Research from Cigma Health Services and the Survey Centre on American Life both suggest that Gen Z is the ‘’most isolated’’ of all generations, directly affecting their mental health.
In a poignant remark in May 2023, the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, raised alarms about the ‘’loneliness epidemic’’ facing the US.
In 2024, he continued to champion this underappreciated public health crisis, comparing the impacts of loneliness to tobacco use. In just physical impacts, loneliness can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, strokes, and dementia, especially in older adults.
The mental health of Gen Z
Outside of the US, the state of Gen Z’s mental health is recognisably gloomy across the world. Gen-Zers are navigating uncertain geopolitical and economic times with added burdens from the climate crisis, an increasing cost of living, and the recent experience of pandemic lockdowns.
The Deloitte Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey reported that stress and burnout levels remained high, with 40% of Gen-Zers reporting feeling stressed most or all of the time. Despite increased conversations around mental health in recent years and among Gen-Zers, many still cannot access adequate support. Nations worldwide struggle to keep up with increased mental health care demands, and backlogs are growing.
Hitting the apps
In response to the unreliability of traditional mental health support, many Gen-Zers have turned to technology.
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By GlobalData
There are now apps for meditation, online groups for almost every mental health disorder, and a growing prominence of virtual therapy. This trend was particularly pronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the US alone, first-time downloads of the top 20 mental health apps hit four million in April 2020, up 29% from 3.1 million in January 2020 according to Sensor Tower.
The US-based healthcare technology company BetterHelp, which offers e-counselling, enjoyed a surge of users over the pandemic and now has nearly two million clients.
While BetterHelp faced criticism on many fronts, from their therapists’ accreditation to the service’s safety and data protection policies, Gen Z’s need for mental health support and their willingness to turn to technology for a solution will undoubtedly play a crucial role in helping overstretched and overburdened public healthcare services.
Digital art therapy as a solution for Gen Z
A new frontier is emerging in the world of digital mental health therapies with the release of apps for digital art therapy. Art therapy is a psychotherapy that encourages free self-expression via painting, drawing, and other visual mediums.
This therapy is used both in a treatment and diagnostic capacity, and in conjunction with technology, there is now the option for digital art therapy, with apps replacing physical materials. This will enable further scaling of art therapy and help it reach those who need it.
Most importantly, digital art therapy significantly improves accessibility with physical supplies replaced with apps; even without materials, art supplies, or the space to practice, anyone can engage in art therapy. And with the emergence of apps for art therapy, therapists and clients can work on pieces and art therapy exercises together in real time. This massively increases the pool of people who can access art therapy amid an overburdened health system.
More accessible digital art therapy solutions
As businesses innovate in this space, even more accessible solutions will emerge. For example, apps like Scribble Journey and LINA offer art therapy options without a therapist needing to be present.
The Scribble Journey app provides users with drawing and journaling prompts to work through any mental health difficulties in their own time, while the LINA app presents users with art therapy exercises to work through past trauma, gain relief from anxiety, and develop more robust coping skills with exercises designed by certified art therapists.
Apps like these mean that individuals can access care even when seeing a therapist is not possible. With Gen Z’s continued mental health struggles and healthcare systems stretched thin globally, this technology will be an invaluable relief for many.
