The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all in countless ways. For many, it was a difficult period of isolation, which has led to the exacerbation of existing mental health problems as well as, in some cases, the creation of new ones.
No generation has been totally immune to this. But according to our findings from a recent survey on mental health from Coupon Cause, Gen Z has been the most impacted by the pandemic from a mental health perspective.
In this article, we’ll cover some of the most insightful findings from our survey to highlight exactly how Gen Z has been impacted by COVID-19 and what that means for members of the generation moving forward.
Gen Z Was the Generation Most Impacted By COVID-19
While conducting our survey, we had two main findings that showed why Gen Z was the most impacted generation by COVID-19. The first is that 16% of Gen Z respondents said that the pandemic had a large negative effect on their mental health. But just 9% of everyone over the age of 25 said the same thing.
Additionally, 41% of Gen Z says that they have less control over their mental health today than they did before the pandemic started. While just 24% of everyone over the age of 25 says the same thing.
Gen Z’s Concerns Have Changed Since Quarantine Started
One other insightful finding from the survey is this: 54% of Gen Zers say that their concerns now are different than they were before the pandemic. This seems to suggest that the majority of the generation sees the world differently in the wake of COVID-19. It means that a large portion of Gen Zers has adjusted their worldview since the pandemic.
Gen Z’s Attitude Towards Therapy
Given how impacted Gen Z has been by the COVID-19 pandemic, it makes sense that our survey found Gen Zers are more likely to pursue therapy now than they were before the pandemic started.
54% of Gen Z said that they had considered or tried therapy before the pandemic while 62% of Gen Zers said that they considered or tried therapy during the pandemic.
Of Gen Zers who haven’t tried therapy, we made some interesting discoveries about why. Here’s a list showing the reasons that they gave for this decision:
- 42% said therapy was too expensive
- 36% said they don’t know if therapy will actually help
- 33% said talking about feelings is too uncomfortable
- And 31% said they don’t know where to look for good therapy
Another interesting thing we found in our survey is the percentage of Gen Zers who believe in the power of online therapy. An impressive 49% of respondents in this age group said that they think online therapy can be equally as effective as seeing a therapist in person.
One last thing of note: 48% of Gen Z respondents said that they prefer in-person therapy over online options while just 11% said that they prefer online therapy to traditional sessions. This suggests that, although Gen Zers are open to the idea of online therapy, many still prefer to see a therapist in person.
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