I don't think the author is talking in an absolute sense like "our lives suck harder than ever before". More in a relative sense such as "it's harder to get a g

I don't think the author is talking in an absolute sense like "our lives suck harder than ever before". More in a relative sense such as "it's harder to get a good job for life and afford a house than it was for our parents generation". I do think that "perhaps more so for our generation that any previous" is hyperbole though.