The Biggest Problems Gen Z Faced in 2023—According to Them

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01 | Let the anxiety begin ... 😱

Whether it’s international politics, the effects of climate change, low wages, or day-to-day issues like bullying in schools, these gens have a lot on their minds. But they can’t think about or tackle it all at once—we know from YPulse’s The Cause Conundrum trend report that they have to prioritize the energy they put into, well, changing the world. So, each year YPulse asks 13-39-year-olds the biggest problems they think their generation is facing to see what’s top of mind; this year, the economy and tech addiction are the biggest issues according to all groups of young people. 

These gens are concerned about many issues affecting them and don’t feel like they can manage it all alone—which is why it’s key for brands to understand which issues are most crucial to young people each year. YPulse’s News Consumption and Trust report asks young people what the biggest issue facing their generation is as an open-end question, allowing them to name any issue without a preset list to influence their decision.* Across the board, inflation / cost of living / economic crisis is a top issue for 13-39-year-olds, but each age range has specific concerns: 

All young people share concern for two of the biggest issues facing their generations 

The biggest issue young people of different age groups say their generation is facing align with their lifestage—but all 13-39-year-olds agree the economy and tech addiction are top problems. Both of these issues ranked as top concerns in 2022 as well, but as young adults grow more independent in a wavering economy, their worries over money are bound to increase. We can see that 25-39-year-olds are also most likely to name unemployment and low wages as the top issue for their gen, alongside the housing crisis. For this older group, finances and housing security are more of a daily concern, especially as this group is most likely to be parents managing a household through tight budgets. According to YPulse’s most recent data, more than three quarters of 25-39-year-olds say inflation is impacting their finances—clearly part of why this issue is so top of mind.  

At the same time, young people have never been more self-aware about their tech addiction—as we’ve seen this year with TikTok trends like #CoreCore giving a look into Gen Z’s way of processing it. And while this is named as top issue for all young people, it’s the top response among 13-17-year-olds, showing teens are uniquely aware of what their daily screen time means (and according to YPulse data, that screen time is more than six hours a day).  

Beyond these issues, young people of different age groups—teens, young adults, and older Millennials—share concerns for other major problems. Gun violence, as well as general crime and violence, and climate change rank for the biggest issue according to each age group, showing their awareness for national and international issues.  

Teens say bullying and addiction are major issues for their generation 

Teens share many of the same biggest concerns for their generations as older Gen Z and Millennials do, but a few issues they name are unique to their age group. Bullying is the fifth top issue for their generation, which makes sense considering their age. Pew research reports that nearly half of all teens in the U.S. say they’ve experienced some kind of cyberbullying, with older teen girls the most likely to say so. In addition to asking about the issues their generations face, YPulse also asks young people what they think the solution is: on the issue of bullying, teens name intervention from adults, parents, and schools, as well as simply teaching people to be kinder to one another as the way forward. This aligns closely with the second top issue teens say they’re facing—lack of tolerance and respect—on which one 17-year-old male tells YPulse, “There needs to be a unified effort to create change that is cushioned by support of older generations.”  

For teens who say addiction is a top issue, there’s similar calls for change through support of people older than them: one 17-year-old female says addiction to both drugs and technology could be solved through “More support from adults in the schools and more school spirit perhaps. The students need a school in which they feel comfortable and can have role models.” Clearly, teens are looking to parents, schools, and adults at large to help them make change. And we know from YPulse data that young people are happy to see brands be part of this effort to, with their reach being so large; our Causes / Charity and Activism report shows more than four in five teens agree, “I care about the actions that big companies take to make the world better, because they can make a bigger difference than I can.” 

Young adults are most likely to name mental health as the biggest issue 

Teens also name mental health as a top issue for their generation, but among 18-24-year-olds, it’s the fifth most mentioned response. YPulse’s Mental Health report shows that this group is the most likely to agree “I constantly feel stressed,” with nearly seven in 10 saying so, +7pts more than 25-39-year-olds and a massive +15pts more than teens. This does align with the fact that many 18-24-year-olds are college students, who agree on their constant stress in equal numbers—but that’s all the more reason this demographic thinks something needs to be done if they want to succeed as a generation. And they offer up a variety of thoughtful solutions when YPulse asks: a 23-year-old woman says “The solution is to provide free and affordable programs for persons facing mental health. It doesn’t matter their background. Everyone should fit in today in society.”  

YPulse research shows that mental health and emotional wellness are topics young people are more than happy to see brands lend a hand in. The majority of 13-39-year-olds, and more than three quarters of 18-24-year-olds agree, “I wish more brands would support mental health initiatives as part of their social good efforts,” showing this is an issue young people feel brands have the ability to help solve. One 18-year-old man tells YPulse the solution to the mental health crisis is “Better resources, more education about complex mental illnesses, better access to support, [and] therapy costing less,” all of which are clear actions brands can take. But, it’s important to remember that a brand wanting to contribute to a cause—any cause—needs to be doing so mindfully, and in a way that connects their brand authentically to young people (which our newest special report dives into).  

 * This open-end response question allows YPulse to capture the full range of responses from 13-39-year-olds without our pre-written options shaping their responses. As with any open-end question, the responses include those that are top of mind and those that are most popular, and are qualitative information. The lists are ranked according to the number of responses received for each, and alphabetically when ties occur. In this list, responses of “none” or “N/A” have been omitted from the ranking.

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📰 03 | Most Clicked News of the Week

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Instagram’s 2024 Trend Talk shows Gen Z’s health focus for the new year: wellness through authenticity. In anticipation of the wellness industry’s continued rise next year, Instagram collaborated with the Worth Global Style Network to survey 5K members of Gen Z across the U.S., U.K., India, South Korea, and Brazil. They found that Gen Z’s top three lifestyle priorities for 2024 include staying healthy, exploring career paths, and travelling. Notably, they want the year to embody themes of self-improvement, luck, and unapologetic authenticity. Further, entrepreneurship appeals to a significant portion of this gen with one in three considering self-employment as the optimal path to wealth. YPulse’s What is Wellness? trend report shows young people look at their health holistically—emotional wellbeing, which relies on everything from friendship to work, is as important (if not more) as physical wellness to this gen. (CNBC)