Fewer Gen Zers Believe They’re ‘Thriving’ In 2025

More Gen Zers in America are becoming less inclined to describe themselves as “thriving”. The annual Voices of Gen Z surveyed participants aged 13 to 28 and found that 45-percent of participants described themselves as thriving, marking a drop from the 49-percent who considered themselves thriving in 2024, and the 47-percent who said the same in the 2023 study. Researchers believe the drop is likely fueled by adult members of Gen Z as only 39-percent see themselves as thriving. The survey’s school-aged respondents were significantly more optimistic with 56-percent thinking of themselves as thriving.

“The primary driver of the decline in life evaluation from 2024 to 2025 is the life evaluation of adult Gen Z women: 46% of women were thriving in 2024, compared with 37% in 2025,” according to the study. “At the same time, thriving among Gen Z men remained steady from 2024 to 2025 (44% vs. 45%).”

the findings concerning younger Gen Zers appears to align with their attitudes toward school, as their rates of classroom engagement is at an “all-time high,” according to Gallup.

Using eight criteria for school engagement, Gallup found that all eight were trending upward when compared to 2023 and 2024. Perhaps most notably, students felt they were receiving more positive feedback (75%, up from 69% last year) and they had encouraging adults in their lives (74%, up from 68%) or teachers who make their lessons exciting (78%, up from 70%).These results show the promise of this generation,

Do you agree or disagree with the findings of this survey?