"In fact, Gen Z might just be the most risk-averse generation on record. Fewer Gen Zers got a driver’s license, drank alcohol, or had sex as teenagers than their parents did. The same young adults now report skyrocketing rates of anxiety and other mental illnesses, with some estimates finding that as many as 1 in 5 18-to-24-year-olds have been diagnosed with depression. Timidity—not to mention self-conscious neuroticism—is increasingly the norm.

“An ongoing study from Montclair State University argues that some of this risk aversion is due to the current political climate—or perhaps young people’s perception of it. “Gen Z’s mental health has deteriorated due to a worldview that the society and environment around them are crumbling,” writes justice studies professor Gabriel Rubin. “Rights are being taken away, the Earth is burning, maniacs could kill you with a gun, and viruses could shut down society again.””

See also, for counterpoint: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2024/06/18/gen-z-thriving-entrepreneurship/

  • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    16 hours ago

    Sorry, but if Europeans are going to spell it “Gen-Zed”, then Americans get to spell it “Gen-Zee”.

  • gandalf_der_12te@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    So if you wanna know my personal story, I was given the feeling that even looking at a girl directly was sexual harassment, when I was 12 years old.

    Now do 1+1 and figure out why Gen Z is “timid, self-conscious neurotic”. And I say it again, human contact is essential for mental wellbeing, as humans are incredibly social creatures. Yes, contact without physical contact is not to be considered proper contact.

      • avattar@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 day ago

        Are you saying 40% of ALL gen Z voted for Trump? Or is it 40% of the ones who did vote, vote for Trump?

    • lousyd@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 day ago

      You think Trump is going to fuck things up. His voters presumably think he’s going to fix things.

      • Goodmorningsunshine@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 day ago

        Aww. One could almost pity them until they remember how screwed they made us all and decide on taking absolute pleasure in them finding out instead.

        • lousyd@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 day ago

          This conversation was about Gen Z being risk takers or not. We all know we’re screwed under Trump. The trend line of people saying that right now is through the stratosphere. No one here is going to learn anything by you saying it again at this moment. We get it.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 day ago

    A bunch of them helped Trump get back in the WH. Not exactly risk-averse in my book.

      • CptEnder@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 day ago

        I feel like an old man at 37 being like back in my day we did coke and promiscuous sex and voted for Obama like a proper youth damnit!

  • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 days ago

    This isn’t just Gen Z. Yes, it’s happening to them, but it’s also happening to the rest of us. It’s impacting low to middle income folks the most, because we can’t afford the rising costs of, well, everything.

    Job security is also extremely hard to find these days, and Healthcare costs have been getting worse ever since Obama left office.

  • szczuroarturo@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 days ago

    That actually seems just true or perhaps it just lines up with my personality. Alghtough i wouldnt be so quick to put wars , plauges and other dangers as the actual cause. its probably the opposite and the relative lack of those combined with the social media either overblowing most stuff or completley opposite , ridiculuing the problem with no inbetweens makes pepole weary .

  • ZeffSyde@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 days ago

    I dunno, I worked with a Gen Z aged dude that thought blowing his life savings on a down payment for a new Camaro was a sound investment because it was going to be the last ICE Camaro ever made.

    I wanted to go into the points that a new car depreciates the second it leaves the lot, the cost of upkeep between now and the years it would take for the car to POSSIBLY gain value, but I knew they wouldn’t listen.

    Last time I spoke with him before he was fired he was trying to decide whether it was a better idea to ship his collection of Pokemon cards to California to get professionally graded or to take the trip himself.

    Dude definitely took risks. He definitely had some NFTs in his portfolio.

    • P1k1e@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 days ago

      Every generation has dipshits man. I know broke Millennials who even now try to hold onto BMWs they can’t afford to maintain or fuel, just for the clout

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 days ago

    Driving cost money (remeber used cars selling for more than new?). They use to get drivers license to hang out (and have sex) with their friends. Now everything moved online.

    Alcohol decreases where marajuana is legalized, a safer alternative.

    Women saw the right to an abortion disappear- and more than half of gen Z men support it. That plus sex ed leads to low levels of sex.

    But, no, it is because all of Gen Z is “Timid”.

    • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 day ago

      As a millennial, fuck this article and all of those like it. Now they’re going after Gen Z with their Pro-Boomer attacks. My generation got fucked but Gen Z and Gen α are getting it even worse, without even getting the childhood benefits that we had.

      • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 day ago

        Boomers have stolen the futures from at least two generations, and if you include Gen X, that’s three generations sacrificed on the alter of “Generation Me.”

        And all the while they’ve been gaslighting us and spreading their ignorant nonsensical arguments as though they understand anything about anything. It’s beyond frustrating.

        • s_s@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          18 hours ago

          Boomers are not a collective hivemind, generations are divisions the rich use to dominate the working class.