Gen Z engagement/proposal shoots- how much of a surprise is it?

Social media has twisted that generation beyond repair. They are growing up in an alternate reality from the one we grew up in. I look around and don’t even recognize this country anymore.

The real weird ones are half naked maternity photo shoots, what do you do with a bunch of solo pregnancy shots? Put them in your living room?

Women are into escalating money spending against each other. Newborn pics, dance outfits, and all kinds of shite *nobody* cares about except in the 48 hours after it gets posted. But cost how much again? Have I ever looked that the pictures that were taken of my newborns after the photog delivered them? Once in a decade? For sure, ask for student loan forgiveness in five years, you deserve it, girl.

If you want to go full d!ckhead route, I have all the DVDs containing marriage photos from my ex-wife from almost 15 years ago. You know when she asked for them?

Yeah, pretty much what you thought. Totally useless. But it indicates she (ETA: your soon to be spouse) has a pretty hard devotion to being extrinsically motivated by social media feedback. That's not out of the norm for the current gen, but it's out of the norm for human beings that want to be mentally healthy. Hold the line.

"PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEEE"
-Every generation since FB went public in 2007.

overdone, fancy pictures are a microcosm of society. It's like the "fancy" hipster chefs that wear black latex gloves with highly produced videos of their mediocre food. I cringe when I see most photoshoot pictures. I much prefer shitty candid pictures of people living their real life.

Daughter got engaged this weekend, and it was a surprise. She thought they were going to have brunch with friends, so she was dressed appropriately. He stopped along the way under some oak trees near the beach. He had a photographer nearby take photos. Our daughter didn’t even notice the photographer until after the pictures were taken. After he proposed, he texted us to come to the site, and we all congratulated them and took family photos. We even brought her dog for the pics.

As her mother, I was glad to have photos of that special moment. She truly was surprised, and the cost was minimal.

The future groom has no social media at all, and the future bride has very small followings (deliberate decision-family and close friends only) on Instagram and FB, so it wasn’t done to get thousands of likes.

Both are Gen Z, but neither acts like it. They are both quite conservative and traditional.

What do you expect from a generation that had a spectacle made out of their own gender reveal party and has graduation for every grade?