Gen Z’s mental health is declining—but baby boomers are only getting happier

A new Gallup poll shows a disturbing trend: Younger people are getting increasingly unhappy, and now less than half of Gen Z say they are actually “thriving,” with the biggest decline happening after 2019. Meanwhile, for baby boomers, it’s just the opposite (more on that below). A look at the numbers shows only 44% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they are “thriving” so far in 2026, which is on pace to be 20 percentage points lower than the high of 64% measured in 2010, accordi...