Introduction: Gen Z and Society/Mental Health

Introduction: Gen Z and Society/Mental Health

Unprecedented times. This is a saying heard by many Gen Zers like myself about the formative years of our generation. Gen Z is the generation born between 1997 and 2012. That is a pretty big span of time! To put that in perspective, in 2020, the youngest members of Gen Z were 8 years old, midway through elementary school, while the oldest had recently graduated college and/or were beginning to enter the workforce! Currently, all members of Gen Z are experiencing adolescence to early adulthood. This brings with it a shift from a generation defined by being raised, to a generation defined by innovators, workers, and creative minds.

My name is Max Eisenman, and I am currently an Intern here at New Hope Center. I am beginning my final year of grad school this upcoming fall, and have really enjoyed the opportunity of beginning to help clients work through their challenges. As someone born in 2002, I also understand what it is like to be a member of Gen Z. Beginning this career marks a major life milestone, not unlike what other Gen Zers in their early 20s are currently experiencing, and younger Gen Zers will soon experience in their given interests and careers.

Adolescence and beginning adulthood is defined as a combination of current experiences, along with a life stage that now incorporates past reflection deeper than before. Therefore, Gen Z’s challenges and triumphs are readily accessible in the minds of many people. With that, this series that I will be writing about will consider the crucial component of mental health, as well as the fascinating topic of media and societal impact on Gen Z. My hope is that these articles offer a sense of relatability and clarity for those past, present, and even future experiences that define our generation.

Even if you are not a member of Gen Z yourself, I still encourage you to check out these articles! Chances are you have, or will interact with someone who is a member of Gen Z including a family member, a colleague, a friend, a customer/client/patient, or an acquaintance. Understanding some of the aspects and contexts of Gen Z as a whole can help you understand these people you interact with better. Additionally, Gen Z is currently in that stage where they are beginning to develop what the future has in store.

The topics for the posts will each be relevant components of exploration about Gen Z. Some ideas include:

• Talking about the vastness and yet also the similarities within Gen Z members.

• Discussing some of the challenges Gen-Z has experienced on a societal level growing up. These may include: being born in the years surrounding 9/11, gun violence being an increasing concern including in places that are supposed to be the safest such as in schools, the recession taking place in the core childhood to early adolescent era for older Gen Z, COVID-19 happening during key phases in development for all of Gen-Z, and so much more.

• The “liminal space” that this Generation finds itself in, being between the pre- and post- technological boom.

• The impact of growing up with social media: the positives and the negatives

• What it is like starting a professional identity as a Gen Zer

• The topic of past media accessibility being explored in our generation at a later age, compared to it being engrained at younger age for previous generations, including nostalgia for a time even before we were born

These are just some ideas of topics that can be explored in future editions of this series. I genuinely look forward to providing relatable and interesting content through these articles, that will cover the mental health and societal phenomenon within Gen Z!