What the heck is "angst"?

[LilithSlave]

This isn't even the first time I've even asked this question, sadly.

I hear people use this as a term of disparagement all the time. Especially coupled with a hatred of teenagers.

But even after looking up the term several times, and even asking the question, I'm resigned to assuming I don't know what angst actually is. Because the stated definition, and how people use it to mean, seem like two different things.

Also, any definition I've ever heard of angst, is the last thing I'd ever feel a natural antipathy towards. Heck, if I ever ran into the way some people whine about angst in real life, I'd want to slap them. And possibly even spit on their face. Because of an utter disgust at a lack of empathy towards people who deserve it.

"Emotional clogging", "fear", "anxiety", "tenseness", "stress", "inner turmoil", people are supposed to hate people who feel this way? People like that are going through a natural emotion and deserve sympathy.

When I hear people complain about and hate so called "angsty teenagers", I'm reminded of what all the bulllied kids go through and how many suicides and school shootings there have been. And I'm supposed to be siding against them? Imagine if you were a gay teenager in a homophobic school and had parents who were conservative Christians. Wouldn't you feel a little bit apprehensive and worried when faced with society and reality?

And who said adults aren't naturally loaded with angst? If anything, I hate people who are too certain of themselves. Not people who are riddled with enough questioning that is leads them to negative feelings. I'm happy that there are people who are sensitive and self questioning in the world. They tend to be a lot less bigoted. Also, a lot of people seem to have a lot of backwards ways of thinking about negative emotions. If angst is an emotion people shouldn't be feeling, hating people who feel that emotion probably would only intensify it.

 

[Lucem712]

I think it's more related to 'whining' in internet terms. Complaining and being depressed over things that aren't worth that much...emotion.

Spoiler: Angst lie within

 

[triggrhappy94]

Just listen to My Chemical Romance. You have to be angsty to listen to that band.
If I had to define it, I'd say something like: An uneasy feeling with your surroundings and authority that normally occurs during the tean age years. Probably the product of stress and the feeling that you're locked in a little bubble--high school--where your actions and the actions of the people imiadately surrounding you are the most important thing.
Angst subsides after the realization that high school takes up maybe 5% of your life, is almost over, and probability has that there's one of you at every high school experiencing the same problem.

That's just from my experience.

 

[LilithSlave]

Just listen to My Chemical Romance. You have to be angsty to listen to that band.

I saw the Black Parade playing one time at a hospital. Wouldn't have otherwise because I'm so locked in my hobbies via the internet and don't do much outside of my niche. But it certainly wasn't angsty. And I hope that silly little stereotype was meant as a joke.

An uneasy feeling with your surroundings and authority

That sounds like a pretty justified feeling, to me.

Maybe not healthy to feel a lot. But certainly natural and to be expected.

Angst subsides after the realization that high school takes up maybe 5% of your life, is almost over, and probability has that there's one of you at every high school experiencing the same problem.

Oh? Angst subsides in an economic recession where it's hard to get a job, one often has to worry constantly that they may lose a job and have to find some way to get another one, or get government aid until they can?

I would think not.

And if not your immediate classmates, a possibly just as angst inducing matter, the macrocosm of world issues. Politics, economics, gender, race, class, culture, war, law. And even, the prospect of how to take care of your own children someday, if you ever have them.

In fact, pretty much any time that someone interalizes and struggles with with assertions of personal or group inferiority repeatedly directed at them, such as the gay community, it results in angst. A point where a human wrestles with ideas and tries to come out on top.

Heck, I would wager that Keiji Inafune feels a lot of "angst" over the current state in the video game industry. And most discussion about his words on it, seem to be filled with some degree of "angst". Which have, quite honestly, sent shockwaves throughout the gaming community and discussions about it.

Discussions of video game piracy, also seem to bring out a lot of angst, in people. Both for, and against.

It seems somewhat ironic, to me, how a lot of video gamers hate "angst", when the video game industry itself seems loaded with it.

Not necessarily that it's always unjustified. There are issues related to video games that people feel strongly about. From piracy, to licensing, to DLC, to DRM, to used games, to many other issues. But it does seem ironic the way people treat the term "angst".

 

[twistedmic]

When I hear people complain about and hate so called "angsty teenagers", I'm reminded of what all the bulllied kids go through and how many suicides and school shootings there have been.

I think it's mostly geared towards the kids, and occasionally adults, who take small inconveniences or disappointments and the make them out to be huge problems.

Like the people who will act like their lives are over because their parents bought the silver car for Christmas instead of the black one, or they got an iPod Touch instead of an iPad.

