A Zoomer explains it all

In his farewell mailbag, Ben tells us what's really up with Gen Z, why he's going to Taiwan, and the problem with Philly sports fans

People sometimes ask me how I manage to write so many articles about such a wide range of topics and the answer is (1) I’ve always written fast and (2) I have invaluable help from some amazing people.

This is not directly relevant to work, but our editorial assistant Ben is the only person I’ve ever met who can run marathons while being extremely chill about it, to the point of barely even mentioning that it’s happening.

Which I think is reflective of the combination of work ethic and unflappability that’s made him such a great community manager in the comments section, and I’m incredibly pleased that he’ll be continuing in that capacity part-time, even as he moves on to other things. All of our Slow Boring editorial assistants have been excellent researchers and have really grown as writers, but Ben also took the moderating to a new level with his skill and discretion. He’ll be missed around the office, but he’s still a valued member of the team and community.

And during his last week full-time at Slow Boring, he’s answering our commenters’ most pressing questions.

---

Drew: Ben, what are you doing/studying in Taiwan?

Many people in my life are wondering the same thing, given the fact that I have zero Mandarin language abilities and have visited the entire Asian continent one time for one week.

Here’s the literal answer: My girlfriend is taking a year off her PhD to enroll in an intensive Mandarin language program in Taiwan, and I wanted to find an excuse to join her. So, I found an English-language Master’s program in Political Economy at National Taiwan University. My plan is to take some classes, work part-time here at Slow Boring, and find some more freelance writing opportunities (if anyone has leads on this, let me know!)

I’m excited for my sojourn to Taiwan. It sits before me as a black box of educational, unique, and likely quite confusing life experiences; I will savor every moment of it. That said, I did anguish over the decision for quite a while.

I’ve geared my whole career towards American politics, and I couldn’t have dreamed up a better professional opportunity than working here at Slow Boring. Leaving DC, just as I was gaining a small toe hold in the political writing world, was daunting. But older professionals in my life gave me some helpful advice. One, the time away ultimately won’t amount to that long in the grand scheme of things. And two, legitimately unique career or educational experiences are nearly always additive to your resume, even if it’s ancillary to the job you’re applying for.

That second reason rang especially true to me. The person who hired me for my first job out of college said my resume stood out because I spent a summer as an introductory announcer at a DC comedy club that she frequently attended. I remember Kate asking me about an unpublished children’s book I wrote during my job interview here. Of course, none of those were the leading reasons why I was hired. But in the job market of US politics, career trajectories can feel kind of interchangeable. It helps to stand out a bit.

Taiwan is a fascinating country with tons of geopolitical salience. I’m already learning everything I can about its government structure, history, and hot domestic political debates. And I’d love to find some writing opportunities while I’m living there. But even if it’s a bit of a dud, I find it impossible to imagine that I’ll regret doing it.

Lisa J Thanks for being a good humored but still effective mod. And it was a pleasure to read your contributions- and meet you briefly at the DC meetups.

Now please give us olds the real scoop on Gen Z and dating/steady relationships. Is it as out of fashion as the media says? Are you all just trolling us? Something else??

Ah, Gen Z dating discourse. Everyone has an opinion on it, but unfortunately for them, I’m the only one with the correct one.