Is Gen Z really the saddest generation? New study finds young adults are unhappier than the middle-aged

For decades, researchers documented what came to be known as the “midlife unhappiness hump.” People tended to start young adulthood on a relatively positive note, sink into despair around age 50, and then recover in happiness as they approached retirement. But a new global study suggests that pattern has been overturned—thanks to Gen Z.

The research, spanning 44 countries including the US and UK, found that today’s youngest adults—roughly aged 12 to 28—report unprecedented levels of despair and anxiety compared to earlier generations at the same age. Rather than experiencing a midlife dip, Gen Z faces what researchers call a “ski slope,” where misery starts high in youth and gradually eases with age.

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“This is being driven entirely by a growth of mental ill health amongst young people,” said study co-author Alex Bryson.

Supporting data underscores the trend. The CDC reports that poor mental health among young men rose from 2.5% in 1993 to 6.6% in 2024. Among young women, rates jumped from 3.2% to 9.3% over the same period. A 2023 Gallup survey showed only 15% of Gen Z described their mental health as excellent—a steep drop from a decade earlier, when 52% of Millennials at the same age said the same.

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Researchers point to several pressures unique to Gen Z: being the first generation raised entirely in the social media era, losing formative years to pandemic lockdowns, and carrying higher levels of personal debt. Still, smartphones remain a prime suspect. “There’s increasing evidence of not only a correlation between screen use and mental ill health, but also some causal impacts,” Bryson added. Co-author David G Blanchflower has called the trend a “global crisis,” urging measures such as banning phones in schools and promoting in-person social interaction.