Gen Z is more connected than any generation in history, yet also more isolated, anxious, and uncertain about their identity and purpose.
In this episode of BaseCamp Live, Davies Owens sits down with Dr. Stephanie Shackelford, senior fellow at the Barna Group and author of You on Purpose, to explore the findings from Barna’s latest research on Gen Z mental health.
While anxiety and depression are on the rise, this conversation goes deeper. What if the core issue is not just mental health, but a lack of purpose, connection, and grounded identity?
Drawing from extensive research and expert interviews, Stephanie shares six key themes that offer a path forward for families and schools:
- Creating tech-free spaces to reduce anxiety and restore focus
- Supporting parents as a critical foundation for student wellbeing
- Rebuilding real, in-person relationships and community
- Helping students reframe struggles with resilience and hope
- Returning to faith practices that ground identity and purpose
- Cultivating a sense of responsibility and calling beyond self
🎧 Tune in to hear:
- Why Gen Z is called a “generation of paradox”
- The surprising connection between purpose and mental health
- How small changes at home can make a lasting impact
- Why church and community matter more than ever
This episode is both eye-opening and deeply practical, offering simple but powerful ways to help the next generation flourish.
Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:
Wisdom and Eloquence
The Herzog Foundation
Life Architects
Wisephone by Techless
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy
Dr. Stephanie Shackelford is a Senior Fellow at Barna Group, where she has researched and written for a variety of nationwide research studies on Gen Z, mental health, purpose, calling, and discipleship. She is the author of You on Purpose: Discover Your Calling and Create the Life You Were Meant to Live and a contributing author for Know, Be, Live: A 360 Degree Approach to Discipleship in a Post-Christian Era. Her most recent Barna report is Gen Z Mental Health & Well-being: Six Practical Ideas for Christian Leaders and Parents.
In 2012, Stephanie founded a career coaching company and has since helped hundreds of students, recent graduates, and working professionals live into their purpose. Stephanie received her Ed.D. from Northeastern University and her M.Ed. and B.S. from Vanderbilt University.
Connect with Stephanie: