From Endurance to Intention: How South African Youth Lived Through 2025 – and What They’re Carrying Into 2026

There are years that pass quietly, and then there are years that rearrange you entirely. For South African youth, 2025 was unmistakably the latter.

At the close of the year, we paused – not to measure performance or predict trends, but to ask young people something more human. We asked them about the year they had just lived: the highs and the lows, the moments that stretched them and the ones that softened them, what they were most proud of, what nearly broke them, and who or what helped them through. We asked how the year felt in their bodies and minds, what surprised them about themselves, and what they were leaving behind. Then we looked forward, inviting them to articulate their hopes, fears, and priorities for 2026 – and to speak directly to brands, leaders, and decision-makers about what they need next.

What followed was not a neat summary, but a wealth of colour, contradiction, honesty, and depth. The responses revealed a generation that did not disengage from a hard year, but met it – thoughtfully, spiritually, practically, and often without the safety nets previous generations relied on.

 A year that felt heavier, faster and harder – but not empty

When asked to describe 2025 in a single word or emoji, youth responses clustered around emotional intensity. Distress, sadness, exhaustion, and overwhelm dominated, while joy, gratitude, and optimism followed closely behind. The year was repeatedly described as a “rollercoaster” – but this was not novelty volatility. It was sustained oscillation between progress and setback, relief and relapse, hope and fatigue.

This polarity is reflected in how youth evaluated the year overall. On average, 2025 received a 6.3 out of 10 rating – above average, but far from triumphant. It was not a failing year, but neither was it a breakthrough. It was the score of a year that demanded endurance more than excellence.

Time itself compounded this pressure. 78% of youth said 2025 felt faster than previous years, with 45% saying it felt much faster. Speed here was not excitement; it was compression. Too much to manage at once, too little time to recover, and fewer pauses to process life while it was happening.

And yet, when youth were asked for the first word that came to mind when thinking about the year, gratitude (30%) led – ahead of happiness (15%), overwhelm (14%), and tiredness (11%). This matters. Gratitude did not erase the difficulty of the year; it arrived after it. The year closed not in collapse, but in reflection.

 What tested them – and what nearly broke them  

The pressures youth faced in 2025 were not abstract. The toughest challenges they reported were overwhelmingly structural and economic. Financial pressure (51%) was the single most cited challenge, followed by burnout and exhaustion (30%), mental health strain (21%), and job hunting or job uncertainty (20%). Crime, safety concerns, family conflict, and lack of opportunity formed a persistent backdrop rather than isolated incidents.

This is echoed in what youth identified as the biggest negative impacts on their year. The rising cost of living (58%), financial stress (41%), crime and safety concerns (37%), and job insecurity or unemployment (32%) dominated. Politics, poor service delivery, and global conflict added to a sense of instability, but the core anxiety remained deeply lived: Can I afford to survive? Can I secure work? Can I keep going without burning out?

 What made life worth living – and not just survivable  

Against this backdrop, one of the most revealing questions asked youth what made them feel most alive in 2025 – in other words, what made the year feel worth enduring at all.

The answer was decisive and disruptive. Parenthood and caring for children accounted for approximately 35% of all expressions of aliveness, making it the single strongest source of meaning. This included giving birth, raising children, being able to provide for them, seeing them thrive, and simply having someone to keep going for.

This was not framed as obligation. It was framed as vitality. Youth did not say they had to keep going – they said this was what made the effort matter. Parenthood was described as the reason exhaustion was tolerable, the reason discipline intensified, and the reason the year, despite everything, still felt alive.

Beyond parenthood, family and close relationships (±30%) remained a powerful grounding force. But here, too, the framing has shifted. This was not dependence on parents or elders. It was about becoming the stable figure – showing up for family, protecting loved ones, and holding others through instability.

Running alongside this was faith and spirituality (±15–18%). God, prayer, worship, and spiritual grounding were consistently cited as functional sources of endurance when economic and social systems felt unreliable. Faith was not abstract; it was practical.

Together, these findings point to a generation whose sense of meaning is increasingly rooted in responsibility, belonging, belief, and purpose – not escape or distraction.

Youth as young adults in motion – not dependents in waiting

Throughout the data, youth are often spoken about as if they are “on the brink” of adulthood. Their lived realities tell a different story. Many are already parents, primary earners, caregivers, and household decision-makers. They are working, studying, raising children, managing finances – often simultaneously – while navigating structural instability.

