Gen Zers are more lonely but optimistic about their future: Survey

Survey: Gen Z is lonely but still optimistic about their future

70% of Gen Z adults say their best days are ahead of them
The optimism comes even as many say they often or always feel lonely
Teens are heading to therapy at higher rates than previous generations

Updated: Nov 10, 2023 / 03:02 PM CST

FILE – A woman checks her phone in Orem, Utah, on Nov. 14, 2019. A survey of people ages 16 to 40 finds that millennials and Generation Z follow the news, but they aren’t that happy with what they’re seeing. The study conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute says 79% of people follow news daily, contrary to perceptions that many are tuned out. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

(NewsNation) — Despite feeling more lonely and depressed than previous generations, young people remain optimistic about their futures.

Among Generation Z adults between ages 18 and 26, 70% say their best days are ahead of them, according to new research from the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Less than 60% of Millennials and just 46% of Generation Xers felt the same way.

The hopeful outlook comes even as younger Americans continue to report higher levels of loneliness and social isolation than previous generations.

Teenagers today are less likely to have had a romantic relationship or hold a part-time job than in the past. They’re also less likely to socialize in person, often connecting online instead.

Today, nearly one in four Gen Z adults said they have “always” or “often” felt lonely over the past year, according to the AEI report. Just 7% of baby boomers said the same.

The latest findings suggest higher rates of teen loneliness are continuing into adulthood. Roughly 56% of Gen Z adults who felt lonely for most or all of their teenage years said they often felt lonely over the past year. Just 6% of those who feel lonely today didn’t feel that way as teens, per AEI.

But with plenty of time ahead of them, members of Gen Z are also feeling positive about the direction of their own lives.

Some of that optimism could be due to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the survey, 60% of Gen Z adults said their life trajectory was influenced by the coronavirus, a higher percentage than any other generation.

American teens are also heading to therapy at growing rates — an indication they may be more likely to ask for help than previous cohorts.

More than one in four Gen Z adults spent some time talking to a therapist as teens. Just 10% of Gen X Americans and 4% of baby boomers did the same, AEI found.

The report noted that changes in recent technology, culture and family life may be leading to “greater hardship” and “a pervasive sense of dislocation” across Generation Z, but it may not remain that way.

“If we take a longer view, we may find Generation Z develops a deeper appreciation of the importance of family relationships, civic connection, and social solidarity,” the report’s authors wrote.

The new research is based on interviews with 5,055 U.S. adults that were conducted in August.