Gen Z Wellbeing Index: Many have anxiety and they’ll have 18 jobs and six careers in their lives
Six in 10 Gen Zs are anxious and half are fearful for the future. Now, they’re working harder than ever to have a house, family and retirement. See why and have your say.
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Today’s parents have invested more in their kids than ever before. As a result, they’ve never had so many opportunities afforded to them, or been more connected thanks to social media. But meet Generation Angst.
A shocking six in 10 say their lives are blighted by anxiety and half are fearful for the future. So, what did we do wrong?
Hannah Marek is only 18, but she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Like many from Generation Z – those born in the mid to late 1990s to the early 2010s – she suffers from anxiety, much of it related to fears around her future.
She estimates by the time she finishes university – where she plans to study journalism and law – she could have more than $100,000 of debt.
She worries about the narrative bandied about that Gen Z are “unemployable”, as well as the rise of robotics and AI. She also wonders whether there will even be a job for her when she graduates.
She said the cost of living crisis, inflation and sky high property prices, make the Australian dream of owning her own home increasingly unobtainable.
Overarching all of her concerns is a feeling of “impending doom” which is amplified on social media.
“It feels like everything’s falling apart,” The University of Queensland student said.
“Much of it I can do little about. The polar bears are in trouble and there’s piles of fast fashion. It’s like you’re not allowed to enjoy anything without guilt.”
Hannah’s concerns are typical of her age group.
An exclusive national survey of 1000 18 to 24-year-olds found more than 60 per cent have anxiety and more than half said they worried about the future.
The 2023 Gen Z Wellbeing Index conducted by Year13, a post-school advisory service, and Scape, which provides student accommodation, found 78 per cent of young Australians said the cost-of-living issue was their biggest concern, followed by housing/rental affordability (67 per cent), climate change (60 per cent) and mental health (57 per cent).
It also found two thirds have problems getting a good night’s sleep, with nearly half reporting they wake up tired and lethargic.
Sadly, despite being more ‘connected’ than any other generation, four in 10 struggle to make friends and more than a third suffer from loneliness.
Only one in three said they “had purpose”, are physically active enough, eat enough healthy food and spend enough time outdoors.
So, where did it all go wrong for Gen Z?
Child psychologist Dr Kimberley O’Brien from Quirky Kid believes screen use is to blame for this generation’s high anxiety levels.
She noticed anxiety became the number one reason for referral to her clinic around 10 years ago.
Dr O’Brien said it coincided with kids being allowed smartphones from a younger age, sometimes as young as eight or nine, due to their parents’ anxiety around wanting to keep in touch with them.
She said children have become less sociable, less active and have worsening sleep issues.
Author of Hello Gen Z Claire Madden said parents have allowed boundaryless access to the internet and kids are being exposed to a lot from a younger age. They believe it is up to them to sort out global issues such as climate change.
“They’ve missed out on their carefree childhood,” Ms Madden said.
“Their innocence has been stolen and it’s weighed heavily upon them.
“Because of these social media platforms they believe they have a voice and should be making change but lack context on how to do it, despite how many times they press the crying emoji.
“They carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.”
Year13 Co-Founder Saxon Phipps said one 17-year-old replying to the survey summed it up when she said, “A kid growing up without unbridled access to the internet might have been spared from the stress of ‘knowing it all’.
“Knowing about the consequences of climate change, politics, racism, classism and other problematic views is a blessing and a curse because it has bred a generation of severely depressed and anxious people who are in turn severely determined to change the world.”
Ms Madden said “Gen Z have been our guinea pigs”.
“I think one day we’ll look back on this like we do on the generation that used to smoke in the home,” Ms Madden said.
“We will look at how giving toddlers devices changed the wiring of their brains, creating addictive personalities.”
It has also created a generation that finds it difficult to make friends, despite being well connected online.
“I’m hearing from people about how lonely they are,” Ms Madden said.
“One told me how he’s losing the ability to have a conversation face-to-face.”
Helping young people to make friends is something that organisations have recognised is needed.
Scape Australia, which provides purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) to uni students, also participated in the survey and found that 71 per cent of its students found making friends came easily to them, compared to 41 per cent on average across Australia who struggled to make friends.
“One of the key factors we invest in is social interaction, so we are pleased to see the survey data shows that Scape residents are significantly less likely to suffer from loneliness and are in better mental health,” Scape Australia co-founder Craig Carracher said.
Ms Madden said a crucial part of building relationships is getting off screens and meeting face-to-face.
She said there is a move within this generation to stop and reflect on their phone use, with some cutting social media out altogether because they don’t want to “scroll their lives away”.
Hannah, who lives at home, tries to restrict her screen time because she realises it makes her feel more empty than full, but she still finds herself scrolling.
“It’s a vicious cycle,” she said. “When you’re tired you just want to lie down with your phone and get a dopamine hit.”
HOW GEN Z CAN ‘REMAIN FUTURE PROOF’
Gen Z will have 18 jobs and six different careers in their lifetime.
And, they will find it harder to buy their own home than others generations before them.
Social researcher Mark McCrindle said Gen Z will need to be “lifelong learners who continually upskill to remain future proof and relevant”.
“They will start in one industry and it will disappear quickly and they will have to reinvent themselves,” Mr McCrindle said.
“I think it is exciting, but that uncertainty may be contributing to some of that anxiety.”
Housing affordability is another challenge.
President of the National Union of Students, Bailey Riley, said students in particular are worried their debt will stop them getting a home loan, especially after the Government increased the indexation on uni loans by 7.1 per cent this year.
“They’re thinking, ‘Is this debt worth it?’” Ms Riley said. “Students are saying they don’t think they’ll be able to buy a house until they’re in their 40s.”
Mr McCrindle agreed that “doing the sums on the great Australian dream of owning your own home has become harder for Gen Z”.
Keara Naumann, 17, studying cultural arts at uni, has set her sights on going into the air force. She believes it offers better job security than other industries, although she fears she may never be able to afford to rent or own her own home.
She lives in student accommodation provided by Scape, which helps youngsters to socialise with their peers.
Ms Naumann, an Indigenous student, has been surprised at how many people she has met.
“I have found new family. Everyone is now uncle and aunty around here,” Ms Naumann said.
“This year has been the best of my life. All this study is worth it even though it’s so expensive.”
Amelia Service, 20, said she was diagnosed with anxiety in 2021, which was all “about her future”.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I didn’t really feel like I had any direction. I was struggling with finding my footing in life,” Ms Service said.
Now she is studying film she said she has an end goal and while concerned about getting a job after her studies, she is excited about her career choice.
Meanwhile, Tim Liu, 23, is studying data science and said he had job security concerns too but hopes that his skills will always be needed somewhere.
“Embracing continuous learning will be crucial to navigating changes successfully,” Mr Liu said.
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Originally published as Gen Z Wellbeing Index: Many have anxiety and they’ll have 18 jobs and six careers in their lives
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