Why Gen Z is Quietly Giving Up

Hey everyone, thanks so much for watching :) This topic means a lot to me and it’s something I've wanted to explore for a really long time. Please keep in mind that I’m not a formally-trained philosophy scholar, so I’m aware there may be gaps or oversimplifications in how I define and explain these philosophical concepts. This video is specifically for those of us who, like myself, don’t necessarily have a formal background in philosophy. It aims to be an easy-to-digest, subjective take on Gen Z for those who might not be familiar with these topics. So to all the Lyotard, Derrida, and Baudrillard buffs out there, thank you for your patience! If you have your own insights to contribute to the discussion, please share them below! I’m all ears for correction and constructive criticism. Thanks again for being here :)

the world rly did end in 2012

"why is gen z giving up???" "NO MATTER HOW MANY HOURS I PUT IN I CANT EVEN PROVIDE MYSELF AND MYSELF ALONE WITH THE MOST BAREBONES NECESSITIES" "it must be the smartphones"

The lengths people will go to not say "it's the economy" is amazing.

Quietly? QUIETLY!? I shouted it from the rooftops and gave my family a doctoral dissertation on why I gave up. And not ONE of them even REMOTELY tried to understand it.

This video avoids discussing the elephant in the room, increasing poverty. Young people are stuck in debt, on low salaries which do not allow them to purchase a humble home and sniffing flowers and meditation will do nothing to solve their economic woes. In fact, it does the opposite, it encourages them to accept the status quo without complaining or demanding a fairer economic system from our government, banks and corporations. The 'just meditate and you'll be fine' is simply not fine. Gen Z and everyone who cares about them will need to demand better from our leaders. Encouraging young people to do nothing to improve their economic situation is actually a way of mentally neutering them.

I love that phrase… “I don’t have a dream job, I don’t dream of labor”

Well, the depressing thing isn't wishing for all the things others have in the internet. It's depressing to just wish for what your parents had and being unable to reach that, despite trying harder than they ever had to.

I was born in 2003. Growing up I never had the things other kids had growing up around me. Such as a phone or new game consoles, until I got my first job in my first year of high school. So I definitely always felt left out just from that alone. I was born into severe poverty with parents who spent their days smoking weed and overall not really caring much about parenting me and teaching me valuable lessons on how to really be a man. I had to teach myself these skills. This was especially true after my sister was born. I'm about to turn 21. With no motivation, role models, inspiration, or any hope for a good future since I can remember, it's really difficult to keep working just to pay rent and bills. It feels like I'm letting myself suffer just to prolong my suffering further. I don't really know what to do or who to talk to. I made a small friend group in high school and we were really close for a long time. But this last year especially I've really just shut myself away from everyone due to my mental health not allowing me to socialize the way I used to be able to. I go to work, come home, and never socialize with anyone. I was always the one who had to send the first message like "Hey, we should hang out today / tomorrow." But if I am not the one who is making the plans, they refuse to reach out to me even once after months of not speaking. Some people will think: "Well you just got to be the one to start the conversation." I understand that, but it would be nice to just one time to get a "hello" or something purely out of their willingness to engage in conversation with me, because we're "friends". But I suppose even that's too much to ask from them. Bit of a rant here. I'm really sorry for all the complaining. I just needed to get this out.

when I was younger I thought "of course I'm going to have kids", but now the implications of having kids means I will be a labor slave for the rest of my life.

I’m 15 and I can definitely tell that the people who use their phone more seem to be sadder and tend to not talk to others in my school, a lot of those people I know used to be talkative and full of life.

I'm 16 and over the course of a couple of years I have realized how badly the world is plunging into overstimulation and depression. All people do is numb themselves and anger is a symptom of all of that. All I do is try my best to keep my mental health in shape.

this video is basically "those dang kids playing with their phones all days" Forget rent/ house prices, forget prices going higher while wages stay the same, forget wars, forget climate change, forget the biggest inequality since ever. Those kids are not looking forward to the future because of phones.

What also happened in 2012 is the price of housing and rent skyrocketed. If you can't move out, or get your own place your life gets put on hold until you can get a job or a partner that can financially contribute. Now throw in employment issues and low wages and you've screwed over multiple generations of people who don't already own a home.

“Learned helplessness” I got that from my bosses and supervisors. They repeatedly made my feel useless, broke anti harassment policies targeting me with whatever I did, and eventually drove me to suicidal ideation. I went to HR; they did nothing; so I quit. Now, while I feel a bit better, I find social media is drawing me back into this cycle of not knowing what I want to do. Hell; I go out for a walk and I can hardly find anyone who isn’t glued to their phones. Technology has connected us yet in many ways driven us farther apart than ever before.

To all the people saying it's smartphones that caused this, haven't been paying attention.

Capitalism has gone into hyperdrive in the last decade, greed has washed away any social contract and i have seen the resulting collective psychopathy become almost universal. Society needs a conscious and i have seen that conscious nearly completely disappear.

The job that fires you that same moment upon the notice, doesn't deserves loyalty.

Mankind has starved his soul while fattening his ego.

I have come to 2 realizations in life that now give me more joy than ever imaginable. Just to cut it short, get rid of ALL of your expectations for everything. The soda will taste slightly different tomorrow than it does today. Live in the moment, do not regret anything from the past but grow from everything, take something good from everything and never fear the future. Until you know you failed the exam, don't worry about the hypothetical IF. I truly believe, if you can get to such a state where the expectation for everything is so low or nonexistant, that no matter the outcome it can only be good, or at least not as bad if you were let down.