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I'm sure the general hopelessness of younger generations has nothing at all to do with the facts that: - They get paid less (in terms of actual purchasing powe

by jrajav 3y ago

I'm sure the general hopelessness of younger generations has nothing at all to do with the facts that: - They get paid less (in terms of actual purchasing power) than any prior generation in memory. - They are saddled with mountains of education debt their elders told them to take on if they want a good job (which they usually never got). - They cannot get the security and long-term investment that is owning a house, which was much easier for older generations. - Food and college and other basics of survival and upward mobility are costing more and more every year, outpacing inflation, which itself is outpacing wages. I really think this is a much simpler explanation for a generation-wide malaise than the popular (with older generations), but infantilizing, explanation of a social media addiction. Not getting paid a fair amount for your hard work, and it being so obvious that you are indeed not getting paid a fair amount, will be demoralizing to anyone of any background.

gurchik 3y ago
The article is mostly centered around the short-term benefits but long-term harms of electronic devices and social media. This is a symptom, not the source of the problem. The Gen Z adults I know are struggling to survive, and they're left wondering, "_These_ are supposed to be my golden years? Going to the food bank and ignoring my student loan bills?" And the older people they look up to are more often than not completely out of touch. They had time to grow savings when it was easier to do so. Everyone I know has a story about some family member who can't understand how they're struggling because they purchased a house with a part time job with no college degree. But not all older people are like that. My parents never had time to save and buy a house, and today they find themselves hopelessly incapable of doing so. They would never make remarks you hear all the time about "people don't want to work these days." They have the exact same problem as the Gen Z adults except they have a quickly-approaching deadline where they can't work anymore. I do think social media can be a problem. Besides this site, I am not active anywhere else. A lot of people in my generation already have deleted their accounts, or they _want_ to but can't because it's free and they feel somewhat dependent on it. But you'd be surprised how many fewer people would be feeling depressed if they didn't need to fight to put food on the table. Disclaimer: Not technically Gen Z, but I don't think I'm far off. The author states they received their first iPhone at 10. I was already spending hours every day on the internet by that age, and bought my first smartphone at 14.
- ryandrake 3y ago
  I think the whole "people don't want to work these days" takes the grand prize for the most ridiculous and disingenuous catch phrases of the 2020s. It totally (and deliberately) ignores market forces like offered wages and costs of living. I would not want to work either, if the best I could do was $20/week for 30 hours a week (30, so the employer can avoid paying benefits). $600/week pre-tax won't even pay rent in many cities, let alone other basic living expenses.
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago
> long-term investment that is owning a house I agree with your points but I want to highlight that this perception is part of the cause of the housing issues. People really do want to consider their house to be an investment which incentivizes them to be opposed to changes which might lower their house price. I do not own a house but see a house as a long-term security choice more than an investment. It doesn't need to be an investment for me to prefer a house to an apartment. Still, I agree with the points, housing included!

by jrajav 3y ago

gurchik 3y ago

The article is mostly centered around the short-term benefits but long-term harms of electronic devices and social media. This is a symptom, not the source of the problem. The Gen Z adults I know are struggling to survive, and they're left wondering, "_These_ are supposed to be my golden years? Going to the food bank and ignoring my student loan bills?" And the older people they look up to are more often than not completely out of touch. They had time to grow savings when it was easier to do so. Everyone I know has a story about some family member who can't understand how they're struggling because they purchased a house with a part time job with no college degree. But not all older people are like that. My parents never had time to save and buy a house, and today they find themselves hopelessly incapable of doing so. They would never make remarks you hear all the time about "people don't want to work these days." They have the exact same problem as the Gen Z adults except they have a quickly-approaching deadline where they can't work anymore. I do think social media can be a problem. Besides this site, I am not active anywhere else. A lot of people in my generation already have deleted their accounts, or they _want_ to but can't because it's free and they feel somewhat dependent on it. But you'd be surprised how many fewer people would be feeling depressed if they didn't need to fight to put food on the table. Disclaimer: Not technically Gen Z, but I don't think I'm far off. The author states they received their first iPhone at 10. I was already spending hours every day on the internet by that age, and bought my first smartphone at 14.

ryandrake 3y ago
I think the whole "people don't want to work these days" takes the grand prize for the most ridiculous and disingenuous catch phrases of the 2020s. It totally (and deliberately) ignores market forces like offered wages and costs of living. I would not want to work either, if the best I could do was $20/week for 30 hours a week (30, so the employer can avoid paying benefits). $600/week pre-tax won't even pay rent in many cities, let alone other basic living expenses.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago

> long-term investment that is owning a house I agree with your points but I want to highlight that this perception is part of the cause of the housing issues. People really do want to consider their house to be an investment which incentivizes them to be opposed to changes which might lower their house price. I do not own a house but see a house as a long-term security choice more than an investment. It doesn't need to be an investment for me to prefer a house to an apartment. Still, I agree with the points, housing included!