Why Gen Z was Set Up to Fail

So the graphs show that Gen Z is fucked. Now, why might this be the case?

When I graduated from college in 2008, US unemployment rates were at a 16-yr high. By 2009, unemployment rates would be at a 27-yr high. This isn't terrible when you look at the entire history of unemployment in our country, but it does tell a story about Millennials like me who were entering the work force. During the 2008 housing market crash, Millennials were at an important stage of development: We were trying to move out on our own, which meant finding a reliable job. High unemployment rates were tough on everybody, but they were particularly tough on Millennials because of the stage of development we were in.

Something similar happened to Gen Z about ten years ago. Two things changed in our social world that affected everybody. Given their stage of development at the time, however, Gen Zers were affected most of all. And, if nothing changes, then Gen Alpha will have it just as bad.

Change One: Postmodern Parenting Has Produced Fragile Children

Children of the 1980s and earlier were raised differently than children in the 1990s and later. In particular, parents in the 1990s started being more careful with and protective of their kids, they began doing more supervision, and they waited longer before letting their children leave the home unsupervised. 

When 1980s kids walked to school, they left home in the morning and didn't see their parents again until dinner time. In the 90s, kids were more likely to be driven to school (if, for whatever reason, a school bus was unavailable). 

Now, my friend Bob and I were born the same year--1986. But he experienced 90s parenting while I experienced 80s parenting. I began walking to school in 3rd grade. I made friends with other kids who walked to school. Bob also walked to school when he was younger, but when he did so his grandmother would drive behind him about 100 feet, creeping along about 2.5 miles per hour, watching to see that he made it to school safely. He was hardly on his own.

Kids today have it more like my Bob. This overprotection is supported by many state laws, which require parental supervision of children up to the age of (as high as) 11. In these states, parents can be arrested if their children are caught at a local park playing baseball without a supervising adult. (My parents would have spent my entire childhood in jail, since I liked to go play home-run derby with my friends.)

The reason for the increase in parental supervision and protection is unclear. It would make sense if society was more dangerous today than it was in the 1980s, but that isn't true. I suspect that all the anxious parenting is a result of an entire industry devoted to "good parenting." Anxious to be a good parent, hopeful moms and dads do more as a testament to their commitment. This runs against mid-20th century Child Psychologist D. W. Winnicott's ideal of the "good enough" parent, one who is present and attentive but not smothering to their children.

Now, it might seem like a good thing for parents to create a living condition that is safer for and more protective of children. But, ironically, all of this safety and supervision does more harm than good because children are anti-fragile. Overprotection hurts them. 

Haidt gives the example of trees that grow in the wild. When a tree grows, it can flourish as long as it isn't crowded out by other trees or destroyed by a hurricane or logging industry. When trees were grown as part of a science experiment, however—fully indoors and protected from the elements—they grew to a certain point before falling over. The scientists had forgotten about the need for wind. Who would think that inclement weather is important for the survival of trees? Wind pushes trees around, which causes temporary trauma. But then the trees get stronger and develop better root systems in order to cope with and handle future trauma. In this sense, trees are anti-fragile. They need to get pushed around and challenged in order to become strong and reslient. Children are the same way.

 

When children try new things, they sometimes fail and sometimes succeed. But doing so they learn resilience in the process. They learn that failure is okay, and they learn how to deal with it. They also develop courage and a willingness to take incremental risks. They derive satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from what they’ve done. (Haidt argues that children require risk. If they can't get it at the park, then they'll seek it out online, which can quickly escalate to far more serious situations).

With overprotective parenting, Gen Zers have grown to be less resilient and less prepared for mistakes, problems, and disappointments. They have not had an opportunity to develop inner resolve or emotional management skills, because they have never been tested (or, if tested, mom or dad has come to their rescue).

 

Change Two: The Introduction of Smart Phones 

 

The second change was the introduction of smart phones—specifically those with front-facing cameras and access to social media with high speed internet connections. 

 

When I first got a smart phone, I was already 24. At the time, I didn’t see any need for a smart phone, since I could do everything on my computer that I could conceivably do on a phone. To check my email on my laptop, I had to stop what I was doing, retrieve my laptop from its bag, find a place to sit it and myself, wait for it to turn on or reboot, connect to wifi, then open my internet browser. Because I was a graduate student, I was often waiting for feedback from a professor about a project or waiting on a journal editor for results on an article submission. To be fair, I only needed to check my email about once every two days, but I was anxious to pass my classes and get published, so I checked whenever I could—about 5-10 times per day.

 

Viewing email is much easier on a smart phone. To do so, I only have to retrieve my phone from my pocket, unlock it with my thumb, then click the email application icon. Soon I was checking my email at least 100 times daily. I would check it while peeing, my phone-holding hand resting on top of the porcelain urinal. I would check it in-between classes. While waiting in line at the grocery store. Even walking down a grocery aisle in-between items I needed. (I might check my email three times while at the grocery store!) I would even check email while bicycle commuting.

 

Keep in mind that I’m only talking about checking text-based email, and I was addicted to it within a month. It got to the point where I couldn’t handle the uncertainty for even one minute, and would have to see if the editor had gotten back with a decision on my most recent manuscript. (This is particularly insane, since editorial decisions take around 6-12 months on average, so who was I kidding, really?)

