You don’t have to look at lots of statistics, facts, and figures to know what we in 2021 have some of the least relaxed generations to date. It’s something that we can see all around us, hear from our friends, and see on social media.
(If you do want to look at some statistics, however, check out this study on generational stress. It has a lot of great information on this matter, including how Generation Z are statistically the most likely out of any generation to report low mental health).
Despite previous generations literally encountering wars and civil unrest, there are higher stress levels now than ever previously recorded. Yes, more is recorded now and people are more likely to seek professional help and therefore contribute to these numbers. But it is still a very valid trend and something very worthy of our thinking time.
Here are some reasons I think could be contributing to our generational stress and lack of relaxation. Let us know in the comments what you think about this subject and whether you have any further thoughts!
Attitudes to work
Work is all around us these days. It is becoming less and less common that we work for a certain period of time and then we leave our work behind. More and more of us work overtime, work longer hours, or work freelance so that we can work legally as much as we want to.
Our work has become our lives and we are working more than ever before. Weeks are longer, days are longer, and yet paychecks don’t seem to be getting any bigger.
Our attitudes to work (or the attitudes to work of those in power) could be greatly contributing to our high levels of stress and anxiety.
Why do we need to work so much in order to survive?
It’s something we need to look a good hard look at in the near future.
Side hustle culture
Even outside of our main source of income, many of us have “side hustles”. These are projects, skills, work, or hobbies that we do to make extra cash.
The culture of making everything we do a “side hustle” means, again, that work is encroaching on every aspect of our lives.
We don’t enjoy things as much anymore because we are constantly trying to find ways to monetise everything.
The cost of living forces us to do this.
Social media pressure
Many of us live a large portion of our lives on social media. We use social media to compare ourselves to others and to try and live up to unrealistic ideals.
Instead of experiencing things in a more authentic and present way, we are constantly striving to get the right photos with the right aesthetic. We are looking for ways to prove ourselves and to show that we are worthy. All the time.
This is exhausting.
People in the past didn’t have social media and while they had social pressures in other ways, they didn’t have to spend so much time proving themselves to other people and they didn’t have the intrusion of other people knowing so much about their lives.
So why do we do it? This is food for thought for us too. Why do we engage in something that largely makes us feel so horrible?
There is so much stress for our current generations and it is something that seems to be only on the rise.
So… what are we going to do about it?