• A rising number of young Americans are disconnected from work, school, and a sense of purpose.
  • Disconnection rates have been increasing since the 1990s, affecting young people’s futures.
  • Poor mental health and a lack of a financial safety net contribute to rising disconnection.
  • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    Are you kidding? The parents can’t figure out why? Really? Neither can mine by the way.

    They don’t understand that the social contract is broken. Working for a living wage is a concept that’s all but disappeared. A job can’t pay the rent and food. And employers aren’t giving any significant pay raises or promotions in order to cut costs. They’ve been through TWO major economic events - 2008 and COVID - and the massive layoffs that go with them.

    I think I heard Jimmy Carr say something about this along the lines of the reason that millennials and the younger generations play so much video games is that it’s the only way to experience the fantasy of actually doing something and progressing in any significant way that we don’t experience any more in real life. And forget about owning a home and building a family with kids and all that. It’s become incredibly difficult and something reserved for the wealthy elite.

    Boomer parents who were able to get a well paying job with a high school degree and got good raises their whole life will never understand this.

    • Hanrahan@slrpnk.net
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      6 months ago

      Not sure I agree, no matter what way you cut it, Boomers/Gen X were sold a turd , sure it was disguised as a snickers and they chewed away with gusto, embracing it with both hands but what they did can’t be replicated even though most of them refuse to even acknowledge that, Limits to Growth within a finite biosphere etc pollution, population, resource depletion, climate chnage etc all catching up with us.

      Lamenting it’s loss is bizzare, it was a turd to begin with. Entitled white folks fucking the biosphere and minorities over and living off that explotation is surley fucking toxic.

      Not recognizing it for what it was and poviting to a sustainable lifestyle (from about say the '70s or 80s) is however even bizarrer and inevitably has lead us to where we are.

      That “young people” are tempted with the same stupid snickers turd and lamet not being able to chow down is just indoctrination writ large I guess.

    • Eheran@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      You don’t need to play video games to accomplish something and feel progression. Any hobby will do that. Some are essentially for free, other than the time spend. Hence I do not see that one specific connection. Otherwise should be a good starting point to figure the reasons out.

      • mommykink@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        The person being quoted isn’t saying that everyone who needs to escape reality does so through video games but that most people who play video games are doing so to escape reality. Your example of other hobbies providing the same effect doesn’t counter this claim

        • Eheran@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          That sounds like a baseless claim based on their own view. Hence I brought some counter examples.

          • Fushuan [he/him]
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            7 months ago

            The original claim was that the Popoto country mainly produces papaya. You said that the Combucha country also produces papaya. Your statement doesn’t refute the first one, at all.

            • Eheran@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              millennials and the younger generations play so much video games is that it’s the only way to experience the fantasy of actually doing something and progressing in any significant way that we don’t experience any more in real life. And forget about owning a home and building a family with kids and all that. It’s become incredibly difficult and something reserved for the wealthy elite

              The person clearly states “the only way”. That is clearly bullshit. Like saying “only Popoto produces pots papaya”, to use ur example.

      • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
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        7 months ago

        Of course! But, I’m saying it e generation in general has been doing that to fill a void.

    • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      There never was a social contract lol what are you talking about?

      You people act like the capitalists weren’t always trying to get the most out of us while giving us as little as possible…but none of you will change your buying habits or sacrifice anything to save the system.

      Kids rail against how hopeless it is while spending $20 on chipotle and paying these companies they’re complaining about.