Weight of perception

Why understanding today’s youth is key to their mental health

- Anjali Kochhar

Generation Z has quickly become the most scrutinised, stereotyped, and emotionally burdened generation of recent times. Labels such as “fragile,” “entitled,” or “easily distracted” are used loosely, yet they carry psychological consequences that young people are increasingly speaking about.

With India’s Gen Z population crossing 374 million in 2024, this is not a fringe concern; it is a national conversation shaping workplaces, families, education, and culture.

A 2025 Harmony HIT mental health report notes that 46% of Gen Z has received a formal diagnosis for anxiety, depression, or stress-related disorders. Deloitte's 2024 findings add that 40% of Gen Z feel stressed “most of the time.”

Numbers tell one part of the story. But the lived experiences of young people reveal just how deeply perception affects their mental well-being.

Cultural disconnect

Gen Z is growing up in a world far different from previous generations, digitally accelerated, economically uncertain, socially vocal, and emotionally aware. Yet cultural understanding has not kept up.

The pressure to appear “sorted” has only intensified with social media. “Everyone my age is carrying so much inside,” says 16-year-old podcaster Aaria Verma, who started ZenZ to create a safe space for teens to talk without being judged. “School, friendships, exams, social media, no one says it, but all of it gets overwhelming.”

Her experience mirrors recent data from the American Psychological Association, which notes that Gen Z reports the highest levels of emotional exhaustion compared to millennials and Gen X. Despite this, the instinct among many adults is to dismiss emotional expression as fragility, a misjudgment that reinforces stress instead of alleviating it.

Digital microscope