Pandemic stress weighs heavily on Gen Z: AP-NORC, MTV poll

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. While many Millennials also said friendships were harder, Gen Z was less likely than Millennials to say the pandemic actually made that easier, 18% vs. 24%. Roughly half of Americans across generations, including Gen Z, said the pandemic led to struggles having fun and maintaining mental health. About two-thirds in Gen Z said it was very or extremely important to their identity, compared to half of Millennials and about 4 in 10 in Gen X. It’s no surprise that young people see education as a potential obstacle, said Vilmaris González, who manages youth programs for the nonprofit Education Trust in Tennessee. “I think that that kind of changed my view on what I want to do when I get out of here.” ___ The AP-NORC poll of 3,764 teens ages 13-17 and adults ages 18-56 was conducted Sept. 1-19 using a combined sample of interviews from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population, and interviews from opt-in online panels.