Generational shifts in women’s health: what to know about Gen Z

Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z’s ages range from 9 to 24. That puts the majority — or 2 out of 3 — under the age of 18. While most of this demographic is too young to enter the workforce full-time, they hold significant spending power of over $140 billion. They also account for about 40% of global consumers. To describe Gen Z as “digital natives” is an understatement. Nearly all American teenagers have access to a smartphone, and 97 percent use one of seven large digital platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, etc). They simply do not remember a world before the iPhone.

As consumers, Gen Z values authenticity, convenience, and accessibility above everything. This is especially true when it comes to healthcare.

Convenience over everything: meet them where they want, when they want

When the pandemic forced many industries to evolve, Gen Z fully embraced this concept of a hybrid world in ways that will have a lasting impact. Healthcare is no exception. 86% of Gen Zers who have had a virtual-care visit would choose to have another, with more than 70% of younger generations saying they prefer telehealth specifically because of convenience.

This recent surge in telehealth was a response to the pandemic, but the expectation for hybrid care is here to stay. Gen Z and millennials are resisting a return to in-person care, with 44% saying they may switch providers if telehealth visits aren’t offered going forward.

It’ll be interesting to track how this changes as this generation gets older and, as it comes of age, have more challenging healthcare needs that may require in-person visits. Perhaps by then, we’ll have such advanced remote monitoring and testing hardware that virtual will be sufficient.

A shift towards alternative healthcare

Even before the pandemic, younger generations were dissatisfied with traditional care and found themselves seeking out alternative healthcare services. Transparency, customer service, and convenience were particularly lacking, according to this demographic. And unlike previous generations, they don’t feel a sense of loyalty to any healthcare provider; in fact, fewer than half even have a primary care physician.

The pandemic has accelerated this shift, with young consumers opting for walk-in clinics, subscription-based on-demand services like One Medical, or entirely digital healthcare apps.

Consumers have also become increasingly comfortable with at-home tests, monitoring devices, and DIY diagnostics.

Part of this shift is due to the push towards at-home COVID-19 tests. In March, Tinder partnered with Everlywell, a unicorn in the home health space, to offer its users the chance to reserve two free tests (one for them and one for the match they would like to meet in person). Even before the pandemic, a third to half of consumers were comfortable using at-home diagnostics, with younger generations far more comfortable than older ones. For instance, 47% of Gen Z were comfortable with at-home blood tests to track overall health, compared with just 28% of seniors.

Given that they’ve grown up with smartphones tracking their every move, it’s no surprise that Gen Z is enthusiastic about wearable technology. Not only are they the fastest-growing generation among smart wearable users, but young consumers are also far more likely than older generations to believe that fitness devices (like Apple Watch or Whoop) change their behavior at least moderately.

A turn towards less traditional healthcare sources

Gen Z is not only turning to less traditional healthcare services, but they’re also turning to less traditional healthcare sources. Adults have relied on traditional sources — doctors, insurance, government-endorsed health websites — for health information. As recently as 2009, for instance, 86% of all adults went straight to a health professional for health-related questions. All of that is changing with young consumers.

Young consumers who have had Google at their fingertips since birth are far more likely to turn to the internet for information about their health — social media, specifically. A recent study found that social media has become the most trusted source for healthcare information among Gen Z.

TikTok is to Gen Z what WebMD is to Boomers.

Part of this shift can be attributed to the pandemic. 43% of Gen Z and millennials rely more on social media for news now than they did before the pandemic, the highest percentage among all demographics.

Advocacy and education through hashtags and TikTok

While Gen Z is perhaps less likely to turn to traditional sources of healthcare, they’re far more likely to be outspoken about their healthcare needs — especially previously taboo topics like “women’s issues.” Young people are pushing the conversation forward around menstruation, which continues to be stigmatized all over the world. In a recent survey, 83% of Gen Z said they feel that periods are a totally natural process and should be discussed by everyone, men included.

Movements like #VagTok are helping reimagine sex ed for the next generation, and viral hashtags like #Pcos (with 1B views on TikTok) and #Endometriosis (474M views) are creating awareness and community around women’s health issues that were for years suffered in silence.

It’s not just happening on social media. Period, one of the nation’s largest youth-led NGOs, has a mission of breaking the stigmas surrounding periods. Because of the advocacy work of Period’s largely Gen Z team, the U.S. celebrated the first-ever National Period Day on October 19th, 2019 and thousands of people gathered in all 50 states to fight for menstrual equity.

Dwindling interest in childbirth

While it’s hard to draw too many conclusions about childlessness among Gen Z, given how young this generation still is, more and more young women are opting out of having children.

According to some studies, Gen Z is less inclined to have kids because they’d like to retire early; other research indicates a shift towards childlessness because of climate change concerns. Add to that a shift towards getting married later in life, if at all.

We also happen to be in the midst of a maternal health crisis. In 2018, there were more than 17 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the U.S., more than double that of most other high-income countries.

And then there’s the undeniable reality that the workforce continues to punish women who have children. While three in four expecting mothers in America say they’re excited to return to work after giving birth, more than 40 percent of them end up leaving their careers. Moreover, the average U.S. maternity leave is just 14 weeks; research shows that’s not enough time for physical and emotional postpartum recovery — especially for the increasing number of women having children when they are older. Just last week, Democrats dropped plans to include a paid-leave program in their $1.85 trillion billion.

But again, this generation really is too young to sound any alarms on falling birth rates. After all, women in their thirties now have a higher birth rate than women in their twenties. If millennials are any indication, the global fertility market, as well as spending on things like egg-freezing and hormone therapy, is only going to continue growing. By 2025, women’s health could be a $50 billion industry. If you’re building in the space, reach out, we’d love to chat!