To think current young adults are heading for a tough mid life crisis?

[clairemcnam]

Most generations since we have moved in the west beyond bare survival, have had a significant group of young people questioning the point of focusing on a career, buying more stuff and living an ordinary consumerist life. But this generation seems incredibly conformist. Amongst young adults the emphasis seems to be on agitating around being able to buy a house, rather than questioning capitalism.

I suspect when a lot of current young adults hit mid life, they are going to be hit very hard as they begin to question their life and why they strived so hard to be consumers.
AIBU?

I find most of them incurious, intellectually lacking and bland. I blame social media for most of this as their world has narrowed as has their idols. Generations before them revered literary and musical genius, it seems to be a race to the bottom

If we are playing the gross generalisation of the characteristics of an entire generation game, you could argue that the post WW2 (and WW1) generations did think they could make things better for everyone and thought that things could continue getting better for everyone. What actually seems to have happened in the last 60 years is that the babyboomers had life made easier for them by older generations, then continued to make life easier for themselves by relying on the collective guilt of the older generations that went through world wars to help push through their changes. Now things are going tits up, unlike in previous generations, the post-Ww2 generations aren't blaming themselves or feeling guilty for the mess, they are now blaming the generations that followed for the fact that their changes are turning out to have been short lived - even though it is disproportionately their generation voting and behaving in ways that are causing the current state the world is in. The OP is a perfect example of this - taking all the credit for anything that got better, for however short a time, but blaming the generations barely old enough to vote for everything she doesn't like.

in the meantime I’d like to provide some security for my daughter so that we’re not at the mercy of a landlords whims

in the meantime I’d like to provide some security for my daughter so that we’re not at the mercy of a landlords whims

I thought the consensus on MN was that the house should be sold to pay for social care?!

I find most of them incurious, intellectually lacking and bland. I blame social media for most of this as their world has narrowed as has their idols. Generations before them revered literary and musical genius, it seems to be a race to the bottom

Thank god the ones I know (and there are many) could not be further from this.

Walkaround, totally agree with your analysis. I think the ww2 born generation wanted nothing more than to give their kids security and comfort but still strongly valued the notion of being grateful for what they had. They brought up kids who were spoilt but not to the point of it impacting on discipline. That expectation of discipline brought some level of resilience.

The next generation became very lazy all in all with a cultire of wanting everything their parents had but with a sense of immediate satisfaction. The notion of investment (in everything, not just financially) became a notion of the past encouraged by governments that encouraged it.

The new generation is lost. They have been brought up to experience little hardship, over protected by parents, and ha e lost all sense of resilience. Any difficult moments which used to be called 'lessons of life' that you had to get through to become stronger is now called 'eve ts that bring on anxiety' and therefore demand to be avoided rather than faced.

Young people are constantly scared. They fear the future, fear other people, fear their I abilities, fear conflict. They are lost in a culture of avoidance whilst needing immediate gratification to balance the fear and insecurities.

I feel for the new generation, its not nice to evolve with little trust in yourself and your future. They cope by blaming others, in a way they are right, but it is not going to help them.

The OP I think has a point, though the causes may not be just that which are cited. The focus on experiences, the overuse of social media and little use of face to face communication, and the disposable nature of things such as clothing, may all make getting older more difficult for them.

I think whatever you grow up with is always going to be the base for what you consider an acceptable life. For instance after growing up with parents who had bought a house the idea of raising a family in a rented property with no security is a scary prospect. It think that's true for any generation.

We were mostly also conditioned to take going to uni for granted as a necessary rite of passage.

I think social media has pros and cons. I remember a colleague blathering on about how they didn't have social media in her day and I pointed out it must have been really boring and limiting only being in touch with family and old school friends. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to talk to different people and read different perspectives. The fact that is becoming more and more of an echo chamber is depressing though.

clairemcnam

My Mum gave me some words of advice when i was young, she said "As you get older, never forget that you were once young, nothing annoys young people more than those that do"

Your original post stated that Amongst young adults the emphasis seems to be on agitating around being able to buy a house, rather than questioning capitalism

I'd suggest that's exactly what your/our generation have not done, gobbled up that cheap housing, good pensions, health care, triple lock pensions and low taxes.... not to mention screwing the environment, yet its the young who are fault for not challenging all of this!!!!!!!

tbf i think your posts are an awful slur on our young people, who generally speaking (not all) are far more caring, less judgemental and more open than previous generations.

Honestly, reading this thread, I wonder who all these lazy, intellectually lacking, morally bankrupt young people are that you all know? The young people I know are very far from that - they work so hard, challenge societal norms in a way few generations have ever done, are intellectually curious and open, and, above all, are incredibly kind tp each other.

What age exactly is this useless young generation?

Climate change is a micro issue?

Lol

Ok because previous generations have really shook up the capitalist system......

@Bobfossil2 at least 15 years younger than the people calling them useless

I’m a conformist. I’m pretty happy to do micro things to try my best to change what I can. The likelihood that a big protest is gonna work is small, so I choose to focus on things where I feel I can make a difference. I’m 2nd gen immigrant and conformism has helped building a life here.

Bobfossil2 - this generation appears to be 18-20 year olds who work with the OP.

The OP needs to find better people to work with, then, because her experience is not reflective of mine. I sat in a work meeting yesterday listening to a group of incredibly passionate 20somethings sharing the work they are doing in our organisation to impact climate change and race - real, effective work that matters.

Rousette you give me hope

littlebilie

I find that the younger generation are prepared to work much harder than my generation and they have a much healthier lifestyle (less drinking, more gym), but at the same time they expect to have their own space, even if that space is smaller (so a micro flat or a room in a shared place but with an en suite) and as some other posters have said they seem to get on extraordinarily well with their parents (perhaps out of necessity?).