Hope Against All Hope: Why Gen Z Struggles To Enter Adulthood
*Article from Lexington Lines Autumn/Winter 2023 Issue, pages 16-19
Check out the full issue here.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “your generation is just lazy?” What about, “I already had a house by your age.” Even worse, “you just need to work harder.”
Whether you are watching mainstream news or just talking to a family member, the odds of hearing this at some point are ten to none.
“Every generation has had that American dream where they aimed to do better than their parents and knew that through hard work, they could,” political influencer Andra Berghoff says. “Gen Z is the first generation born knowing that they probably couldn’t.”
In a 2019 study reported by The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, depression and anxiety rates had increased by 60% in American teenagers and 46% in young adults ages 18 to 21. Why are they so stressed out?
The reality of the situation is simple, Generation Z—those born between 1997 and 2012, according to Business Insider—was brought up in a post-9/11 world. Throughout their childhood and developmental years, Gen Z has been exposed to political infighting, an economic depression, a global pandemic, and the reversal of prominent privacy legislation.
From wealth inequality to socio-political strife, younger Americans are facing adulthood saddled with an extreme loss of hope.
When it comes to financial anxiety and economic barriers within the nation, statistics show that younger generations may have cause for worry. In 2020, the Federal Reserve reported that those born after 1981 only hold 4.6% of wealth in the states, while Boomers made up 53%.
The price of education and homeownership has also dramatically increased during the 21st century, oftentimes leaving Millennials and Gen Z in a constant stay of of financial worry.
Berghoff touches on this, explaining why some Boomers lack empathy for the generations coming up behind them.
“In the 1980s, the main barrier to paying bills for the average single person was just laziness, so in [Boomers’] experience, poverty usually just equates to laziness,” she explains. “The world is much different now than what they experienced, and many of them refuse to accept that times have changed.”
Berghoff says that Boomers elected politicians who “put themselves first.”
“Many of the policies they built were selfish and created issues for later generations to deal with,” she says. “During Reagan’s presidency, the federal debt tripled from $738 billion to $2.1 trillion. All of the tax cuts given to the wealthy significantly slowed down economic growth for years to come.”
While these policies and the outcome on America’s wealth may cause anxiety, the act of obtaining and keeping a job has also become more difficult. This trend is often depicted on social media, with users taking their struggles throughout the interview process on the internet.
“I am so sick and tired of hearing old people say that young people don’t want to work anymore,” Kiera Spann, @famousblonde on TikTok, states. “No one is hiring. I have applied to 40-plus jobs, and I have only gotten two interviews.”
During an Instagram live, job recruiter Mike Peditto, @realisticrecruiting, said that only about 2% of candidates that apply to positions are actually getting interviews.
So if a person accumulates six figures of student debt but cannot find work post-grad, how will the wealth divide shrink? Political action?
Studies show that the most important political issues to younger generations actually fall within the environmental and socio-political spheres. Climate change, abortion rights, and gun control are just the tip of the iceberg for Gen Z. But older politicians are chronically deadlocked on these issues.
A study conducted by Yale’s School of the Environment concluded that over 50% of Gen Z believe that humanity is doomed, while around 40% have become reluctant to have children of their own.
Through social media, younger generations have been fed innumerable articles highlighting the damage done to our environment—but when these young adults seek action, most politicians shut them down.
During the first Republican debate for the 2024 Presidential election, candidates were asked by a Gen Z activist about their plans for climate change. Very quickly the conversation was led astray, with candidate Vivek Ramaswamy stating, “the climate agenda is a hoax.” Climate denial, to Gen Z, is not smart, shocking, or compelling; it’s irresponsible and exhausting.
Along with climate change, younger generations have placed a high priority on gun control.
Firearms are the number one cause of death for U.S. children ages 1-17. Given the rise in school and mass shootings, and a government that actively opposes any bill related to gun control, it is no wonder the youth of our nation is losing hope.
The issue of gun violence extends to racial disparities in police shootings. On social media, Gen Z witnessed first-hand footage of George Floyd being murdered by the now former police officer Derek Chauvin. Protests erupted, but little has changed.
Social platforms like TikTok and Instagram are this generation’s main mediums of national news, and they are subjected to the harsh realities of society’s transgressions at every turn.
Oftentimes, this phenomenon empowers the youth to draw its own conclusions and protest longstanding government institutions and political positions.
This idea is further demonstrated through abortion rights. In a Pew survey conducted last May, 74% of adults aged 18-29 said they believe that abortion should be legal in most cases, a nearly 12-point jump from the next age demographic.
When Roe vs. Wade, the legal basis for reproductive rights in America, was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022, younger generations expressed outrage on the literal and digital streets, but obviously this had no impact on the court’s decision.
Gen Z grew up feeling ignored by its elders and political leaders. From financial anxiety to the lack of social and political change, what is there to be proud of?
“If you grow up in a world where the government is failing you over and over and over again, why would you trust any of the people in office,” Gen Z for Change activist Christopher Mowrey said on TikTok. “I think we are all united in the idea that we need to change America for the better.”
But there is a silver lining to all of this frustration. The lack of hope younger Americans experience has the potential to be their greatest strength; NPR recently called Gen Z the next “political power.”
As Gen Z continues to enter adulthood, this power will present itself in high values. During the 2022 midterm cycle alone, this generation outvoted the previous by nearly six points—effectively blocking the projected conservative “red wave.”
In 2028, Millennials and Gen Z will become a majority of the voter base within the nation, rising to over 60% in 2036. This means that in a little more than a decade, its voice, stances, and influences will be the norm.
Keep your head up Gen Z… it’s almost our time.