Anxiety causes: online time, finances, current events, climate change. A highly connected world, climate change, a global pandemic that's impacting job security, and financial debt are some main causes of increased anxiety, stress, and depression among Gen Zers.
Gen Z wants mental healthcare but worries about paying for it. Gen Z is more likely to report receiving treatment or diagnosis for a mental-health condition but also the most likely to report being unable to afford mental-health services (a fifth, compared with 14 percent of all respondents).
Gen Z activists and their older peers are united in their concern over the same issues – climate destruction, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights – but their voices appear louder and more urgent because they have more ways to source inspiration, disseminate information and mobilise.
Gen Z's average reported stress level (5.3) is higher than the overall average, as are the reported stress levels for Millennials, who have the highest average (5.7), and Gen X (5.1).
They are pragmatic and value direct communication, authenticity and relevance. They also value self-care. They may be more likely than older people were when they were the age of the Gen Zers to question rules and authority because they are so used to finding what they need on their own.
Gen Z respondents were more likely to report having been diagnosed with a behavioral-health condition, such as mental or substance use disorder, than Gen Xers or baby boomers. Gen Z also reported more unmet social needs than any other generation.
70% of Gen Z say that anxiety and depression are significant problems among their peers. ² 30% of parents surveyed felt that their child was experiencing negative effects on their emotional or mental health due to social distancing and school closures.
This book also reveals that as a result of “social media and texting replacing other activities, [Gen Z] spends less time with their friends in person,” resulting in “unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.” Twenge looks into the reason why Gen Z is seeming to age more slowly than its predecessors ...
But Gen Zers are different from older generations, because they are the first consumers to have grown up wholly in the digital era. They're tech-savvy and mobile-first—and they have high standards for how they spend their time online.
Clarity into career paths and internal mobility opportunities. Gen Z is known as entrepreneurial and looking for a sense of ownership. They want to tackle exclusive projects that help them develop their skills, with nearly 1 in 5 Gen Zers stating they would stay at an employer that offers upskilling/reskilling.
So it's no surprise recent studies have declared millennials, especially women, the most anxious generation in history. Anxiety comes in many forms, but the simplest way to describe it is feeling worried or nervous about the future or uncertain situations.
Gen Z is very concerned about their ability to communicate and forge strong interpersonal relationships. This may be due to the fact that technology has negatively impacted their cognitive skill development, and they recognize that their social skills, like critical thinking and communication, are weak.
One in four Gen Z respondents reported feeling more emotionally distressed (25 percent), almost double the levels reported by millennial and Gen X respondents (13 percent each), and more than triple the levels reported by baby boomer respondents (8 percent).
Inflation is the top problem Gen Z and Millennials name as the biggest they are facing today. Over-dependence and addiction to technology ranked second as the top problem among young people for the first time. However, racism and COVID-19 are still top concerns for these gens.
New research on mental health has found that 42 percent of Gen Z young adults currently have a diagnosed mental health condition –anxiety and depression being the most common diagnosis.
Gen Z (42%) is about twice as likely as Americans over 25 (23%) to battle depression and feelings of hopelessness. Gen Z is three times as likely (18% to 5%) as Americans over 25 to say their challenges are so severe that they thought they might be better off dead.
Furthermore, recent research among gen z reveals that almost 56% of this generation experienced more intense social isolation overall due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are more likely to say they were lonely as compared to previous generations (Cox, 2022).
Generation Z is the generation that never had to deal with dial-up internet or brick-shaped mobile phones. They have grown up with the knowledge that they can speak to anyone around the world at a moment's notice, and through assorted social media networks, that's what they've been doing for their entire lives.
What females say are their favorite hobbies differ from what males say, but overall, the most popular hobbies for the Millennial and Gen Z generations, in order, are gaming, followed by music, sports, and art. Gaming was overwhelmingly first for males, but isn't in the top five for females.
Generation Z has often been labelled as lazy, but that is due to the growth in the efficiency of life with more technology. Self-absorbed. Screen-obsessed.
#ActYourWage is the new quiet quitting: 'Visibility doesn't pay the bills' say Gen Z workers. Employees from all generations have noted burnout, a lack of advancement opportunities, flexible hours and location, and the absence of child care as reasons for resigning in recent months.
Sixty-one percent of Gen Zs told us they exercise for stress relief and maintaining general wellbeing, with walking the overwhelming favourite (83%), followed by running (48%), weight training (41%), cycling (23%), swimming (19%) and yoga (17%).