Gen Z is bothered by significant economic pressures (cost of living, fear of poverty), mental health crises, and the pervasive influence of technology (social media addiction, AI's impact). They also grapple with challenges in real-world social skills, loneliness despite connectivity, unrealistic expectations, and demands for societal/corporate responsibility, feeling misunderstood by older generations.
Probably one of the biggest problems Gen Z has to deal with today is the mental health crisis. We see unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems, but often we feel like we don't have the resources or support to be able to cope with them.
Whilst boomers and millennials may use the 😂 emoji, this has long since been deemed 'uncool' (or 'cheugy') by Gen Z. Instead, this has been replaced by the skull (💀) or the crying emoji (😭), dramatising the idea of 'dying with laughter'.
Along with digital advancements and endless career opportunities comes a new form of anxiety: peniaphobia, the fear of poverty. While money worries have always been a part of human life, peniaphobia among Gen Zs manifests differently, leading to constant stress, burnout, and feelings of inadequacy.
Bae – Boyfriend or girlfriend.
But it does provide some rough guidelines as to how soon may be too soon to make long-term commitments and how long may be too long to stick with a relationship. Each of the three numbers—three, six, and nine—stands for the month that a different common stage of a relationship tends to end.
DTR = define the relationship! That typically means going from just “seeing each other” to putting a label on it - as in you're calling each other BF/GF/partner. It's a big (sometimes scary) step in dating and this will help you figure out if you're actually ready.
Recent research shows that members of the Baby Boomer generation have worse health than previous generations did at the same ages—diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses are more common.
“A cheery or corporate 'hello' can come across as disingenuous or emotionally performative. Gen Zers value emotional clarity over politeness. They want authenticity, not artifice.” All that said, it's still a little strange.
“Can't lie” “Can't lie” falls under the same umbrella as slang terms like NGL (not gonna lie) and TBH (to be honest). The 🆑 emoji is perfect to use when you're trying to keep things unfiltered and brutally honest.
Resembles plewds, stylized sweat droplets used in comics and animation to show characters working hard or feeling stressed. May be used to represent various types of liquids, including sexual fluids. May also be used to represent various liquid-based slang expressions (e.g., drip, “exceptional style, swagger").
The upside-down face emoji 🙃 is basically code for “this is terrible” or FML. It's used when things aren't going well or the user is having a terrible day. This modern usage is an update to the millennial sense. For the older generation, this emoji often indicated sarcasm or even silliness.
Across much of the world, it is no longer middle-aged adults who are the most miserable. Instead, young people, especially Gen Z, are reporting the highest levels of unhappiness of any age group.
For Gen Z, the 😭 (Loudly Crying Face) emoji usually means something is overwhelmingly funny, cute, or heartwarming, signifying "crying with laughter" or being emotionally moved, rather than actual sadness, often replacing the older 😂 emoji for intense amusement. It's used for exaggerated, positive reactions to things like relatable humor, adorable pets, or touching moments.
The 10 negative characteristics of Gen Z in workplace dynamics that many employers and managers have observed:
Add your favorite Gen Z sign-off, such as “Cheers” or “Stay Awesome”.
Donald Trump, born in June 1946, falls squarely into the Baby Boomer generation (typically 1946-1964) as one of the first individuals in that cohort, while President Joe Biden, born in 1942, is a member of the preceding Silent Generation (roughly 1928-1946). Trump's birth year places him at the very beginning of the Baby Boom era, making him a Boomer, not Silent Generation.
"Salty" describes someone feeling upset, jealous, or annoyed, often about someone else's success or good fortune.
Some consider millennials to be one of the heaviest generations. In the U.K., researchers found at least seven in 10 people born in the millennial generations will be overweight or obese before they reach middle age. Baby boomers only faced rates of five in 10.
There's no single "toughest" generation, as each faces unique struggles, but Generation X (born 1965-1980) is often cited as the most stressed due to balancing work, family, and finances while facing economic uncertainty, yet they also show high resilience, while younger generations like Gen Z grapple with unprecedented housing costs and climate anxiety, making the definition of "tough" subjective and dependent on the specific challenges faced.
It is a known fact that lifespan increases with each generation. For baby boomers, the average life expectancy is 70 years, for Gen X its 85, and newer generations like Gen Z and Alpha will likely exceed the 100-year mark.
The 777 dating rule is a relationship strategy for intentional connection, suggesting couples schedule a date every 7 days, an overnight getaway every 7 weeks, and a longer vacation every 7 months to keep the spark alive, build memories, and prevent disconnection from daily life. It's about consistent, quality time, not necessarily grand gestures, and focuses on undivided attention to strengthen intimacy and partnership over time.
In online dating, SWT stands for “sex without troubles,” which means someone is looking for drama-free, non-committal sex.
"RLS" is slang for "relationship." People who text or post "RLS" on social media are referring to a relationship between 2 or more people.