Why Gen Z is rejecting perfection (and Steven Bartlett)

Self-proclaimed business mogul Steven Bartlett has faced ridicule in recent weeks for lamenting his decision to have several glasses of wine. It’s a sign that Gen Z and social media might be starting to reject perfectionism and over-optimising everything.

Picture this: you’ve just finished a six-hour ultramarathon, wolfed down your fourteenth isotonic energy gel, responded to all forty-eight of your Hinge matches, and updated your financial portfolio to capitalise on today’s stock fluctuations.

Everything is perfect. You decide to celebrate with a trip to a local pub, which you’ve tactfully timetabled between a hot yoga session and a book reading about today’s masculinity crisis. You won’t drink, of course – that would be insanity – but you might indulge in a sparkling water and some fruit. It is a Friday, after all.

Yet, despite your best efforts, a friend buys you a single beer. You go to bed at 9:30, half an hour later than usual. The following week is a disaster, lost to the evils of unproductivity, awash with disorganisation. What is even the point of going on, you ponder? You vow never to touch the devil’s nectar again.

This is Steven Bartlett’s reality, apparently.

The self-proclaimed business mogul has been receiving criticism over the past few weeks for lamenting his decision to have a few glasses of wine one evening after giving up alcohol for a year. On his podcast, ‘Diary of a CEO,’ Steven explained that this brief lapse in judgment left him unable to go to the gym, record his content properly, or keep up with his many wellness metrics that are tracked – because of course they are – on a smartwatch. ‘It ruined three days of my life,’ he says.

Instead of coming across as a relatable, ambitious, almost-Gen Zer, Stephen was instead met with online ridicule. TikTok and Instagram creators stitched their responses to his confession, asking him to simply ‘go outside’ or, heaven forbid, enjoy an evening without the looming anxiety of performance goals. The response struck a nerve with a vocal swathe of online viewers who feel frustrated at the relentless optimisation of everyday life, whether it be exercise, work, personal networking, or anything in between.

The momentum around this narrative picked up so much steam that Greg James, a BBC Radio 1 presenter, joked about an ‘anti-optimisation cult,’ encouraging his followers to not maximise everything for the sake of personal progress. A larger conversation began around our modern fixation with health and ‘wellness,’ and whether we’re being increasingly encouraged to regard our own lives as business projects that can be perfected to the point of insanity rather than complex, non-linear experiences.

Bartlett, with all his Huel-sponsored, capitalistic ideals, is the poster boy for this movement. Grumbling about a few glasses of wine has seemingly been the tipping point, the final eye-roll-inducing hot take that encapsulates all the trappings of modern podcasting and hustle culture that Gen Z has, by and large, fallen victim to.

What is meant by ‘Gen Z wellness,’ though?

Put simply, young people are constantly told that they must seek self-improvement and perfection in nearly all areas of their lives. Whether it be a career, staying healthy, having a social life, finding a partner, or making the most of being young, Gen Z feels an overwhelming pressure to be the best they can be in an overly competitive, always-online world. Gen Z still face the traditional milestones of work, housing, and financial stability, but they’re also expected to cultivate personal brands, optimise their health, learn emerging technologies, and constantly market themselves online.

The data makes it clear that these realities are having an impact on Gen Z’s mental health. A UNICEF-backed study of over 5,000 young people found that 60% feel overwhelmed by current events, with only 55% believing they have ‘effective coping mechanisms’ for maintaining mental wellbeing. Additionally, research by journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace found that the expectation of success is causing significant worry with Gen Z. There is a constant underlying need for better results and optimal routines, making it much harder to enjoy…well, anything else; hence the meltdown over a few glasses of wine.

Despite the stress, there are some positives to a greater emphasis on wellness. Gym memberships and running clubs are enjoying a spike in popularity, with more young people prioritising real-life meetups to make genuine connections. According to GymGroup, 73% of Gen Z exercised at least twice per week in 2025, a jump the company calls ‘significant.’ 44% of Gen Z rank fitness as their first or second spending priority too, with 87% saying that exercise improves their mental wellbeing.

We’ve explored before how exercise and fitness are giving Gen Z a feeling of control as things seem increasingly turbulent. There are many benefits to looking after yourself, and as the UK’s obesity rates continue to rise, being a generation of health-conscious athletes isn’t the worst thing in the world. We’re pushing to live longer, be healthier, and rely on the NHS less in our twilight years. That has to count for something, right?

It’s when these habits start to overtake everything that things become problematic.

We’re all human, and while it might be great to be lean and successful, most of us also need connection, emotional intimacy, warmth, fun, and downtime. A glass of wine (or, dare I say, a cheeky pint down your local) now and then is a simple pleasure that can loosen the senses and open up new avenues of conversation. Given that Gen Z are especially lonely and don’t drink much, perhaps they could do with ignoring social media gurus like Steven Bartlett telling them to constantly ‘lock in’. Not every moment in life needs to be optimised.

See also:

• If Gen Z drink less, why are Buzzballz booming?
• The ‘bedroom generation’: is Gen Z being pushed out of work?
• Wait…is everything a stealth marketing campaign?