how we might reach out, there are some financial service companies taking tentative steps, while recognising challenges such as that need for authenticity and the impact of multi-level approvals required within some firms. Much of the early part of the meeting was spent observing how much time Gen Z spent on social media and how financial service firms might legitimately interact. In subsequent sessions, there was more focus on how health is important to the Gen Z, but also how health anxiety is rocketing. One aspect I think is worth exploring more is the link between the two. The anxious generation The phrase ‘menty b' is a shorthand for ‘mental breakdown' – and while it may seem a carefree phrase coined by a generation more open to talking about mental health, there's a serious element behind it. A recently published book ‘The Anxious Generation', by Jonathon Haidt suggests there's a very direct and causal link between Gen Z's social media use and the huge rise in mental health problems, although some will argue that argue that young people have more things to worry about, including climate change, inequality, global conflict, debt and more. He calls it "The Great Rewiring of Childhood" and he explores the rising levels of anxiety and depression among Generation Z and attributes this trend to several factors, including increased social media use, overprotective parenting and the current cultural climate. He talks of four foundational harms – social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation and addiction. Social media platforms, he says, can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and social isolation, as young people often compare themselves to the highly curated lives of others. While there are few guardrails in terms of on-line access, overprotective parenting has limited Gen Z's ability to develop resilience and independence. By shielding children from potential risks and failures, parents may inadvertently hinder their ability to cope with life's challenges. His recommendations include reducing social media use, promoting free play and unsupervised time for children and fostering environments where young people can engage with diverse viewpoints. He sees all of these as crucial steps in addressing the mental health crisis facing Generation Z. Within the Protection world, we have, rightly, an increasing focus on mental health – whether it's the underwriting questions we ask, or the way in mental health claims are assessed. We promote various positive interventions, and many insurers offer a variety of counselling services. Societally, it could be though, that we are pulling people out of the river when we should be going further upstream to stop people falling in in the first place. Only this week, Eton college has said it will ban smartphones in school and issue handsets that can allow calls and texts but nothing more. There are State school initiatives too - pupils at John Wallis Academy in Ashford have to put their phones in a magnetically sealed fabric pouch, which is only unlocked at the end of the day. The school has seen a 40% drop in detentions and a 25% reduction in truancy since introducing the scheme in January. ‘The Anxious Generation' may not be everyone's idea of a summer beach read, but, like the Protect Z conference, for me at least, it raised a range of questions. The social media genie won't go back in the bottle, there are manifest benefits, but equally very real harms which we need to do more to combat. As financial service companies (as well as policy makers and others), we need to reflect on how best to understand and engage with Gen Z, whether via Tik Tok or in other ways; but also to be alert to the downsides of social media and what more we can do to reduce the growing number of menty bs. 15 AUTUMN PROTECT NEWSLETTER
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