Since the summer holidays, young adults have taken much of the blame for surging Covid-19 infections. Small wonder. We’ve all seen the pictures and videos of youthful crowds spilling out of pubs at curfew. In some places, new cases are still highest among young people.
Yet it’s not fair to tar an entire generation, especially one that’s adrift by definition. Generation Z faces a lot of uncertainty. They’re striking out on their own, often living in shared accommodation or densely populated dorms. Many are taking personal risks at low-paid jobs in public-facing roles such as waiters or bar staff, for example.
Data tracking people’s attitudes during the pandemic reveal a more nuanced picture. It turns out that lots of young adults are doing their part to follow social distancing rules and that they’re closer in alignment with their elders than is commonly assumed.
From April to October, the Imperial College/YouGov tracker asked thousands of adults in 29 countries how they are coping with the coronavirus. While these are self-reported behaviors, and may not fully reflect actual practices, surveys can provide useful impressions. The charts below illustrate the averages of those responses by country and by age group.
Health experts are clear that washing hands can save lives. During the pandemic, people across age groups have routinely cleaned their hands, though younger adults could be more consistent in some regions.
Studies have shown that masks are effective in protecting against Covid. Adoption across all age groups rose dramatically in many countries over time, particularly after governments passed rules mandating their use. On this measure, young adults have outdone their older counterparts. In Nordic countries where governments took longer to pass rules or didn’t make any recommendations at all, young people have been more open to adapting their behaviors.
Since governments began placing restrictions on movement in early spring, the vast majority of people of all ages say they would listen to health professionals if told to quarantine for a week. Here, young adults’ readiness to do so isn’t that different from their parents’ age group. Even in regions that never had a central government lockdown, more than 60% of young people are very or somewhat willing to quarantine.
The majority of young people told pollsters they have tried to avoid crowds during the pandemic, more than commonly imagined. While their overall average lags older age groups, their changes in attitude over time broadly track those seen in other generations.
Even when it comes to much smaller gatherings, nearly two-thirds of young people have tried to keep them to a minimum.
While there’s no doubt some young people have engaged in risky behavior, this is overshadowing how many are actually trying to be careful for everyone’s sake. Given the psychological toll this pandemic is having on Gen Z, they will need to feel supported.
One in four 18- to 24-year-olds have reported experiencing emotional anguish compared with one in ten for those 65 and older. As French President Emmanuel Macron said last week, it’s really hard to be 20 years old in 2020.
That may help explain why some are throwing caution to the wind. But it’s important to remember the context — over the summer, lockdowns had eased and governments were even encouraging people to get out to help restart the economy. That makes disparaging Gen Z feel like a convenient way to shift responsibility for the policy failures of leaders.
As more activities move indoors, cases, hospitalizations and deaths are likely to worsen. Rather than engaging in intergenerational finger-pointing, it’s time for leaders to build a united front in this battle with farsighted strategies that protect and support citizens of all ages.