Revealed: Gen Z and Alpha more satisfied with life than Millennials
The World Happiness Report 2024 on Child and Adolescent Wellbeing found that Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) and Alpha (people born between 2013 to present day) have higher life satisfaction than Millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996).
The report conducted globally found that in Sub-Saharan Africa, unlike North America and Australia, Gen Z and Alpha kids reported increasing life satisfaction.
The same was witnessed in Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia.
“Evidence primarily from high-income countries indicates significant life satisfaction declines post-COVID-19, especially among females, contrasting with East Asian countries, where life satisfaction increased,” the report reads in part.
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“But from 2014, females began reporting higher life satisfaction than males, although the gap has narrowed following the pandemic. This global gender gap masks regional differences, and is more pronounced in lower-income countries, with no gender differences observed in high-income countries,” the report further states.
This report was the first one across the 10 plus years that explored child and adolescent well being in detail.
It covered youth between the ages of 10 and 24, and distinguished early to middle adolescents as those between the 10 and 15 while middle to late adolescents were those in the age bracket of 15 to 24.
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Millennials, those between ages 28 and 43, on the other hand, reported a lower life satisfaction post Covid-19 which ended positive global trends. The gap in life satisfaction between Gen Z and Alpha; and Millennials was especially evident in Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Central and Eastern Europe.
“In Sub-Saharan Africa, the gap widened from 2013 due to stable life satisfaction levels among those aged 25+ and positive trends among those aged 15-24. In contrast, the gap has narrowed in Western Europe for over a decade due to a moderate negative trend among adolescents (age 15-24) and a moderate positive trend among those aged 25 and above,” the report stated.
In Kenya, Gen Z and Alpha youth and children respectively are still school going citizens. Gen Z are currently either continuing or completing their higher education and just entering the job market, while Gen Alpha are primary school going children.
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It is deducible, therefore, that they are yet to experience the responsibilities of being an adult such as paying bills.
The current economy in Kenya has Millennials and older generations paying hefty bills for housing, medical, education and other basic needs.
Since the Kenya Kwanza formed government under President William Ruto, they have been catering for and enduring high costs of living since new rounds of taxes were increased on goods and services while existing ones were also increased, some by 100 per cent.
It is, therefore, understandable why they have lower satisfaction in life as some of them provide for Gen Z and Alpha.