 

Video-based social media is infinitely more addicting than long-form text-based social media (such as email). Smart phone applications are designed to be as addictive as possible, using the same kind of engineering that casinos use to keep gamblers pulling the slot machine crank arms. The content within these applications is itself designed to keep users engaged. Videos and headlines that incite anger, anxiety, or sexual arousal among other responses increase user interest and attention. Ironically, the content that you find most frustrating and irritating will gobble up most of your time. Then the social media platform will give you more of it, increasing your addiction and captivating more of your attention.

 

As a psychologist, I know just how addictive platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube can be, so I consciously limit my use of them to 10-20 minute blocks throughout the week. I can say, "Okay, one more video," and then actually follow through on that decision. Making the decision to stop watching YouTube videos requires use of the prefrontal cortex, a highly complex part of the brain just above and behind the eyeballs. As a 38-year-old, my prefrontal cortex is completely mature. But in my teens, this area of my brain, responsible for planning, motivation, and decision making, was only just beginning to develop. At that time I was nearly incapable of stopping when I found something addictive. If I had had a video game console in my bedroom, then I would have played video games all night long. I didn’t yet have the capacity to recognize that I should probably stop so I could get some sleep before school the next day.

 

Why Smartphone-based Adolescence & Childhood is So Damaging

 

During adolescence, a number of important developmental changes are taking place in the body. Hormonal systems are maturing, which is seen in the sexual development of preteen and teenage bodies. Associated with hormonal changes are increases in emotion—anger, frustration, sexual desire. In order to effectively manage these new and stronger emotions, the prefrontal cortex needs to develop. Teenagers awkwardly begin developing their ability to plan, make decisions, change their mind, and shift between emotional thinking and rational thinking.

 

The prefrontal cortex is part of the wrinkled cortical mass of brain that sits closest to the skull on the outside of the brain. The prefrontal part curves underneath the brain towards the sections of the limbic system in the midbrain (See Figure 1, below). The tip of the prefrontal cortex reaches the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that works together with the pituitary gland to control the autonomic nervous system. When you become afraid, for example, your autonomic nervous system kicks into sympathetic (arousal) mode, and your body prepares to fight, flee, or freeze. You have no conscious control over this. It happens automatically (which is why it’s called the autonomic nervous system). The only way to stop an autonomic emergency response is to either exhaust yourself or to interrupt the process by taking a step back and evaluating the situation rationally. A fully developed prefrontal cortex is necessary to take a step back and evaluate the situation rationally.

 

Even though I am 38 and have a fully mature prefrontal cortex, I struggle to interrupt this emergency response process myself. I worry about a leak in my roof, for example. Even though I’ve inspected the roof myself, replaced defective shingles, inspected the attic, and in all of that have found no evidence of a continued leak, I still lay away some nights unable to sleep because I’m worrying about my roof caving in. I have to take a step back and make a list of all of the evidence that my roof will cave in (of which there's none) and a list of the evidence that my roof is OK. Then, looking at the evidence, I can rest assured that I'll be okay.

 

Now, imagine that I’m 13, and I’m addicted to a device that is designed to make me worry about how smart, attractive, and popular I am. It’s designed to make me emotionally invested in using it as much as possible, and I’m powerless to interrupt this addiction cycle. I’m also flooded with new and confusing emotions at a level I’ve never experienced before. The very skill that I require (which is the ability to pause and reflect rationally on my circumstance) is underdeveloped and currently being distracted by social media content and attacked by reminders that everybody else is doing better than I am. During this experience, my nervous system is adapting to my environment, which means that I’m learning to worry about my life all the time and to circle around these worries over and over again, which my smart phone teaches me how to do.

 

Figure 1. Prefrontal Cortex and Hypothalamus

 

 

When looking at the image in Figure 1, the 13-year-old version of myself is building a superhighway between my prefrontal cortex and an anxiety response in my hypothalamus. When someone comments on my shoes, for example, my superhighway response will kick and I will be flooded with feelings of anxiety as I wonder, “Is she making fun of me?” “Why do I care so much about what other people think?” “Jesus! I am fucked up beyond repair.” “Nobody is as broken as I am.”

 

Soon, any comment or circumstance begins this anxiety spiral. Ordinary life events become disasters because we have trained our prefrontal cortex to initiate a panic response in the autonomic nervous system. Rather than taking a step back and examining the flames, so to speak, Gen Zers throw gasoline on the fire. Everything becomes a wildfire that threatens to consume them.

 

This happens for Gen Z because they were subjected (and subjected themselves) to smart phones during the crucial stage of their emotional and neurological development. This sequence of events helps us understand the series of graphs that show how anxious, depressed, and suicidal Gen Zers are.

 

Pointing the Way Towards Recovery

 

Thankfully, the circumstances of the anxiety disaster can also be exploited for the solution. In particular, I’m talking about the link between the prefrontal cortext and the hypothalamus. The anxious person creates disasters and worries where there are none. This situation can be reversed, but it takes time. If you are committed to putting a stop to anxiety in your life, then you must deliberately build a new connection between your prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus. In time, you will no longer be at the mercy of your circumstances and your environment. You will no longer be quick to expect the worst; no longer stuck worrying and unable to act; you will begin respond to emergencies with calm and rational thinking and problem solving.