Sympathy for Gen Z: Why The Future Might Look Brighter Than You Think
Gen Z is in a tough spot in the professional world. According to a survey by employee benefit and insurance company MetLife, where 3,000 American workers were asked about their experiences, the Gen Z cohort reported feeling more depressed and isolated than their coworkers of other ages.
The surveyed Gen Z workers also reported feeling less successful than previous generations did at their age, including optimistic boomers and even Millennials, a cohort known for living through some of the worst-timed economic slumps of any generation.
But the good news is that this pessimistic generation might be better off than they think. Gen Z might not feel it, but they’re coming of age during an extraordinary period of scientific and technological acceleration.
Gen Z may inherit a world where diseases that shaped their grandparents’ lives, like cancer, heart disease and pandemics, are no longer dominant threats and where human potential extends further both on Earth and beyond. Here’s a little look into the potential bright future this rising generation faces and why they might want to turn those frowns upside down.
2025: Early Career Technological Progress
Gen Z is coming of age in a time when medical technology is entering multiple exciting frontiers. GLP-1s have revolutionized the world of weight loss, making obesity and diabetes treatable in ways they never were before. These drugs also offer spillover benefits for heart and kidney health. Heart disease affects almost half of all Americans and is the leading cause of death, so these benefits will have a major impact on our national population.
Rising technologies in the health space include the use of mRNA vaccines, which put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic with unprecedented swiftness and are currently being deployed for RSV and flu. These vaccines are also in early trials for cancer prevention, while other new tech, like CAR-T therapies and checkpoint inhibitors, are turning lethal cancers into treatable conditions.
The rise of AI is causing Gen Z some anxiety, with 41% of the generation reporting that they feel unprepared and nervous about the rise in artificial intelligence. However, AI might also spell a disease-free future, with widespread adoption in radiology and pathology leading to cancers, heart disease and eye diseases being spotted earlier and more accurately, leading Gen Z to enjoy a healthier early adulthood than previous generations.
Gen Z and millennial scientists are already making waves in the world of space exploration. Some feel that the world-changing aspects of these technologies have yet to make a true impact and they can’t wait to be a part of it. Recent innovations like the use of reusable rockets have dramatically lowered launch costs as careers in space exploration open up.
2025-2035: Building a Family and a Career
As Yogi Berra once noted, predictions are hard, especially about the future. But here’s some prognostication about where Gen Z may find themselves as they advance their careers and begin to put down roots, raising families of their own.
Clinical breakthroughs in the reversals of disease, like atherosclerosis reversal and liver fibrosis reversal, may enter widespread practice, while the cancer vaccine scientists have been developing for years may go into practical use, preventing most instances and recurrences of cancers. Longevity science will likely progress, with the first senolytic drugs to clear “zombie cells” and slow aging possibly entering the market. Debilitating autoimmune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease now have new treatment options beyond conventional therapies through technologies like SetPoint Medical’s neuroimmune modulation device, restoring balance to the vagus nerve and central nervous system.
In the world of genetics, advances on the horizon include CRISPR gene therapy cures for inherited diseases like sickle cell and blindness, which may well expand into the elimination of metabolic disorders like high cholesterol and obesity resistance. These will be accompanied by the rise of personalized medicine, as genomic sequencing and AI make treatment tailored to each person’s biology part of standard care. Lastly, today’s advances in space technologies may lead to the creation of spacetech infrastructure. Permanent lunar bases may be constructed and early Mars missions are underway, with biotech supporting human survival in the harsh environments of space. Gen Z parents may confidently expect their children to live longer and healthier lives, against a backdrop of thrilling scientific advances.
2035-2050: A Healthier Midlife
As they reach middle age, Gen Z may find themselves living more active, healthier lives than previous generations, thanks to advances in medical technology. Regenerative medicine may become common, with lab-grown organs replacing failing kidneys, hearts and livers, extending lifespans and improving their quality of life.
If heart attacks and strokes are reduced to rare, manageable events, mortality rates will plummet. Many cancers may be managed like long-term conditions, instead of the death sentences they have historically been in many cases. As longevity therapies mature, cellular reprogramming and epigenetic resets may be in human trials, as we discover whether biological age reversal is possible.
With lunar and Mars bases established, asteroid mining, space-based solar power and interplanetary industries may transform global resources, opening a whole new frontier of economic and scientific possibilities. Gen Z’s middle years may well look very different than previous generations. These years could be a second prime, as energy, health and careers extend.
2050 And Beyond: Aging Gracefully
As Gen Z’s middle years fly by, they may find themselves aging with more ease and at a slower pace than was possible for the generations that came before. As infectious diseases, genetic disorders and many chronic diseases are eliminated or minimized, the advancement of anti-aging therapies and technologies could extend healthy lifespans considerably, with members of Gen Z routinely living beyond the age of one hundred.
Memory woes may also become a thing of the past. The use of brain-computer interfaces may become widespread for use in cognition support, memory enhancement and communication, helping Gen Z seniors maintain their edge.
Boston Scientific’s Vercise Genus Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) implant is already blazing new trails for the possibilities of neuroflexibility, reducing Parkinson’s symptoms with the use of precise electrical brain stimulation. Advances like these would redefine the idea of what retirement means, as Gen Z seniors can contribute meaningfully later in life, staying active and present in the careers they worked so hard to build.
Outside of planet Earth, space colonization might be beginning in earnest. Gen Z could be grandparents to the first Martian-born generation.
Rediscovering Optimism
Of course, we don’t know what the future holds, Gen Z included. But the fact is, all of these scientific advances are well within the realm of possibility even today, let alone in the years and decades ahead of this rising generation.
It’s easy to get bogged down in the pessimism of the present. But if Gen Z keeps their eyes on the horizon, they just might find that there are many better and more exciting chapters to come.
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