The Youth Lab

Young people are not living despite the times, they are living in spite of them.

Three things are for certain in this world: death, taxes and haunting, cortisol-spiking news splashed across our front pages, both physically and digitally.

Every day, young people are confronted with a relentless stream of headlines covering war, climate change, political division and the rising cost of living. Understandably, news avoidance is at an all-time high, with Comisiún na Meán reporting that 47% of Irish people now actively avoid the news. Yet in the midst of this, The New York Times recently argued that "this year is the best time to be alive ever", a reminder that perspective matters.

In this week's edition of 52INSIGHTS, we explore why Gen Z is emerging as one of the most hopeful generations, how they balance realism with optimism, and what brands can learn from a generation that refuses to let bad news define its outlook.

Hope in a Heavy News Cycle

A recent NYT article cites a number of wins that humanity has experienced and continues to experience, like the all-time-low rates of global infant mortality or the fact that 90% of people worldwide are now literate, while also acknowledging the devastating impact of various global crises. The key takeaway of the article isn’t that everything is wonderful and that we should be blindly grateful for what we have, it’s that two things can be true at once: good news and bad news can and does coexist.

This is an appealing sentiment to young people, who cite the depressing nature of news as the main reason for their avoidance. According to a Reuters 2026 report, just one third (35%) of 18–24s compared with 52% of those 55+ say they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ interested in news. This symbolises a significant and tangible shift in Gen Z’s priorities and attitudes towards the world around them. This doesn’t mean that they’re any less interested or active in combating global issues; they’re just more intentional with how they engage with them. They continue to volunteer, organise, donate, campaign and show up for causes they believe in. A recent survey found that globally, young people show prolific social and political cause involvement, with 70% partaking in the boycotting of brands or sharing information online. Over half (51%) have attended a rally or protest.

Amidst the chaos of this news landscape, sits a wonderful statistic from the Voices of Gen Z Study by the Gallup and Walton Family Foundation: nearly 8 in 10 (77%) of survey respondents believe they have a great future ahead of them. Hope. Is. Alive.

How Hope Is Showing Up

Judging by that stat, Gen Z are a pretty hopeful generation. They’ve grown up in the shadow of financial recessions, seemingly endless geopolitical conflict and global housing crises. Yet, they prevail. There is a feeling amongst younger groups that there has to be more to life and more to strive for than the arbitrary systems laid out for them.

Work priorities are hope:
Gen Z, as a collective, don't necessarily want to make the sacrifices that their parents did in pursuit of a career. A new report, aptly titled Gen Z Wants to Do Good: How Helping Others Supports Meaning and Wellbeing, found that 79% of respondents report wanting a job in the future that is “mainly focused” on helping others or making a positive difference in others’ lives. This cohort of workers also seeks more flexible hours, hybrid / remote roles and competitive salaries, signifying a shift from prioritising job security alone to valuing quality of life and personal fulfilment.

Another recent global survey found that while Gen Z’s are delaying major life decisions such as marriage, starting a family or business, or furthering education, due to their financial situation, they continue to prioritise gradual growth over promotions. Under a recent TikTok depicting a grueling 18 hour “day in the life of an investment banker in NYC”, one young user wrote, “May this life never find me.”

Emigration is hope:
While once considered one of Ireland’s greatest tragedies, Gen Z’s emigration has become somewhat of a global frontier and to many (young people), a signal of hope. Roughly 1 in 8 (12.5%) of Irish young adults have emigrated by age 25 (CSO). While rising numbers of people leaving may reflect genuine frustrations with housing, affordability and opportunity, the act of emigrating is itself an expression of hope. It’s a belief that life can be bigger than your current circumstances; that another city, another country or another experience might offer the future you're searching for. As put by Jane Cowan, a young woman from Ireland whose plans are to move abroad in search of a better quality of life, “When you’re 20-something, you have the rare opportunity to design the life you want. That’s what young Irish people are doing.”

Hobbies are hope:
#GrandmaHobbies is a trending tag on socials at the moment and it’s exactly what it sounds like; a hobby your grandmother would take up, think knitting, crochet, sewing gardening, even birdwatching. Humorous as a concept, but wonderful in practice.

Run clubs, hike clubs and even book clubs have also increased tenfold, with Strava’s latest report showing that participation in running clubs grew 59% globally over the past two years. Ellen Colbert, a 24 year old fashion designer from Dublin summed it up perfectly: “If my hands are busy, my mind can’t be.” These hobbies come as no surprise when you truly understand how much Gen Z value their spare time. They want to lead sustainable lives, in every sense of the word and are open to trying just about anything to achieve that.