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’t seem to ring true anymore. Parenting Gen Z involves trying to understand the world in which they’re operating. It’s 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 ‘anxiety’, 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’s an all-pervasive eye-roll from the preceding generations, yet there’s clearly an issue and a pressing need to understand it. 

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 BACP.⁴ 

In January The King’s 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 wellbeing⁴ 

This is also the generation who hit their formative years during the pandemic. ‘I know it was a few years ago now but lockdown was such a thing,’ says Alex,* a 21-year-old student and YoungMinds activist. ‘I 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.’ 

‘Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions experienced by young people, and is the number one concern callers to YoungMinds’ Parents Helpline want to talk about,’ says Paul Noblet, Head of External Affairs and Research at YoungMinds. ‘We 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’s no wonder more young people than ever before are struggling with their mental health.’ 

Mental health literacy and AI 

According to The King’s 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’s instantly accessible and online. 

Anxiety therapist and author Joshua Fletcher MBACP 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 

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. ‘The vast majority of mental health advice on social media is misinformation.’ Many come to Fletcher having diagnosed themselves. ‘You’ll 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’s popular, not what’s right. You’ve got to be polished up on that to remain in their frame of reference. It can be very confronting for a therapist as it’s a threat to their profession.’ 

Gen Z bringing their own diagnoses to therapy is echoed by Cora Hilton MBACP (Accred). ‘Sometimes I have clients who say things like, ‘‘I think I have relationship anxiety’’, or who use very specific terminology. Clearly there’s been something about finding a label that’s felt helpful, but I don’t necessarily know whether they have the tools to really unpack what the label means for them because there’s not necessarily the framework available to help them become critical readers. They’re the canaries in the coal mine without anyone to guide them accurately.’ 

‘Young people are using AI therapists because they aren’t getting the support that they should be getting, and therapy is really inaccessible,’ says Alex. ‘It 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.’ 

Joshua Fletcher, anxiety therapist and author

Social media

Ofcom’s 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®: Gen Z and the commodification of everything,⁹ speaks out about growing up online as a young woman and her rejection of it. 

‘I had all the apps – Snapchat, Instagram. My parents didn’t really know... it’s hard to talk about without shaming a whole generation of parents, but they were thrown into it as much as we were,’ 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 ‘ornaments on display’. She wrote an online essay that went viral, entitled ‘You don’t need to document everything. Stop selling off your life so cheaply to strangers’.¹¹ 

Young men are also impacted, says Joshua Fletcher. ‘We’re in the age of optimisation when you are completely bombarded with a customised feed,’ he says. ‘Depending on what you see, five to six hours a day is where you have a problem. If you’re a young, disillusioned lad struggling with identity issues with no real role models you’re going to struggle. It’s very good at speaking to your insecurities. You’re going to get people from the “bro sphere” living the high life and you’re going to internalise that. It coincides with a sharp rise in gambling addiction among Gen Z.’ 

‘Social media creates an unrealistic perception of life,’ says Nat,* 23, another activist for YoungMinds. ‘I’ve got a really bad comparing habit where I compare my life to other people, and it does make you feel you’re a bit behind in life. I limit the amount of people I’m following so it’s just my small circle on Instagram. I did follow a lot of celebrities but I’ve unfollowed them. With social media I feel a little bit disconnected. I deactivate my social every now and then, like detoxing.’

Fletcher sees the negative effects on young women in the ‘wellness perfection’ sphere on social media. ‘Gen Z have grown up with hours of people being inauthentic curated versions of themselves. You’re constantly having messages of “do this, do that, do that better”. That’s the majority of your day sending a feedback loop to your brain that you’re not good enough. Where I start with anxiety therapy is to build a nice foundation of what someone is really good at.’ 

‘It’s almost the blind leading the blind,’ says Hilton of the online world. ‘It’s 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.’ 

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. ‘It can be really helpful for people to talk through their reaction to things, even if they haven’t fully understood it themselves.’ 

Cora Hilton, therapist

Cancellation/relationships 

Linked to social media use is the fear of ‘being cancelled’ – socially shunned in real life as a result of a social media ‘pile-on’ in response to something said or done either online or in real life. 

‘Cancel culture is a massive thing,’ says Alex. ‘People don’t listen to each other. The smallest thing that someone does wrong will be taken out of proportion. I’ve seen that reflected a lot in my peers these days.’ 

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

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

Alex emphasises how so many messages are open to misinterpretation when socialising is online, such as via WhatsApp. ‘Tone indicators are an absolute lifesaver. They are usually used by neurodivergent people but I think they should be used by everyone. It’s where you put /gen for “genuine” or /srs for “serious”.’ 

59% of Gen Z are worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on their future job security⁵  

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

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

Work 

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. ‘I find that many workplaces want people with lots of experience, and unless you have that they don’t want to hire you, but then you can’t get experience unless they give you a job,’ says Alex. ‘It’s just this huge cycle. Now I don’t even get to the interview stage.’ 

At the older end there appears to be a workplace clash between Gen Z and their employers.¹² If jobs don’t 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. ‘There’s the whole thing around the side hustle now,’ says Chummun. ‘They are going to work and doing the bare minimum to get their salary and, in the background, they’re thinking about their side hustles.’ 

Fletcher highlights that it’s not because Gen Z are any more impatient – it’s because they’ve been conditioned. ‘They’ve been conditioned to expect instant gratification as the norm. It’s a societal thing. We’re living in an Amazon Prime society.’ 

Gen Z’s awareness around mental health means they are more likely to put in place boundaries around work. They’ve introduced the concepts of ‘quiet quitting’ and ‘bare minimum Mondays’. ‘Gen Z are better at handling the work/life balance in part because they’re very willing to ask for it to be met. They’ll vote with their feet and just get another job,’ says Hilton. Fletcher notes that it’s also a drive for agency. ‘A lot has been taken away. They won’t buy a house, and if they can it’s so expensive and they’re not going to pay off their student debt. They’ll fight for the little agency wins.’ Fletcher also sees that there’s been an erosion in the ability to tolerate distress. 

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. 

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

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 – a place to think, to be taken seriously and to make sense of themselves beyond the constant commentary of the online world. 

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’ll do a telephone call. ‘In the world of AI and instant gratification, one of your biggest powers as a therapist – and something that those things can’t do – is to be in the silence and sit in the uncertainty,’ he says. ‘The art of being able to pause is something that’s 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’s ability.’ 

73% of Gen Z are anxious about their future careers because of the state of the economy⁵  

Chummun highlights the need for therapists to understand how relationships are different for Gen Z and the terms that are used. ‘There are trending terms now like “situationship” and there are all the rules attributed to that.’ She also stresses the importance of being open to learning from Gen Z themselves. ‘No matter how much I read it won’t give me the insight into what they’re 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.’

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: ‘I just feel like people aren’t really listening to one another. It feels like they jump to their own conclusions before listening to what we have to say.’ 

Perhaps it’s time to peel off those Gen Z labels and do just that.