 

[Kae]

I think it's because on the Internet everybody is always complaining, and seem to get angsty over everything, which is funny because then people start getting angsty over other people getting angsty over pointless stuff and generally teenagers seem to be the most bitchy over pointless stuff since they make unnecessary drama over everything, therefore it's assoiciated with annoying teenagers.
YEP, I know it's really stupid but I think that's what is happening, as for the emotion itself it's not inherently bad and is most definitely very basic, and yes if you were to call someone an angsty ***** in real life you'd be a dick, after all there are plenty of valid reasons to be depressed, and sometimes you just can't control your emotions.

 

[hazabaza1]

Angst: A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression.
So sayeth the dictionary.
Maybe we're just mistaking "Angst" for "whining" on the internet, but you should still feel like slapping all the twats that whine about the stupid shit anyway.

 

[Frybird]

The german word for "Fear".

You can't imagine how irritatingly annoying it is if you are german to read this all the time.

EDIT: Even though, to be fair, i mix in a lot of english words when i write in german forums, so i guess i deserve that(?)

 

[Zantos]

According to the dictionary, it's precisely what Stephen Fry up there said, anxiety or apprehension accompanied by depression.

However, it may just be from my personal experiences, but I tend to take it more as a sign that I want to set fire to that person. I mean, seriously, how do you write 60 pages on 2 happily married men being 'angsty' about being secretly in love with each other just because one of them winked at the other in Who's Line?

 

[LordFisheh]

Angst, usually, refers to the petty, revel-in-how-'deep'-you-are, attention seeking kind of self diagnosed 'depression', not a genuine emotional problem. Perhaps best summed up by this brilliant line from Desperate Houswives:

"Mom, she tried to slit her wrists with a spoon."

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

I think the problem is that the whole "emo" thing in the past 10 years has devalued any actual "angst" people might have. Now there's a tendancy for people to act all moody and brooding to look cool, rather than because they have any actual problems.

(this is coming from personal experiance from hanging out with lots of "emos" during high school)

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well, there's wangst and there's angst, and people who have wangst pretend to have angst so people who have angst look like they've just got wangst.

 

[trouble_gum]

Most of the "anti-angst" backlash stems from it becoming overused and, hand-in-hand with overuse comes misuse. It's now bandied around as term for pretty much every minor occurrence of negative feeling, frequently used because the person using it wanted a 'better' word to describe their "personal torments."

Actual, genuine feelings of anxiety and apprehension, coupled with depression tend not to be so openly expressed as most of the angst that people come into contact - one of the primary things about those feelings means that you don't tend to publish them or talk about them much. Consequently there's a tendency to grow dismissive of people openly angsting (especially if they actually describe what they're doing as angsting or expressing their angst), because it makes them sound like pretentious little whiners more than it does someone who's actually, genuinely experiencing the emotions behind the word.

Angst is pretty natural - Existentialist philosophers like Kierkegaard and Sartre regarded a sense of uncertainty and apprehension about the nature of existence and mankind's place in as a natural state for people to be in. "Who am I? Why am I? What should I do? if I do this, will I feel better?" A search for a clear and definite direction to take is something that pretty much everyone looks for at some point.

Edit: derp, Sartre, not Sarte.

 

[Something Amyss]

That sounds like a pretty justified feeling, to me.

Except when it becomes a trend and a subculture, and the claims of angst are either disingenuous or misguided.

It's kind of like cynicism. Not inherently wrong, but as a default lifestyle and trend, it becomes stupid.

 

[trouble_gum]

That sounds like a pretty justified feeling, to me.

Except when it becomes a trend and a subculture, and the claims of angst are either disingenuous or misguided.

It's kind of like cynicism. Not inherently wrong, but as a default lifestyle and trend, it becomes stupid.

Pretty much. When someone does it because it's a trend or a lifestyle (seriously, depression is not a lifestyle choice) it loses any genuine meaning.

 

[octafish]

Never really felt much angst myself outside of the usual existential crisis, no I'm crippled by a general malaise and ennui. French isn't as hip with the kids as German though.

 

[ElPatron]

"Teenage angst" usually means butthurt spoiled children crying about the cleaning lady and doing chores.

It's usually used on the internet since decades ago, teenage angst was "real" teenage angst.

Usually related to undeveloped brains thinking it actually matters to be popular among everyone.

 

[Abedeus]

Rich suburban assholes that have everything and cry about that everything.

They have a loving family, money, education, but their favorite band sold out all tickets?! WAAAAH WORLD IS NOT FAAAAIR.

Or they find out that being rich and spoiled doesn't make everyone love you, and they get all depressed because they're used to being sugar-coated.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

In the derogatory way that it's now evolved into that is most likely being used?

It's a way to tell someone that they've built themselves up behind a wall of emotion usually coupled with immaturity and are acting out on it.

 

[Bloodtrozorx]

Angst has in our age of hyperbole and overreaction taken on a meaning that belittles its original intent. Angst is most commonly used now as you've seen above as a derogatory term for entitled youth, I recall this being especially prevalent during Grunge.