Boy band 5 Seconds of Summer’s 2014 hit song “She Looks So Perfect” is experiencing a revival on TikTok for an unexpected reason. Gen Z creators have been posting videos sharing mental health confessions to the song. “If I stop taking my medication, I’ll go to the hospital,” influencer Alix Earle posted to her 7.2 million followers on Tuesday, captioning her video with “Live, Love” “Lexapro” refers to a popular drug used to treat anxiety and depression.
There are thousands of videos listed under this song, each starting with “You’re so funny,” followed by “Thank you, I have anger issues,” or “Thank you, I’ve been around since 7th grade.” They share mental health confessions like, “I take medication.” ” creators shared videos that addressed everything from childhood trauma to domestic violence and sparked conversations about how humor can help young people connect with peers about mental health .
Are Gen Z sad? Research shows they’re more open about their struggles with mental health
Gen Z is more open about their mental health than past generations
This trend provides insight into mental health issues among young people. Users shared videos about relationships, the trauma of growing up sexually closed, and their experiences with separated or divorced parents.
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One user said: “I’ve only ever been cheated on and I’ve only used humor to deal with it.” “I have suffered from severe anxiety for as long as I can remember,” wrote another. Variations on this trend also touch on eating disorders with video text such as “Thank you, I can’t weigh myself” or “Thank you, I can’t use Myfitnesspal.” Others took advantage of this trend to share their concerns about their chosen career paths, suicidal thoughts, and grief over their deceased parents.
When asked about their current mental health and well-being, just 15% of Gen Z members surveyed said they were in good shape, according to a 2023 study by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation. According to the same study, Gen Zers report experiencing negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, and loneliness, and 47% of those surveyed said their lives are currently fulfilling. This number is the lowest of any generation in the United States today.
This is a significant decrease from a decade ago, when 52% of millennials in the same age group said their mental health was good, the study said. And in 2004, 55% of people ages 18 to 26, including both Millennial and Gen X respondents, reported good mental health.
Jayla Johnson, 23, who works in music and entertainment brand partnerships in New York City, said her generation is simply brutally honest about their feelings.
“We’re not going to bring things to the surface,” Johnson said. “We say exactly how we feel. We can’t expect anyone to know what we’re going through.”
Best-selling author Ryan Jenkins, who has written extensively about Gen Z and Millennials, says that for better or worse, social media is giving Gen Z “a platform to have their voices heard and speak up from day one.” said. He said technology in many ways is giving Gen Z “overstimulation that other generations didn’t have to experience.”
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Gen Z uses humor to cope
Platforms like YouTube and TikTok have changed the way teens talk about mental health. Also, whereas Instagram’s cultural norm is a more sophisticated aesthetic, TikTok’s trend-driven community is more casual and prioritizes user engagement, creating a rich environment for personal moments to go viral. I am. When the comment section of a user’s confessional video fills with support, it creates a sense of solidarity and camaraderie.
According to licensed psychologist Marni Amselem, humor is a very useful and common coping mechanism that can help people process such severe and traumatic events. For others, it can also reduce the emotional weight of trauma.
According to Jean Twenge, author of iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Intolerant, Less Happy, and Not Fully Ready to Adulthood. Gen Z is more pessimistic than Millennials, which may explain their tendencies. Black humor — “a type of humor that occurs when you are feeling negative emotions.”
In recent years, celebrities like Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and Chrissy Teigen have started conversations by sharing their own mental health struggles with their followers. On TikTok, where influencers reign, creators like Earle’s participation in trends makes them more relatable to a teenage audience.
Pop star Adam Lambert also jumped on the trend, posting: “This is how I almost got sued for kissing a man on live TV in 2009.” Parenting influencer Lottie Weaver shared with her 2 million followers, “Thank you for my dad passing away when I was 4 years old.”
For Gen Z, this is another example of using online spaces to expand the conversation about mental health, and mental health experts agree that’s a good thing.
Terry Collins and Jenna Ryu contributed to this report.
Rachel Hale’s role covering youth mental health for USA TODAY is funded by a grant from Pivotal Ventures. Pivotal Ventures does not provide editorial opinion. Contact X at [email protected] and @rachelleighhale.