Gen Z students are experiencing poor mental health and a lack of hope for the future. (To be honest, I think most generations are).
According to professors who teach Gen Zers, the generation appears even more anxious than their Millennial counterparts and has completely lost hope in the American Dream. Gen Z also reports the poorest mental health of any generation, and only 44 percent of Gen Zers say they feel prepared for the future.
“The biggest change that I’ve seen is they have this fear of failure or making the wrong decision, and I think it’s because they just don’t want to go through more mental anguish,” Matt Prince, an adjunct professor at Chapman University, told Fortune.
Prince added that Gen Z seems to have a “huge weight on their shoulders.”
Millennials have a long-held reputation for being lazy complainers who spend too much money on avocado toast. For a while, that’s why we couldn’t afford homes… it had nothing to do with the insane housing market, of course. Gen Zers tend to wear similar labels, receiving criticisms for things like being “chronically online” and “easily offended.”
Gen Z Doesn’t believe in the American dream
But let’s be honest: all that time spent on social media (and from such a young age) can’t be healthy for your brain.
Alyssa Mancao, a Los Angeles therapist with a Gen Z client base, told Axios that because this generation grew up with social media, they tend to compare themselves more to others, which oftentimes naturally leads to feelings of inadequacy.
Plus, given the state of the world right now, I empathize with Gen Zers who are trying to make a name for themselves in this economy.
It’s also not shocking that so many Gen Zers are losing faith in the American Dream. I mean, it’s hard to imagine living a comfortable life filled with love, family, and freedom when many of us work long hours and still can’t afford groceries or a home.
“I think there is just an overarching fear of failure or making mistakes or making the wrong turn in their career trajectory that would emotionally or physically set them back years,” Prince told Fortune. “And so I think that anguish is just an anchor that’s holding them back.”
Another California-based therapist, Erica Basso, pointed out that there’s a ton of uncertainty plaguing Gen Zers today.
Source : https://www.vice.com/en/article/gen-z-are-more-anxious-than-any-other-generation/
