What Gen Z Is Really Asking For
Understanding the mental health and communication needs of a generation growing up in a different world.
By Jodi Liston
Part 1 of a 3-Part Series on Gen Z by Jodi Liston
This article is the first of a three-part series exploring how schools, therapeutic programs, and families can better understand and support Gen Z. Drawing on three decades of consulting experience, Jodi Liston offers a candid look at what’s not working and where we go from here.
Continue Reading Part 1: What Adults Get Wrong About Gen Z
Stay tuned for Part 2: Where Support Misses the Mark
Stay tuned for Part 3: How to Build Systems Gen Z Can Trust
If you work with teenagers or young adults (or if you’re parenting one), you already know something’s different.
They’re not responding the way previous generations did. They’re not bouncing back as quickly after stress or disappointment. They’re not motivated by the same carrots, grades, praise, or fear of failure, and when they struggle it shows up more vividly. It interrupts school, relationships, and sometimes even safety.
Gen Z is telling us, often urgently: “I’m not okay.” Not because they are less capable or resilient, but because the world they’ve inherited requires a new kind of response.
If we keep trying to support them using frameworks built for a different generation, we’re going to keep missing them. What they need isn’t a tweak. It’s a rethinking.
Who We’re Really Talking About
Gen Z isn’t one monolithic generation. There’s a meaningful divide between what researchers and educators have started calling Gen Z 1.0 and Gen Z 2.0.
Gen Z 1.0 includes students who were well into adolescence by the time the pandemic hit, typically those in high school or college in 2020. They experienced a shift with the rise of smartphones and social media, but still benefited from in-person schooling, predictable developmental milestones, and face-to-face feedback from peers and adults during critical years.
Gen Z 2.0 refers to those who were in elementary, middle, or early high school when the pandemic began, roughly 3rd through 10th grade in 2020. Many missed out on key emotional, social, and academic milestones. They learned to communicate, self-regulate, and build relationships through screens, often without the modeling or scaffolding that previous generations received.
I’ve worked with both groups, and the differences are unmistakable.
Over the past decade, I’ve supported hundreds of Gen Z students and their families in boarding schools, therapeutic programs, and educational settings. I’ve seen them before the pandemic, during it, and now as they step into a world that feels uncertain at best and overwhelming at worst.
They grew up in disruption. They are not wired to quietly adapt to systems that have not adapted to them.
“They want to be seen, not managed.” —Jodi Liston
The Numbers Tell a Story We Can’t Ignore
Nearly 1 in 3 high school girls in the U.S. seriously considered suicide in 2021 (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023).
42% of Gen Z adults have been diagnosed with a mental health condition (APA, 2022).
Suicide is now the fourth leading cause of death among teenagers worldwide, up from its previous position as the fifth (UNICEF, 2021).
A 2024 study by Emory University found that near-constant social media use contributes to anxiety, sleep loss, depressive symptoms, and isolation among Gen Z youth.
71% of Gen Z employees report poor mental health scores at work, the worst of any generation in recent history (Mental Health America, 2024).
These aren’t just statistics. They reflect real students in classrooms, young adults in programs, and teens growing up in our homes.
Substance use is also part of this reality, though it looks different than it used to. According to the CDC, overdose deaths among teens ages 14 to 18 nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020, largely due to fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills. Gen Z’s use of cannabis, prescription drugs, alcohol, and nicotine is increasingly linked to attempts to self-regulate. Rather than signaling rebellion, this behavior is often a response to anxiety, sleep disruption, and emotional overload. That insight comes not only from national trends, but from what families and students have shared with me directly.
For schools and programs, the question isn’t only “Are they using?” The more useful question is, “What are they trying to escape, and what supports are missing?”
Four Forces That Changed Everything
1. Technology became the environment.
Gen Z doesn’t “go online.” They live online. Social media is not an accessory. It is a constant. That means comparison, performance pressure, and feedback loops follow them everywhere, often in ways other generations can’t see or fully understand.
2. The future feels uncertain.
Many Gen Z students believe they’ll never own a home or build stable careers. College feels less like a promise and more like a gamble. They’re delaying major life decisions, not because they’re disengaged, but because they’re overwhelmed.
3. COVID disrupted everything else.
Students who were supposed to be learning independence, trust, and resilience instead learned to isolate, mask their needs, and disengage. Those missed years didn’t just delay development. They rewired it.
4. They’re absorbing the weight of the world.
This generation is deeply aware of climate change, injustice, and economic inequality. They care very deeply. That compassion is often mistaken for fragility. What they need is adults who can hold space for both.
“These kids aren’t lazy. They’re discouraged.” —Jodi Liston
What Gen Z Is Actually Asking For
They’re not asking for coddling. They’re asking for structure, honesty, and consistency.
They want adults who will show up, hold boundaries, and tell the truth.
