Gen Z is a generation of people that were born in 1997-2012 ages 12-27. Generation Gen Z struggles the most with mental health and economic issues. Home prices over the years have increased as wages stay the same. This being said more individuals who are in college are not able to afford tuition nor a home. Home prices have increased by 1,608 % from 1970 – 2022. The minimum wage is 40% lower than what it should be compared to 1970. A home could cost you $100,000 in 1970 and homes in the year 2022 cost you $710,000. Colleges have also increased by 2,000% tuition starting at 100,700 in 1970 currently it is about $38,000 a year. Mortgage rates in 1971 was 7.54%. In 2020, the average rate was 3.11%. Gen z traumas have also affected the generations’ mental and economic situations making it more difficult to obtain a proper education and property like a home without having financial issues like being in debt from student loans.
Some of the Gen Z generation would say the isolations of the pandemic in 2020 took the worst turn. Many people throughout the pandemic had lost their jobs and many loved ones’ lives were lost as well. The pandemic had a big impact on finding jobs, staying safe, and being able to support their families. Gen Z is known as the generation of technology, and some would say this generation is ‘lazy’ because some expect it to do the work for them but many people also lost their jobs due to so much technology having a system to correspond with the labor. With all the technology making it easier to get work done there is still a downside, wages for labor have not changed, since it’s easier for a machine to get work done, why pay someone to do it instead? Having technology at our fingertips can also cause many people to discriminate against this generation. Other generations may think Gen Z has it easier but having discrimination can be biased by thinking a certain person is lazy and may not know what to do because it’s easier to look something up or simply use the calculator on their phone.
Another struggle for Gen Z is dealing with all the consequences from past generations, thinking that we may have all the answers to major problems such as climate change. In reality, we are still learning from our own mistakes because this generation is full of young adults. This can cause a lot of pressure to figure out political and environmental issues as well.
This is the reality of Gen Z, the struggles of not being able to afford housing or basic living supplies, to being able to support themselves and the families of their own. This coincides with many labor issues such as jobs being taken over by technology which is not easy to go by when trying to support yourself. The pressure of being a young adult can be hard to live up to as many people think this generation may have many answers, whereas others think this generation is too “dumb’ or too “lazy” to figure anything out. The reality is that this generation is still learning their way just like any other generation did as well, so no one has it easier than others, everyone still has to work for their dreams and issues.
