How the First COVID-19 Lockdown Worsened Younger Generations’ Mental Health: Insights from Network Theory

Two years after the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), one fact seems to be emerging clearly: lockdowns affect mental health differently across generations. This article uses data collected before and after the first wave of COVID-19 on a sample of 5,859 respondents, showing that the first lockdown worsened the mental health of the younger generations (Gen Y and Gen Z) in particular. Given that the older generations are considered the most vulnerable in this global pandemic, this may seem surprising. However, our data reveal that the pandemic outbreak raised very different concerns in different generations. While older people appear to be worried about the economy and their own health, younger people were more concerned about their lifestyles and, generally, their social relationships. This suggests that some of the mechanisms behind the exacerbation of younger people’s mental health may lie at the intersection of these two issues. On one hand, a life lived essentially online undermines all those processes of social capital activation that occur through leisure and face-to-face encounters, from which Gen Z may have suffered in particular. On the other hand, not only has the pandemic added further uncertainty to Generation Y’s career paths but working from home has also forced them to reorganize family routines and construct entirely new ones with colleagues using computers and smartphones. The article reflects on the upheavals of work and leisure to foster research on networks, social capital, and mental health in this period of a continuing pandemic.