzer did not explicitly define what experiences Zoomers deem as “traumatic” during their sharing on TikTok.

The transparency of mental health online has also given way to potentially dangerous “therapy speak,” which critics claim is a weaponization of commonly misused therapy terms — such as “gaslighting” or “trauma” — to manipulate others.

Yet, discussions around mental health — like the content Gen Z is posting — could reduce the stigma surrounding mental health treatment.

“As far as trauma goes, I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” said Schnetzer.

She explained that trauma isn’t reserved for just the traumatic experience, and the support during the experience also informs its impact.

Our nervous system stores emotions and can influence future behaviors and reactions, such as addiction, self-isolation, people-pleasing, a lack of trust and lashing out at others, as a form of self-preservation and protection.

“I’m of the belief that nobody escapes trauma — it just looks different for everyone,” she continued. “Some people don’t even realize they have been through it.”

The beauty of the trendy TikTok topic, then, is that people might feel a little less alone.

However, experts have previously warned about the dangers of emotional over-sharing on social media as potential employers could glimpse something that would dissuade them from hiring a candidate.

A study, published last month, found that future bosses that saw a LinkedIn post discussing mental health struggles such as depression or anxiety would lead them to believe the candidate was “less emotionally stable and less conscientious.”