This Is Why America Is Coming Apart At Its Seams
Mark Tapscott
February 17,2024
“By the numbers: Gen Z (defined as people roughly ages 12 to 27) reports the poorest mental health of any generation, according to a Gallup and Walton Family Foundation report.
“Just 44% of Gen Zers say they feel prepared for the future.
“The big picture: They dodged familiar teen pitfalls — with lower teen pregnancy rates and lower rates of alcohol use. Instead, they’re grappling with alarming rates of loneliness, depression and suicidal thoughts.
“Zoom in: Partly by choice and partly out of necessity during the pandemic, Gen Z socializes online, rather than in person, far more than previous generations. That’s not healthy, experts say.”
It’s no coincidence that Gen Z is also the least faith-oriented, as found by the Survey Center on American Life”
“In terms of identity, Generation Z is the least religious generation yet. More than one-third (34 percent) of Generation Z are religiously unaffiliated, a significantly larger proportion than among millennials (29 percent) and Generation X (25 percent). Fewer than one in five (18 percent) baby boomers and only 9 percent of the silent generation are religiously unaffiliated.”
This being the case, nobody should be surprised that, as Axios describes it, Gen Zers are grappling with alarming rates of depression, loneliness and suicidal thoughts. What Axios doesn’t highlight is the related factor of absent fathers, which is particularly acute among Blacks but is steadily increasing among Whites as well.
In addition to the social media isolation, the first high schoolers affected by Covid lockdowns are in college and entering the workforce.