The big issue: Through the lens of Gen Z
Therapy Today, May 2026

As a parent of three Gen Zers ranging from 16 to 22 years old, I see firsthand the tricky and uncertain terrain they are trying to navigate. Advice that may have worked in the past, such as that hard work and persistence pay off, doesn鈥檛 seem to ring true anymore. Parenting Gen Z involves trying to understand the world in which they鈥檙e operating. It鈥檚 incumbent on therapists to do the same. So what issues are Gen Z bringing to therapy and how can therapists help?

Barely a day goes by without a headline about Gen Z, generally classified as those born between 1997 and 2012 (currently aged between 29 and 14). The word that features most prominently is 鈥榓nxiety鈥�, whether that pertains to the workplace,¹ financially or socially. They are often regarded as overly sensitive and chronically online. It can sometimes feel like there鈥檚 an all-pervasive eye-roll from the preceding generations, yet there鈥檚 clearly an issue and a pressing need to understand it.听

A report by the Resolution Foundation in 2024² stated that young people were more likely to experience a common mental disorder than any other age group, a complete reversal compared to two decades ago, when they were the group least likely to. In his book The Anxious Generation,³ social psychologist Jonathan Haidt highlights the deleterious effect of smartphones and social media on the mental health of young people, concluding that Gen Z have been hit hardest. After all, they are the generation who have grown up in a fully online world. Yet despite being connected online, 72% of Gen Z said that loneliness was having a negative effect on their mental health and wellbeing according to a survey by 麻豆原创.^4听

In January The King鈥檚 Trust⁵ published findings from a YouGov survey of 16- to 25-year-olds across the UK. The state of the economy meant 73% were anxious about their future careers, with 59% worried about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their future job security. Over a quarter (27%) felt they were going to fail in life. Rather than achieving the milestones that were previously seen as an automatic rite of passage, many are stuck, still living at home, unable to obtain jobs that enable them to get on the increasingly fragile housing ladder.

72% of Gen Z said that loneliness was having a negative effect on their mental health and wellbeing^4听

This is also the generation who hit their formative years during the pandemic. 鈥業 know it was a few years ago now but lockdown was such a thing,鈥� says Alex,* a 21-year-old student and . 鈥業 feel like after it was over no one really spoke about it much and we were just expected to go back to our normal lives, yet it had such a big impact on all of us.鈥櫶�

鈥楢nxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions experienced by young people, and is the number one concern callers to YoungMinds鈥� Parents Helpline want to talk about,鈥� says Paul Noblet, Head of External Affairs and Research at YoungMinds. 鈥榃e know that, for many, growing up today is incredibly tough. Pressures are piling up from the cost-of-living crisis, devastating wars, the climate emergency and unaffordable housing. Add on intense academic pressure and an uncertain future, it鈥檚 no wonder more young people than ever before are struggling with their mental health.鈥櫶�

Mental health literacy and AI听

According to The King鈥檚 Fund,⁶ the proportion of 17- to 19-year-olds with a probable mental health disorder more than doubled between 2017 and 2023, but Gen Z have struggled to access support because services have not kept up with demand. They are an emotionally literate generation who are open about mental health. Is it no wonder then that more are turning to AI for therapy that fulfils criteria attractive to Gen Z: it鈥檚 instantly accessible and online.听

Anxiety therapist and author Joshua Fletcher M麻豆原创 has a huge social media following and is well versed in the online world in which Gen Z operates, as illustrated in his new book, Same Time Next Week? Living with Anxiety in the Modern World.^7听

27% Over a quarter of Gen Z felt they were going to fail in life⁵

He does have reservations about the accessibility of mental health advice on social media. 鈥楾he vast majority of mental health advice on social media is misinformation.鈥� Many come to Fletcher having diagnosed themselves. 鈥榊ou鈥檒l hear in therapy from Gen Z that they have asked ChatGPT or another AI, which has told them they have ADHD. These chatbots tell you what鈥檚 popular, not what鈥檚 right. You鈥檝e got to be polished up on that to remain in their frame of reference. It can be very confronting for a therapist as it鈥檚 a threat to their profession.鈥櫶�

Gen Z bringing their own diagnoses to therapy is echoed by听 (Accred). 鈥楽ometimes I have clients who say things like, 鈥樷�業 think I have relationship anxiety鈥欌��, or who use very specific terminology. Clearly there鈥檚 been something about finding a label that鈥檚 felt helpful, but I don鈥檛 necessarily know whether they have the tools to really unpack what the label means for them because there鈥檚 not necessarily the framework available to help them become critical readers. They鈥檙e the canaries in the coal mine without anyone to guide them accurately.鈥櫶�

鈥榊oung people are using AI therapists because they aren鈥檛 getting the support that they should be getting, and therapy is really inaccessible,鈥� says Alex. 鈥業t just creates an unhealthy attachment with something that does not exist. It should not be replacing real human connection, but because of different barriers, whether it be financial or social, or people finding real-life interaction overwhelming, they go to AI. I understand why people go to it but I think there is way too much risk.鈥櫶�

