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.
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).
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.
The biggest mental health issue Gen Z deals with is anxiety. Nine out of ten Gen Z with diagnosed mental health conditions struggle with anxiety, and nearly eight out of ten (78%) are battling depression. Other mental health conditions the generation faces are ADHD (27%), PTSD (20%), and OCD (17%).
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).
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.
Updated on November 14, 2022. Money causes everyone stress, but Generation Z tops the list for financial anxiety. According to a 2019 Experian survey, Generation Z is anxious about money. 51% of Gen Zers are afraid money issues will prevent them from doing what they want in life.
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.
Among the working generations, Millennials were the happiest with 57%. Gen X came next with 52%, and then Boomers and Gen Zs came after with 41% each.
Research also indicates that Gen Zers are currently the most stressed demographic of people. The American Psychological Association (APA) reports that: 90% of Gen Z experienced psychological or physical symptoms as a result of stress in the last year.
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.
Happiness levels average lower today for most adults under age 35 than they did in 2017. However, the data show that Gen Zers report the lowest levels of happiness on record in the past five-year timespan.
An overview of Millennial and Gen Z dating statistics
75% of Gen Z are single. 44% of millennials are married.
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.
This generation cares greatly about autonomy and work-life balance — almost two-thirds of Gen Z would prefer to work for themselves in a start-up. About half report that they would quit their job if it interfered with their work-life balance.
Gen Z's awareness and approach to mental health can have a positive influence on their parenting by allowing them to be emotionally healthy and drivers of open communication. It can also help shape a future generation that will understand, accept, and seek to treat their own mental health issues.
The Economist has described generation Z as a better-educated, well-behaved, stressed, and depressed generation compared to previous generations. Gen Z is also more ethnically diverse and familiar with gender-neutral pronouns.
“Teens feel that being cool is about just being yourself, embracing what you love, rejecting what you don't, and being kind to others.”
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).
Who is Generation Alpha? Gen Alpha is the generation following Gen Z and currently includes all children born in or after 2010—the same year the iPad was born. The majority of this demographic is under 12 years of age, but the oldest of them will become teens in 2022.
Researchers found that, compared to previous generations, members of Generation X and Generation Y showed poorer physical health, higher levels of unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol use and smoking, and more depression and anxiety.