Millennials Experience More Stress Than Any Other Generation
A new survey by the American Psychological Association shows a lot of millennials are stressed out. Some students at USC say it’s because they’ve been pampered all their lives, while others say social media is the culprit.
“People definitely value their social and digital profiles, that can build a lot of stress trying to update your pictures and keeping it updated,” said Brett Weiss, a freshman at USC. “Social media wasn’t existent in previous generations, they did not have a permanent profile for the whole world to view.”
According to the study, 36 percent of millennials say they had an increase in stress within the last year.
“Technology and media in general is constantly bombarding us with information and I feel like I’m constantly thinking, which adds to my stress,” said Amanda Schroeder, a junior at USC.
Other students say the stress stems from being spoiled and entitled. Research shows, “Nearly 60 percent of parents said they offered cell phones to their children at ages 10 or 11. Since then, that average age has gotten even younger,” CBS News.
“I believe millennials as a generation are very pampered,” said Erby Foster another USC student. “I think we’ve become stressed out because we lose focus. If we didn’t have that many technological distractions I think we’d be fine.”
“I think we’re so used to being pampered all the time and everything we have now is so accessible.” Said Chanele Czopp, another Trojan at USC.
Being on the web causes stress but also relieves it. This twist stems from social media being used in positive ways to relieve stress. Schroeder says our culture doesn’t value rest and is too concerned with being busy. As technology continues to advance there has to be a way to relax more. The survey shows six different avenues that millennials use to cope with stress: smoking, drinking alcohol, eating, taking naps, watching television, and even surfing the web.
“It’s easier to relieve stress due to social media, cell phones and the Internet because now there are more opportunities to meet up with people and spread information about a club you can join and ultimately more opportunities to have fun,” said David Shad, another student.
“I think people need to be more aware of time to just relax, sleep, and take care of yourself,” said Schroeder. “I think it’s necessary.”