Joshua Fletcher, anxiety therapist and author

Social media

Ofcom鈥檚 Online Nation Report in 2024 revealed that Gen Z spent the most time online with an average time of just over six hours a day.⁸ They are aware of the damaging effects and there is a pushback. Freya India, author of GIRLS庐: Gen Z and the commodification of everything,⁹ speaks out about growing up online as a young woman and her rejection of it.听

鈥業 had all the apps 鈥� Snapchat, Instagram. My parents didn鈥檛 really know... it鈥檚 hard to talk about without shaming a whole generation of parents, but they were thrown into it as much as we were,鈥� she said in a recent interview with The Times.¹⁰ In her book she talks about how the pressure to post in a certain way on social media is particularly impacting girls, turning them into 鈥榦rnaments on display鈥�. She wrote an online essay that went viral, entitled 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 need to document everything. Stop selling off your life so cheaply to strangers鈥�.^11听

Young men are also impacted, says Joshua Fletcher. 鈥榃e鈥檙e in the age of optimisation when you are completely bombarded with a customised feed,鈥� he says. 鈥楧epending on what you see, five to six hours a day is where you have a problem. If you鈥檙e a young, disillusioned lad struggling with identity issues with no real role models you鈥檙e going to struggle. It鈥檚 very good at speaking to your insecurities. You鈥檙e going to get people from the 鈥渂ro sphere鈥� living the high life and you鈥檙e going to internalise that. It coincides with a sharp rise in gambling addiction among Gen Z.鈥櫶�

鈥楽ocial media creates an unrealistic perception of life,鈥� says Nat,* 23, another activist for YoungMinds. 鈥業鈥檝e听got a really bad comparing habit where I compare my life to other people, and it does make you feel you鈥檙e a bit behind in life. I limit the amount of people I鈥檓 following so it鈥檚 just my small circle on Instagram. I did follow a lot of celebrities but I鈥檝e unfollowed them. With social media I feel a little bit disconnected. I deactivate my social every now and then, like detoxing.鈥�

Fletcher sees the negative effects on young women in the 鈥榳ellness perfection鈥� sphere on social media. 鈥楪en Z have grown up with hours of people being inauthentic curated versions of themselves. You鈥檙e constantly having messages of 鈥渄o this, do that, do that better鈥�. That鈥檚 the majority of your day sending a feedback loop to your brain that you鈥檙e not good enough. Where I start with anxiety therapy is to build a nice foundation of what someone is really good at.鈥櫶�

鈥業t鈥檚 almost the blind leading the blind,鈥� says Hilton of the online world. 鈥業t鈥檚 all people in their 20s telling each other what they should do, which in some ways leads to lots of great stuff, but it does make it harder to take that nuanced step back.鈥櫶�

However, Hilton believes that social media can be harnessed in positive ways so that therapists can help their Gen Z clients. She finds that being apprised of contemporary culture and its references, such as content her clients may have been streaming, can be a good way for them to explore what they are feeling in therapy. 鈥業t can be really helpful for people to talk through their reaction to things, even if they haven鈥檛 fully understood it themselves.鈥櫶�

Cora Hilton, therapist

颁补苍肠别濒濒补迟颈辞苍/谤别濒补迟颈辞苍蝉丑颈辫蝉听

Linked to social media use is the fear of 鈥榖eing cancelled鈥� 鈥� socially shunned in real life as a result of a social media 鈥榩ile-on鈥� in response to something said or done either online or in real life.听

鈥楥ancel culture is a massive thing,鈥� says Alex. 鈥楶eople don鈥檛 listen to each other. The smallest thing that someone does wrong will be taken out of proportion. I鈥檝e seen that reflected a lot in my peers these days.鈥櫶�

Both Alex and Nat also highlight the prevalence of rejection sensitive dysphoria, which has a huge impact on relationships across the board.听

鈥業t鈥檚 a lot more common in young people who have experienced trauma or who are neurodivergent, but it applies a lot with social media,鈥� says Alex. 鈥業f you鈥檙e reading a text and someone is a bit dismissive it feels so much bigger in your head and becomes all-consuming, and it鈥檚 so disabling for many young people. I think it鈥檚 why our generation has been called more sensitive. It鈥檚 that constant anxiety. Is this person going to respond? Are they ignoring me? I just feel it鈥檚 so embedded in all of Gen Z.鈥櫶�

Alex emphasises how so many messages are open to misinterpretation when socialising is online, such as via WhatsApp. 鈥楾one indicators are an absolute lifesaver. They are usually used by neurodivergent people but I think they should be used by everyone. It鈥檚 where you put /gen for 鈥済enuine鈥� or /srs for 鈥渟erious鈥�.鈥櫶�

59% of Gen Z are worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on their future job security^{5 听}