They’re asking for:
Mental health systems built into the structure of school or work, not bolted on as an afterthought
This could look like embedding weekly check-ins with a counselor, not just offering office hours during a crisis.Adults who model how to sit with discomfort, rather than rush to fix or avoid it
For example, a teacher who acknowledges their own stress during finals and walks through a grounding technique instead of pushing through or dismissing it.Communication that is honest and clear, not performative
A parent saying, “I’m not sure what the right step is either, so let’s figure it out together,” instead of delivering a scripted speech about resilience.Environments where they can participate in shaping the culture around them
Programs that include student feedback in rule-making or advisory systems where teens help co-create norms instead of just receiving them.
They’re looking for agency, not chaos. They want to contribute meaningfully, and they need guidance to help them channel that voice with clarity and support.
Where We’re Falling Short
Too many schools and programs are still using frameworks and assumptions developed more than a decade ago. In theory, they support mental health. In practice, they rely on outdated models: a weekly counseling session, a reactive wellness referral, or a “mental health day” instead of structural shifts that meet the moment.
Students are navigating different realities, yet staff often believe support is accessible. The disconnect is real. When students are struggling (whether with anxiety, executive functioning, or social distress) they frequently feel unseen, misunderstood, or unsure where to turn for real help.
Departments that should work together (residential life, academics, counseling, and administration) often operate in silos. No one owns the whole picture. This lack of coordination leads to mixed messages, missed opportunities, and dropped signals.
When a concern does surface, whether from a parent, advisor, or student themselves, the response is often defensive instead of curious. Rather than asking, “What might we be missing?” the conversation often becomes, “We told them three times, they just didn’t listen.”
This kind of breakdown causes disengagement. We see Gen Z shut down or walk away, not because they don’t care, but because they’ve learned that many systems don’t know how to respond.
It also puts growing pressure on parents. When families sense that their child is slipping through the cracks, they often step in forcefully. Their urgency comes from love, frustration, and fear. Programs, feeling overwhelmed or undermined, sometimes pull away.
No one wins in this dynamic. Especially not our kids.
Where to Begin
If you’re wondering what to do next, here’s where to start:
1. Map your communication breakdowns.
Where are things falling apart between departments, staff, families, and students? Who is in charge of translating needs into action? That clarity matters.
For schools and programs, this often means aligning academic, residential, and counseling teams. For parents, it means asking who’s on your child’s support team and whether those people are in communication with each other.
2. Redefine support.
Support is not just therapy. It’s about building systems that anticipate needs, build trust, and allow for messiness without collapse.
Schools can review how and when students access help. Families can take inventory of what supports exist outside of school and whether those align with what their child actually needs right now.
3. Move from reactive to relational.
Check-ins, clear expectations, and small course corrections are far more effective than emergency interventions. Gen Z responds to presence, not panic.
Programs and schools can model this by prioritizing connection over compliance. Parents can support this at home with consistent, honest communication, even when it’s uncomfortable.
4. Invite them in with guidance.
They don’t want to run the school. They want to be heard. With the right frameworks, student voices become a strength, not a threat.
That same principle applies at home. When families include teens in decisions about their support, transitions, or routines, they’re more likely to see engagement and trust grow.
The Bottom Line
Gen Z isn’t fragile. They are responding to a world most adults never had to face.
They need systems that reflect today’s reality, emotionally, economically, and culturally.
Our job isn’t to rescue them or dismiss them. It’s to respond with clarity, structure, and courage.
If we do that, they won’t just survive. They’ll lead.
And many of them already are.
What’s Next in the Series
In the next two articles, we’ll look more closely at the gap between good intentions and real understanding, from parents, educators, and institutions alike.
We’ll explore where things go wrong, why “support” sometimes feels like pressure, and how parents and programs alike can begin to earn back the trust of the students they care about.
This generation is still showing up. The question is: are we?
Jodi Liston is the founder of Liston Strategies and Liston Education Group. She has worked with hundreds of Gen Z students and families as an educational consultant and therapeutic advisor, supporting schools, programs, and parents across the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic years.
All data referenced in this article are from publicly available reports by the CDC, APA, UNICEF, Mental Health America, Emory University, and Pew Research Center. Insights and examples are drawn from Jodi Liston’s firsthand experience supporting Gen Z students and their families over the past decade.
Sources
American Psychological Association (APA). (2022). Stress in America: The State of Gen Z. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/state-of-gen-z
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022). Youth Risk Behavior Survey: 2021 Results. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBS_Data-Summary-Trends_Report2023_508.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022, November). Drug Overdose Death Rates. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20221111.htm
Emory University. (2024). Gen Z, Social Media, and Mental Health. Rollins School of Public Health. https://sph.emory.edu/news/news-release/2024/05/gen-z-social-media-mental-health.html
Mental Health America. (2024). The State of Mental Health in America Report. https://mhanational.org/research-reports/2024-state-mental-health-america
Pew Research Center. (2020). On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far/
UNICEF. (2021). The State of the World’s Children 2021: On My Mind — Promoting, Protecting and Caring for Children’s Mental Health. https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-children-2021
Janfaza, Rachel. (2025, March). There Are Two Gen Zs. Here’s Why That Matters. https://racheljanfaza.substack.com/p/there-are-two-gen-zs-heres-why-that