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“Now that I’m leaving college,
I’m stressed 24/7 thinking
about, ‘I have to pay this
monthly, do I have enough
money to move into the city?’
I know that the loans are always
going to be there. It makes
you a more stressed person.”
alyson pisarcikular 60-day surveys of British youth, in findings that
might just as well apply to American youth. “Genera-
tion Z are looking for more certainty and stability, be-
cause of the rise of the gig economy. They have trouble
seeing a financial future and they are quite risk averse.”
What does this mean for the future of this year’s
graduating class? Will uncertainty and rapid
change turn them into a lost generation of anxi-
ety-ridden neurotics, terrified of losing their place
in a world of political instability and rampant in-
come inequality? Will they be trapped between the
lofty hopes and dreams of their parents and the re-
ality of a shrinking economy and looming climate
catastrophe? Or will these constraints spur them to
become the most industrious and high-achieving
generation in decades? Will it be one or the other—
or both? This is the contradiction of Generation Z.Anxious and Insecure
alyson pisarcik, 22, graduated last month from
Penn State with a degree in Security Risk Analysis and
a minor in Information Science Technology. She says
the growing size of her college loans persuaded her
early on to set aside her “obsession”
with political science and dreams of
working for the UN, once she learned
of the meager salary she could expect.
Now, even though she has secured
a job at Accenture, a big consulting
company, the looming debt remains a
constant source of worry for her.
“Now that I’m leaving college I’m
stressed 24/7 thinking about, ‘I have
to pay this monthly, do I have enough
money to move into the city?’ All of
that stuff that is now encompassed
into my life. I know that the loans are
always going to be there. It makes you
a more stressed person.”
Mental health seems to be a
theme with Generation Z. College
seniors, in a survey last fall by the
American Psychological Association, reported the
worst mental health of any generation: 91 per-
cent of young adults said they had felt physical or
emotional symptoms associated with stress, such
as depression or anxiety. They are carrying this
anxiety into the workplace. About 54 percent of
workers under 23 say they felt anxious because of