More than half (58%) of Gen Z respondents in a DoSomething Strategic survey said that, since the pandemic, they had picked up a new activity or were doing more of something they already enjoyed.
Similarly, 88% of Gen Zers polled in an April VSCO survey said that creatively expressing themselves has helped them feel less anxious during this time.
"Gen Z is innovative and powerful," Emma Havighorst, a 22-year-old 2020 graduate, previously told Insider. "The way we see the world is very different from prior generations."
For three years, Havighorst has hosted the podcast "Generation Slay," which profiles Gen Z creators and entrepreneurs, from mental-health advocate Gabby Frost to nonprofit founder Ziad Ahmed. She said she thinks the pandemic will produce even more innovators.
"Necessity breeds invention," she said. "We'll be trying to figure out solutions to problems that plagued past generations."
Consider high schoolers Daniel Lan and Jalen Xing, who created homemade face shields for hospitals during the pandemic, starting the initiative Students for Hospitals.