SURVEY: The Effects of the Pandemic on Gen Z Mental Health, Habits and Perspectives on Therapy

Updated on August 21, 2021

COVID-19 has been tough on everyone. All of the sudden, offices were closed, people lost their jobs, and we had to isolate ourselves from many of the people that we cared the most about.

Thankfully, things are starting to get back to normal now that vaccines are rolling out. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone will be able to simply revert back to the people they were before the pandemic.

Instead, the pandemic is sure to have long-lasting impacts on people across all spectrums of life. However, data from a recent mental health survey from Coupon Cause shows that Gen Z is the generation that has been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the most telling results from the survey, explaining exactly how Gen Z has been impacted by the pandemic in the process. Keep reading to learn more.

How Gen Z’s Habits Changed During the Pandemic

Habits can be a great indicator of how a person is feeling. When a person has good habits, they tend to feel good. And the opposite is also true.

That’s why it’s noteworthy that in our survey, 38% of our Gen Z respondents said that their habits got worse during the pandemic. Perhaps even more significant than that, 62% of Gen Z respondents said that they had a habit that they wish they could change.

These results show that Gen Z picked up poor habits during the pandemic, which is an indicator that they aren’t doing as well mentally as they were before COVID-19.

Why Gen Z Is Struggling to Change Their Habits

Bad habits can be mentally taxing enough on their own. But it becomes even more challenging to live a happy, healthy life if you have bad habits that you feel incapable of changing. And, unfortunately, that’s exactly what we’re seeing from Gen Z in the wake of the pandemic.

We found that there are two major reasons why Gen Z feels incapable of changing their poor habits. 51% said they won’t change their bad habit because it brings them happiness or reduces stress. And 45% of Gen Z respondents said they don’t know how to change their bad habits.

How Gen Z Feels About Therapy

One of the best ways to move past a mental blockage in life, such as a bad habit that you just can’t break, is to start going to therapy. And many members of Generation Z are receptive to this idea.

62% of our Gen Z respondents said they had considered therapy in the wake of COVID-19. You can compare that to just 32% of all respondents over the age of 25.

Many Gen Z respondents are also interested in giving online therapy a chance. Just 11% of Gen Zers prefer online therapy. But 41% said they have no preference between online and face-to-face therapy sessions.

This data shows that, although Gen Z has had perhaps the toughest time of any generation with the pandemic, they are also one of the most receptive generations to getting the help that they need to overcome those challenges.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.