Battling loneliness and tech fatigue, many Gen Zers are developing bonds with inanimate objects like water bottles, plushies, and journals. What do these emotional support objects reveal about young people’s sense of self and security amid personal, financial, and political uncertainty?
Eloise Skinner is an author and psychotherapist with a specialism in existential therapy. She's also the founder of The Purpose Workshop and One Typical Day. Her work focuses on finding meaning, purpose, fulfilment, and value in everyday life, as well as topics such as AI, the future of work, climate anxiety, and related existential topics. Skinner sits on the youth board of the UK’s national social mobility charity and is an enterprise advisor for the Mayor of London’s education and careers strategy.
Louise Yems is a strategy director at creative agency and internet and youth culture specialist The Digital Fairy. Previously, she worked as the group strategy director at Vice and Refinery29.
Keong Yap is an associate professor at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney. His research lies in hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he also teaches in the clinical psychology programme.
Darshita Goyal is a lifestyle and culture writer who specialises in stories featuring Gen Z. She’s been published in The Cut, Vogue, Mashable, and Refinery29, among other global publications.