![]() ![]() The New York Times recently reported that the CDC found that 12- to 17-year-olds visiting hospitals for mental health reasons rose 31% for most of 2020 compared to 2019. ![]() ![]() Stressed and Distrustful. The American Psychological Association (“APA”) “Stress in America 2020 report” concluded that Gen-Z adults are scoring their stress levels much higher than other age groups. For Gen-Z, 34% said that their mental health was worse than a year ago compared to 21% of Gen-Xers, 19% of Millennials, 12% of Boomers and 8% of those 75 and above. The study also found that Gen-Z adults are more likely to report symptoms of depression, 75% say they feel so tired that they “sat around and did nothing,” 74% were restless, 73% struggled to think properly or concentrate, and the same percentage felt lonely. A whopping 71% felt miserable or unhappy. This time, our time right now, is the formative time of their lives. And while they are naturally used to instability, they will be drawn to stability. They look for places where they can place their trust. And that’s where the opportunity for brands lays. ![]() Quite the opposite. They are an activist generation (lest we forget, Boomers were as well back in the ‘60s and ‘70s). They take strong positions and expect others, including brands, to do the same. Let me begin with an admission: I’m a Baby Boomer and my world view is naturally colored by my generational experiences. I often find myself saying “What’s old is new again.” Gen-Z’s yearning for stability in a chaotic world reminds me of my generation in the 1960s and 1970s when we were their age. Every generation has its defining crises. For Baby Boomers it was the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and more. For Gen-Z it is racial inequality, sexual harassment, gender equality, climate change, gun safety, immigration reform, and voting rights, among other issues. Like my generation, they are facing their issues and crises all at once, although they are taking on a lot at one time. In 20, Gen-Z also has had to face the intersection of the worst health crisis in over a century, the most serious confrontation with systemic racism since the 1960s and the worst economic slump in 70 years (events that will define their generation for the rest of their lives). As children, they had to live through the Great Recession with anxious parents, go to school worried about mass shooters, and more recently, whether Democrats or Republicans, they had to weather the chaos of the Trump presidency. Not an easy time to come of age an unstable time. No wonder they are stressed out. And yet, they aren’t intimidated by all of these social, political, cultural and environmental issues swirling around them. ![]()
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