The Dog Lover Generation

Just picture this: it’s 11 p.m., and you’ve just gotten into bed after a long day. As you settle in, you decide to check Instagram one last time before attempting to sleep. Almost instantly, a video of a cute dog flashes across your screen. Next thing you know its 3 a.m. and your eyes are bloodshot, but you‘re tucked in, giggling to yourself as one good boy after another rolls across your screen. 

Dogs have always been companions physically in our lives, but now more than ever, they seem to be infiltrating every aspect of our day-to-day lives. When was the last time you heard a country song that didn’t mention man’s best friend? Or opened Facebook without seeing your weird aunt posting pictures of her pupper? Scrolled through Twitter and didn’t see at least a dozen dog memes? Exactly. 

Being dog-obsessed has become part of our generation’s brand. Online and in real life it seems to be a difficult task to find someone who wouldn’t even let off the smallest grin when they see a doggo, whether that’s on their screen or the sidewalk. However, mental illness and mental health awareness are also a large part of our generational identity. 

In 2019, 91 percent of Gen Z individuals reported that they experienced a physical or emotional symptom caused by stress. It’s not secret that Gen Z-ers have the highest reported levels of anxiety and depression compared to older generations. But, only half of those individuals reported that they took action to manage that stress.

Considering the happiness that comes from seeing your dog’s smiling face and wagging tail after a long day, we’re going out on a limb and suggesting there’s some sort of correlation here. Since most Gen Z-ers are college- and newly-post-grad-aged, it’s likely owning a fluffy friend of their own may not be in the cards just yet. As puppy-less young adults look forward to future ownership, it seems most have decided to settle for the more practical alternative: binging dog videos and stalking pup Insta accounts day and night.

Millennials seem to be equally obsessed, but better equipped to actually fulfill this need for companionship. 44 percent of millennials think of their dog as a starter child. This generation has started the trend of marrying and having kids later., so it is only fitting that a four-legged friend would fill this gap.

So whether you just want a reason to smile, to kill some time on your phone, or to practice for adulthood, there is a doggo out there, in some form, to help get you through the day.