Most of Gen Z knows the internet isn’t helping their spiritual life. According to new research from Barna Group and Gloo’s ongoing State of the Church study, 85% of young adults agree that their generation spends too much time on screens. More than half say in-person relationships are more valuable than digital ones.
These aren’t empty complaints. Despite growing up in the most connected era in history, many Gen Zers report high levels of loneliness and emotional isolation. Nearly one in three say they always feel lonely. One in four consistently feel isolated. For comparison, just 4% of older adults — what the study classifies as “Elders” — report persistent loneliness.
The report also found that Gen Z places a high value on personal well-being. When asked about their top goals, 65% of respondents prioritized being happy, 53% cited financial stability and 49% said maintaining good mental and emotional health was essential.
“Mental wellness is an integral part of flourishing,” said Brad Hill, chief solutions officer at Gloo. “Gen Z is looking beyond simple answers and toward people who see them, understand their struggles and walk with them. As church leaders, mentors and parents, we have the opportunity to be that presence.”
Barna’s research suggests Gen Z isn’t just looking for spiritual content — they’re looking for connection.
“Young people are navigating increasing mental health challenges,” said David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group, “and our research shows that a caring, faith-filled community can be a powerful source of stability and strength.”
But even with access to more Christian resources than any generation before them — streaming sermons, devotionals, podcasts and endless spiritual content — many still feel distant from God. That spiritual disconnection may be rooted in something deeper: how the internet has rewired how people think, focus and engage.
Dr. Gloria Mark, chancellor’s professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has spent decades researching attention in the digital age. In her book “Attention Span,” she notes that people now spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting tasks.
“We don’t give our minds time to settle, and that leaves us feeling fragmented,” she writes.
That fragmentation affects more than work productivity. It changes how people engage with Scripture, worship, prayer and spiritual reflection. When attention is constantly fractured, spiritual practices that require presence and slowness — like silence, meditation and deep prayer — become difficult to sustain.
Dr. Felicia Wu Song, a sociologist at Westmont College and author of “Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age,” has also studied how technology affects spiritual life.
“When our default posture is to be constantly connected, constantly available, we begin to lose our ability to be present,” she said. “And spiritual life depends on presence.”
This loss of presence may help explain why faith can feel increasingly hollow for many believers. Spiritual life requires margin, and the internet often consumes that space without people noticing. A 2022 study in Behavioral Sciences found a strong correlation between frequent social media use and higher levels of emotional exhaustion, anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Those aren’t just psychological concerns — they’re spiritual ones. Emotional exhaustion affects a person’s capacity to engage deeply with others and with God.
Heavy social media use has also been linked to structural changes in the brain, according to a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions. The affected regions include those responsible for attention, self-control and emotional regulation — faculties essential to sustained spiritual practices.
To be clear, the problem isn’t that the internet is inherently bad. Digital tools have opened up unprecedented access to Scripture, community, teaching and testimony. But access isn’t intimacy. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God.
And spiritual content, when consumed without reflection, can lead to what feels like engagement but lacks real transformation. The scroll never stops, but the sense of God’s presence often feels further away.
Kinnaman believes the church has a role to play in helping Gen Z reclaim that presence.
“The Christian faith offers more than answers — it offers peace, purpose and a place to belong,” he said.
But it’s going to take more than content to get there.
If 85% of young adults say their generation is too online, it may be time to start listening — not just to what they’re saying, but to what they’re longing for: quiet, clarity, depth and connection. The things that have always been essential for spiritual life. The things that can’t be found in an algorithm.
