Gen Z’s top goal is safety, a reflection of the world’s growing fears

By Yalda T. Uhls, University of California, Los Angeles After many years of partisan politics, increasingly divisive language, finger-pointing and inflammatory speech have contributed to an environment of fear and uncertainty, affecting not just political dynamics but also the priorities and perceptions of young people. As a developmental psychologist who studies the intersection of media and adolescent mental health, and as a mother of two Gen Z kids, I have seen firsthand how external societal factors can profoundly shape young people’s emotional well-being. This was brought into sharp relief through the results of a recent survey my colleagues and I conducted with 1,644 young people across the U.S., ages 10 to 24. The study was not designed as a political poll but rather as a window into what truly matters to adolescents. We asked participants to rate the importance of 14 personal goals. These included classic teenage desires such as “being popular,” “having fun” and “being kind.” None of these ranked as the top priority. Instead, the No. 1 answer was “to be safe.” It lurks everywhere: Gen Z’s perception of danger is further shaped by events like the recent fires devastating Los Angeles.Agustin Paullier/AFP via Getty Images What was...