The Not So Great Depression of Gen Z

‘Just 45% of Gen Zers report that their men­tal health is very good or excel­lent, accord­ing to the Amer­i­can Psy­cho­log­i­cal Asso­ci­a­tion. All oth­er gen­er­a­tion groups fared bet­ter on this sta­tis­tic, includ­ing Mil­len­ni­als (56%), Gen Xers (51%) and Boomers (70%).‘ At the time of writing, Gen Z is aged between 9 and 24 years old. At the lower spectrum, they’re at an impressionable age, and at the higher spectrum, they’re currently entering the workforce. The mental conditioning, or the reconditioning they receive will affect the future of this planet. In the book, The Empathy Instinct by Peter Bazalgette (2017) he speaks of the Empathy Deficit spoken of by Former US President, Barack Obama... ‘If we hope to meet the moral test of our times...then I think we’re going to have to talk more about the Empathy Deficit. The ability to put ourselves in somebody else’s shoes, to see the world through somebody else’s eyes...’ Bazalgette (2017) says that empathy is an innate part of being a human, but we are also ‘tribal’ where we will care more for those we relate to and be hostile towards those who are not like us. While the world is fighting each other with old fashioned notions, it is vital that the new generations will carry that empathy gene into their lives where it will trickle down to their work, relationships, and mental health. BAZALGETTE, S., 2017. EMPATHY INSTINCT. [Place of publication not identified]: JOHN MURRAY Publishers LT. The Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2021. Generation Z’s Mental Health Issues. [online] Available at: <https://www.aecf.org/blog/generation-z-and-mental-health> [Accessed 4 March 2022].