Kids These Days

A note: We talk briefly about depression and suicide in this episode. If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health issues, we have a list of resources available to help here.

Kids these days are stressed. Really. They’re a lot more stressed than generations before them.

Millions of teens have an anxiety disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Mira is one of those teens. She’s a sophomore at Community High School.

A note: In this episode we talk about school lockdown drills, which may not be appropriate for our younger listeners.

Gen Z is growing up in a world changed forever before they were even born by events like September 11 and Columbine.

They’ve also been hit with two defining events that will shape their lives in ways we can’t even anticipate: the looming threat of climate change, and the more immediate threat of COVID-19.

Three weeks after police killed George Floyd, teens have been out on the streets to protest police brutality and systemic racism.

Some people may wonder: why? What is motivating teens to step out, to speak up, and to demand change?

To try and answer that, let’s move out of the streets and into the home for just a moment.

If you or someone you know is facing immediate harm because of suicidal or homicidal thoughts or actions, please get help now:

Teenagers. Always on their phones (but don’t know how to make a phone call). Endlessly curating their identities on Instagram. Unprepared for “the real world.” These are some of the stereotypes of Generation Z. But are they accurate? What are young people really thinking about, laughing about, and stressing about right now?