鈥業鈥檓 really sensitive to what others think of me, and I can be quite a people pleaser,鈥� says Nat. 鈥業鈥檓 conscious about myself to the extent that I鈥檝e limited my social life a little bit as well. Having a large social circle for me is overwhelming. I鈥檓 always masking around people, and it takes a lot of my energy.鈥�

Nat has found the benefits of finding a community in person and outdoors by starting the Creative Outdoor Skills Programme with YoungMinds. 鈥業t involves a lot of gardening and connecting with other people. I found that really helpful. You get a sense of fulfilment.鈥櫶�

Work听

At the younger end of the Gen Z spectrum, getting into the workplace is a source of anxiety, especially with AI seemingly eliminating the entry level positions that young people would usually fill. 鈥業 find that many workplaces want people with lots of experience, and unless you have that they don鈥檛 want to hire you, but then you can鈥檛 get experience unless they give you a job,鈥� says Alex. 鈥業t鈥檚 just this huge cycle. Now I don鈥檛 even get to the interview stage.鈥櫶�

At the older end there appears to be a workplace clash between Gen Z and their employers.¹² If jobs don鈥檛 feel meaningful they turn to entrepreneurial projects to fill the gap. Tina Chummun, a UKCP accredited psychotherapist, works with Gen Z clients who are frustrated in their jobs because they want more immediate results. 鈥楾here鈥檚 the whole thing around the side hustle now,鈥� says Chummun. 鈥楾hey are going to work and doing the bare minimum to get their salary and, in the background, they鈥檙e thinking about their side hustles.鈥櫶�

Fletcher highlights that it鈥檚 not because Gen Z are any more impatient 鈥� it鈥檚 because they鈥檝e been conditioned. 鈥楾hey鈥檝e been conditioned to expect instant gratification as the norm. It鈥檚 a societal thing. We鈥檙e living in an Amazon Prime society.鈥櫶�

Gen Z鈥檚 awareness around mental health means they are more likely to put in place boundaries around work. They鈥檝e introduced the concepts of 鈥榪uiet quitting鈥� and 鈥榖are minimum Mondays鈥�. 鈥楪en Z are better at handling the work/life balance in part because they鈥檙e very willing to ask for it to be met. They鈥檒l vote with their feet and just get another job,鈥� says Hilton. Fletcher notes that it鈥檚 also a drive for agency. 鈥楢 lot has been taken away. They won鈥檛 buy a house, and if they can it鈥檚 so expensive and they鈥檙e not going to pay off their student debt. They鈥檒l fight for the little agency wins.鈥� Fletcher also sees that there鈥檚 been an erosion in the ability to tolerate distress.听

Tina Chummun, psychotherapist

Therapy benefits

From my dealings with Gen Z I see an empathetic, inclusive and emotionally open cohort grappling with a fastpaced, high-pressure, unstable world. Gen Z have grown up online, through a pandemic and into an economic landscape where many traditional milestones of adulthood feel increasingly out of reach.听

My 16-year-old envies my preinternet 1980s existence. It鈥檚 not usual for a generation to envy the older ones.听

At the same time Gen Z are fluent in the language of mental health and far more willing than previous generations to talk about it. What they seem to want from therapy are not quick fixes or labels but somewhere to slow down 鈥� a place to think, to be taken seriously and to make sense of themselves beyond the constant commentary of the online world.听

Fletcher recognises the importance of being adaptable as a therapist to a generation where, in the social media sphere, talking about therapy is more acceptable. For example, he might do walk and talk therapy with one client, and with some neurodivergent clients, for whom an in-person session may be uncomfortable, he鈥檒l do a telephone call. 鈥業n the world of AI and instant gratification, one of your biggest powers as a therapist 鈥� and something that those things can鈥檛 do 鈥� is to be in the silence and sit in the uncertainty,鈥� he says. 鈥楾he art of being able to pause is something that鈥檚 so missing and incredibly difficult for them [Gen Z] to do. Teach them the skill of sitting with uncertainty and often answers reveal themselves in silence. Compassion is conveying your belief in someone else鈥檚 ability.鈥櫶�

73% of Gen Z are anxious about their future careers because of the state of the economy^{5 听}

Chummun highlights the need for therapists to understand how relationships are different for Gen Z and the terms that are used. 鈥楾here are trending terms now like 鈥渟ituationship鈥� and there are all the rules attributed to that.鈥� She also stresses the importance of being open to learning from Gen Z themselves. 鈥楴o matter how much I read it won鈥檛 give me the insight into what they鈥檙e experiencing. I offer that vulnerability to my clients. The primary thing is that they want to be related to. They want to be heard and seen and to be understood for their uniqueness, not just as Gen Z.鈥�

For therapists, keeping up with Gen Z is less about mastering every new term or trend and more about staying curious about the culture shaping their lives. Alex puts it simply: 鈥業 just feel like people aren鈥檛 really listening to one another. It feels like they jump to their own conclusions before listening to what we have to say.鈥櫶�

Perhaps it鈥檚 time to peel off those Gen Z labels and do just that.听