Gen Z Isn't Enjoying Their 20s As Much As Gen X & Boomers Did For 9 Actually Legit Reasons
VH-studio / Shutterstock Gen Z is the generation born roughly between the late 90s and the early 2000s. I was born in 2005, which puts me in the middle of the Gen Z age range.
Given that Gen Z is still pretty young, we're just learning what it means to be an adult living on our own in the world. Navigating this new chapter of life was probably scary for generations before us as well, but it feels like the stress of young adulthood has only gotten worse.
Even with the anxiety young people of any generation often have about adulthood, people in my mom’s generation often tell me how much Gen X loved their twenties. It was their time to go experience everything before the responsibilities of raising a family or handling a high-level job came into their lives. But this has changed in my generation. Many people in Gen Z don’t feel like they are enjoying their twenties much at all.
Gen Z has at least 9 reasons why they're not enjoying their 20s much at all
1. The lack of jobs
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Finding a job has always been hard. When there are multiple great candidates for a position, your resume can get lost in the stack. This has been happening to many Gen Z on a regular basis, even if they are well-qualified and capable of handling the responsibility.
There are fewer jobs available in general right now. People who are consistently applying to jobs can still be unemployed months later. With fewer positions open, the competition has increased. More highly qualified people are out of a job and competing for roles. Sometimes I feel like you have to be insanely smart and unnaturally productive just to get a simple, low-paying job.
People have also already lost their jobs because the professional landscape is becoming increasingly digital. Take artists as an example. With AI-generated images, fewer artists are being hired to create concert posters and other graphic design work. As someone in Gen Z who wants to be a writer, I definitely worry about finding a job in the future.
2. Financial insecurity
Universities have become so much more expensive now. If young adults want to earn their degree, many will have to take out a student loan to afford it. This has led some people in Gen Z to take on large amounts of debt before they even enter adulthood.
Inflation has also been on the rise, making just about everything more expensive. Even getting groceries can be a financial burden to some people. This means that Gen Z is facing financial insecurity as they struggle to afford basic necessities. When people have to save money for the things they need, they probably won't have much left to pay back loans.
3. They are lonely
Social media has changed the way we connect to others. Some people see social media as a great thing for relationships. It lets you stay connected to your friends, even if they no longer live near you. These people might not realize all the harmful things digital connections have on our friendships.
The first way it can harm you is through the friends you see every day. If you're constantly on your phone talking to a friend or partner, you can lose touch with the people who are right in front of you. I had a long-distance boyfriend for three years, and I know my friends were often frustrated by that.
Many of the interactions Gen Z has with the friends they live near are online. While talking with your friends online can be nice, it doesn't replace the importance of seeing friends in person. It can still make someone with a ton of online friends feel isolated. This has made many people in Gen Z feel lonely in their 20s.
4. They don't feel passion for work
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People in Gen Z can earn money by blogging about their meals at cool restaurants or making funny videos with their friends. Some influencers do very well and make a good salary. Influencer culture has become pretty big in my generation, and not just because Gen Z wants to watch them. Some people also want to be them.
The exciting things influencers do to make money can make everyday jobs feel boring in comparison. They could also become frustrated with their job because they aren't earning as much as influencers. Social media puts pressure on people to live extravagantly and post those experiences online. Without being able to afford those things, Gen Z workers might become even less satisfied with their company's salary.
Some of those people then become dissatisfied with their jobs in general. They might question why they have to work so hard when influencers seem to live leisurely and make a lot of money doing it. It could cause them to lose the passion that inspired them to pursue that career in the first place.
5. Every day feels the same as the day before
We’re constantly surprised by all the shocking things we see online. Gen Z has grown up with this, and many of our reactions to shocking things are dulled. We've come to expect them.
This can make some people feel like everything is mundane. Even the big moments pack less of a punch because the pace of exciting things happening around us stays consistent. When you add remote work into the mix, it can make this even worse. Working from home can keep you stuck in one place and make your days feel even more repetitive.
I work from home, so I understand the feeling of being glued to my bedroom desk. After work, I’m sometimes so tired that I stay home for the night, giving me fewer chances to have different experiences from what I've been having all day. The days can feel identical. I wake up, work, relax in bed, and then do it all over again the next day. The lack of variety and our already dulled excitement can make every day feel the same.
6. They haven’t traveled
People often travel to learn more about the world and experience different cultures. However, travel can be expensive, and taking time off work to do so can be difficult. Because of this, many people don't travel as often as they'd like.
In this digital age, you don’t even need to leave your home to connect to the rest of the world. For example, instead of buying a pricey plane ticket to visit Italy, you can watch a video or see a photo of its monuments, or read blogs to learn about Italian cuisine. You can even connect with Italians through social media and direct messaging. But this still doesn't give you the benefits of a travel experience.
Because of financial insecurity and the ability to connect to the rest of the world on our phones, many people in Gen Z don't feel like traveling is worth it. This takes away from the travel experiences many people have in their 20s, when they still have the freedom to do it. They lose the enjoyment of traveling and can feel unhappy as a result.
7. AI is ruining things
When AI was first invented, people believed everything would change. For the most part, they were right. Just look at all the changes in our society that have already happened because of it. Because it's so new, many people don’t understand how it works.
When something you don’t know much about starts to take over every area of your life, it can feel overwhelming. While we've already discussed its influence on Gen Z's stress about the job market, it can also make some of us feel like we are always falling behind. Since AI is changing things so rapidly, we don't know what AI will do in the future as it continues to develop.
The future feels so unstable that many members of Gen Z can feel defeated. They might fear that they will never be able to understand it since it's constantly changing. AI-generated images are also becoming increasingly popular. Now, if I go on Pinterest, I can scroll through 20 pins before reaching a real image. It makes everything feel so fake and lifeless.
Some people in Gen Z feel like AI has taken the life out of certain things. It even makes art, the thing humans have enjoyed since they invented paint, feel stale and meaningless.
8. They have mental health issues
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As I said before, social media has been making more people feel isolated and lonely. Still, there are many more mental health issues it can cause.
Social media has led some people to compare their appearance to that of others on social media. But because of photo editing, people can make themselves look better than they do in real life. People begin comparing themselves to unrealistic beauty standards, and sometimes it can make them feel insecure about their bodies. Some people's mental health becomes so damaged by this that they can end up developing an eating disorder and fall into an even worse state of wellness.
There seem to be more kids and teens experiencing depression than in our parents' generation. When I was in high school, I was one of those kids. After going through the healing process with therapists and psychiatrists, I was told that experiencing mental health issues as a kid makes you much more likely to experience them as an adult. Since many people in Gen Z faced mental health issues in childhood, they are feeling it again in their 20s.
9. Dating is hard
Most of my friends are in their early twenties and frequently go on dates. Many of them are trying to find someone they want to spend the rest of their life with. Out of all of my friends, I would say only a handful of their dates came from someone they met in person.
Online dating eliminates the need to go out and meet someone. Many people in my generation exclusively use dating apps to find a girlfriend or boyfriend. This has led Gen Z to stop approaching people in person on a date because they can just find one online.
However, many of my friends report feeling exhausted with dating apps. There are so many people to choose from and talk to. If they try to connect with every person they match with, the interactions can become tiring. People might end up feeling apathetic when flirting with a potential date. If you get tired of dating apps and there isn't anyone approaching you to ask for a date, it can be incredibly hard to get into a relationship.
Lily Bell is a college student studying English and Publications who covers relationships, mental health, and personal narratives surrounding the human experience.
