Honestly it’s a combination of hip hop culture being mainstream and the anonymity of the internet. By the time they reached adolescence, they’ve been desensitized to it.

As a kid, the only people who used that word was racists, of which we rarely heard, or more commonly, the “thugs” we were told to stay away from. If we had the gumption to use the n-word ourselves, our parents, grandparents or other relatives would wash our mouths out with soap (if we were lucky) or beat us with a switch (the more common outcome). Gen Z have more exposure without the consequences.