2025 accelerated this transition. Responsibility arrived early and stayed. With children looking up to them and families relying on them, mental strength was no longer optional; it became foundational.

Mental health as strength, not fragility

One of the most statistically and symbolically significant findings emerged when youth were asked which area of their life felt strongest in 2025. While career and studies (27%) ranked highest, mental health and family tied at 16% each – an unprecedented result.

For the first time in this dataset, mental health is not primarily framed as a site of vulnerability, but as a site of regulation and capacity. Youth are not reporting the absence of hardship; they are reporting the presence of strong, working tools.

This is reinforced elsewhere. When asked what helped them through the toughest moments of the year, family (69%) ranked first, closely followed by faith or spirituality (56%), ahead of friends (50%), music (40%), and side hustles (34%). Mental strength (42%), in this context, is not isolation – it is the ability to stabilise oneself and draw on the right supports under pressure.

 Pride, progress, and redefining success

Youth pride in 2025 was grounded in pragmatism. Their biggest personal wins were securing employment, completing degrees, graduating, paying off debt, starting businesses, obtaining licences, and, repeatedly, simply making it through the year. Survival itself was a legitimate achievement.

Success was measured less by status and more by stability – by progress made under pressure.

 Moments of pride: What still binds us

Importantly, 2025 was not defined only by pressure and perseverance. Youth also pointed to moments that made them feel proud to be South African.

Sport dominated these responses, accounting for approximately 45% of all national-pride mentions. From Springbok victories to football qualifiers and global athletic achievements, sport remained a rare unifying force – offering collective joy in a year marked by individual responsibility.

Heritage Day and cultural expression (±20%) followed, with youth citing moments of shared culture, language, and tradition as affirming and connective. Gender-based violence movements and protests (±15%) reflected pride rooted in resistance and unity – moments where courage, solidarity, and moral clarity cut through fatigue.

Pride in 2025 did not come from ease. It came from shared victories, cultural affirmation, and collective action.

 Leaving 2025 with fewer illusions – and more self-trust

If 2025 stripped anything away, it was illusion – particularly the illusion that someone else would step in. When asked what they would undo from the year, youth most often cited reckless spending, trusting the wrong people, procrastination, and ignoring their instincts. Only a small minority reported having no regrets.

And yet, the dominant lesson they are carrying into 2026 is not cynicism – it is agency.

Across responses, one message repeated with striking consistency: Just start. Trust yourself. Keep showing up. Stop waiting for permission. These were not motivational clichés; they were conclusions earned through experience.

Looking ahead: hope and fear, held together

Youth priorities for 2026 are grounded and practical. Career growth or stability (65%), financial independence (57%), mental health protection (40%), and health and fitness (40%) dominate. They are not chasing excess; they are chasing sustainability.

Their fears mirror these hopes: unemployment, financial instability, failure, stagnation, and loss. Yet fear does not translate into paralysis. It coexists with readiness. 

A message upward: what youth are asking for now

When invited to speak directly to brands, leaders, and decision-makers, youth responses converged around one clear demand: lead with humanity first.

The strongest theme, accounting for 26%, was a call for people before profit – leadership grounded in kindness, empathy, and lived understanding. Youth inclusion and real access to opportunity (22%) followed, emphasising participation over tokenism. Affordability and cost-of-living awareness (15%), integrity and accountability (14%), and listening and authentic representation (12%) formed a clear ethical agenda. Smaller proportions called for future-proof innovation (7%) and peace and social stability (4%).

Youth are not asking to be saved. They are asking to be taken seriously.

 From endurance to ownership

If 2025 answered any question definitively, it was whether South African youth are capable.

They answered it through repetition, responsibility, and resolve. They endured a year that felt faster, heavier, and harder – and emerged recalibrated rather than broken. In hindsight, many even describe having enjoyed the ride, not because it was easy, but because it proved something to them.

This is why 2026 is not about recovery. It is about application. Youth are carrying forward self-trust earned under pressure. They know they can start, persist, adapt, and provide.

They want peace. They want fairness. They want to be heard…but they are no longer waiting.

The question now is not whether youth are resilient enough. They have already proven that.

The question is whether the systems around them are ready to meet them with the humanity, fairness, and seriousness their lives already demand – and that they themselves have already learned to carr

Written by,
Jessica Lyne
YDx Research Analyst