There are approximately 69.3 million people who fall under Generation Z, making up just over 20% of the U.S. population. They might be the most important generational group in the country at the moment, given that a lot of Gen Z voted for the first time in the 2024 election.
These Gen Z’ers are on the pulse of issues that are affecting the country and most important, what issues affect them. They know they can have influence now in the society that they live in, especially considering a lot of them weren’t able to four years ago.
According to Deloitte, 34% percent of Gen Z considered the cost of living to be their greatest concern. The median age of Gen Z’ers is between 15-24 and the youngest you can work in America is at the age of 14.
The workforce is made up of 38% Gen Z, according to Yahoo. These Gen Z’ers want to make a living for themselves, provide for their partners and buy homes in the future. They believe that it’s much harder to do that in this day of age than their parents and grandparents did.
Some other issues that are important to Gen Z, according to Deloitte, in order of importance are unemployment (21%), climate change (20%), mental health (19%) and crime and personal safety (17%).
I surveyed over 30 different individuals who are part of the Gen Z community to see if these issues are as important as the data says by posting a form on various social media accounts. Most of the people who answered are in college, with some having graduated.
Mental health is one of the main issues that Gen Z individuals from the survey want to hear more stories on, as well as Gen Z business success stories and other financial tips or strategies.
In recent years, there’s been more of a focus on men’s mental health. During my research, half of the 30 respondents I surveyed cited wanting more and better mental health coverage. A quarter of the responses cited wanting more awareness of men’s mental health because they said men are less likely to be open regarding their feelings.
Gen Z is the generation that wants to talk about mental health more, and they want others to open up and talk about their feelings. Around 40% of Gen Z struggle with mental health, with over half of them saying that they’ve been to therapy, according to the Thriving Center of Psych. On top of that, 18.8% of high school students have had thoughts of suicide.
Besides more mental health coverage, Gen Z wants to hear more positive stories and it starts on the business side according to the survey results.
“Gen Z faces financial struggles, like student debt and economic uncertainty, that don’t get as much attention,” said Kendall Kennedy, a senior at the University of Alabama. “The pressure of being constantly connected online affects their mental health, and many want real mentorship in a changing job market.”
In terms of business success stories, many of the respondents from the form wanted to see more positive, uplifting stories about people their age and how they can be like them. Whether that’s through starting a business or being an influencer, many Gen Z want to know the secret to success.
Wanting to be successful is something that Gen Z obviously wants, but one of the common misconceptions about them is that they are lazy and want everything handed to them.
However, it seems like this generation is more in tune with themselves, like millennials as well. According to PIA Northeast News, Gen Z has reevaluated their priorities and wants more out of their employers. They aren’t afraid to leave a job if it doesn’t feel right to them because they want the best lives for themselves.
Gen Z wants to be different from their parents. They care about what job they have and this goes back to the conversation around mental health. Being in a negative work environment can have negative effects on mental health and Gen Z realizes that.
At the end of the day, Gen Z isn’t lazy or uninformed, they just want to change the world they live in just like the generations before them. They want a better life for themselves, just like the generations before them, and aren’t afraid to change their course if they don’t feel it’s the best way of living.