Why Gen Z is the Most Depressed Generation: Economy, Climate, and AI

Economic Hardships for Gen Z

• 💰 Wealth concentration is at an all-time high, with the top 10% owning over 67% of wealth, leaving the middle class struggling.
• 🏠 Housing affordability has drastically decreased, with investment firms buying up properties to rent, artificially inflating prices and making homeownership unattainable for many.
• 📈 Despite income increases, the actual value of middle-class wealth has stagnated due to inflation, with housing prices nearly tripling since 1975.

Healthcare and Education Costs

• 💸 The US has the highest medical care expenses globally, with citizens spending over $12,500 per person annually, significantly more than other developed nations.
• 💊 Pharmaceutical companies are protected by politicians, leading to exorbitant drug prices, such as insulin costing nearly five times more in the US than in Mexico.
• 🎓 Higher education costs have skyrocketed, with tuition at institutions like the University of Pennsylvania now costing more than the average family's annual income.

Climate Change and Existential Threats

• 🌍 Gen Z exhibits the greatest awareness of the climate crisis, with 65% reporting anxiety, powerlessness, and fear for the future.
• 🔥 Large forest fires have increased by 300% in the US, with a six-fold increase in surface area burned, directly linked to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall.
• 🌊 Ocean temperatures are rising, leading to an increase in major hurricanes, with global sea surface temperatures reaching record highs.
• ⚠️ The threat of major war and rising authoritarianism adds to Gen Z's anxiety, as they perceive older generations as creating volatile geopolitical conditions.

Social Media and AI's Impact

• 📱 Social media fuels insecurity and depression through the constant display of unattainable