Why is Gen Z afraid of growing up?

Weren’t you absolutely stoked to turn 18? When you were eligible to get a driving license? When you would turn legal? And then once you turned 18, weren’t you looking forward to growing up and enjoying adult rights? Apparently, Gen Z isn’t a big fan of waiting to be old or even aging for that matter and we can’t help but be curious. So we asked around a bit as to why Gen Z is so wary of growing old and we weren’t disappointed with the answers.

The world is going to shit. Also, most of the people in my age group that I know have already taken on a lot of “adult” responsibility from a young age, so they feel like they are losing their last chance at being young and carefree.
–oh_to_be_you

I think because we have grown up watching movies and web series, there is a huge fear of missing out on important stuff. Be it friendships, relationships or even opportunities for that matter. Ig that’s why we’re so afraid of growing up, because we know what awaits us- you can say we are hyperaware.
-Anonymous

Because nothing is what it was hyped up to be, millennials cried about club culture being toxic & most tattoo artists are shit leading to botched jobs. cigarettes and alcohol are poison for your body and also, no one really wants to work 9 million hours to afford a house that’s going to fall apart & require you to clean it over and over again. college was boring + social media has made everyone awkward as hell in person
–legendtail

I just think I’ll look ugly is all. I won’t feel like myself once I have wrinkles, or lines. I don’t want to live with back pain all the time.
-Anonymous

Having to watch my grandfather unable to do anything, my grandmother not being able to walk properly and my mum telling me frequently that she’s tired and wishes she was my age, tells me that aging in fact sucks and we just need to accept that instead of sugar-coating it and pretending that everything is fine. I’d rather die early than still be alive over the age of 70. All the energy and youthful looks I have now, I will not have in 50 years time.
–McLaren-Mercedes

I’m scared of being 40 and not being able to afford my house, or that I’ll never retire, or that pollution will give me cancer, or that terrorists will gain complete control of my country, etc etc
–alejandra_candelaria

Okay, according to me, my generation has always been sheltered and protected. The majority of us always had some sort of path carved ahead of us with no access to tools, ever. Eventually, when they realised that they would have to forge a path for the next generation, they got scared – because they don’t know. They were never taught. At the dawn of a potentially world changing technology revolution, the idea of being left alone to fend for themselves has proven to be very scary. I was thinking about this the other day, and I am not ready to grow up. I can’t handle responsibility, I can’t give orders, I can’t lead something, I am just a kid. Just a little kid. And I am sure that a lot of my fellow Generation Z’s share the sentiment. We’re not ready.
-Devansh Gupta

The state of the world and the economy. You see what past generations were able to do in their 20s (buy houses, start families, etc), stuff that is almost unfathomable for our generation to engage in now.

–Amazing-Concept1684

I’ve been scared of growing up every since I was 16. When Covid hit I realized how my teen years were moving much faster than I imagined. The age I’m dreading the most rn is 24-25, but i’m def not looking forward to turning 20 at the end of the year either. It’s not really aging per say, but more of the “I will never be a child/teen with no/little responsibility again”.
–moonlightz03