There's a huge cultural shift happening right now that isn't being discussed nearly enough.
It's the effect that our educational system is having on work ethics. I hear older people talk a lot about how gen z is lazy, entitled, soft etc. but there's never much talk about why that might be the case.
The answer I think has to do with the way kids were raised in the last few decades. It's been accelerating since sputnik shook American elites to radically invest in public education.
Schools pump out young people who are programmed to think of themselves as intellectuals. This is especially true of college and higher education, which the lower grades are geared towards setting kids up for. The average Starbucks barista or McDonald's employee has spent about 15 years of their lives learning all kinds of things that don't immediately apply to them. Imagine the investment. The long hours spent in a classroom instead of playing with friends. The hours and hours of studying, homework and frustration. Now imagine after all of that your life consists of repeating the same menial tasks every day for barely enough to afford gas. That's the world young people face today. No wonder people aren't giving a shit.
Giving everyone access to a broad education has unforeseen consequences. It endows each person with an identity that doesn't mesh with the outside world of adulthood, where most people find themselves with "unfulfilling" jobs. Kids spend the first quarter century of their lives being encouraged to dream, develop self esteem and think highly of their own abilities. Then they run into the brick wall of adult work culture and become depressed and disillusioned. Many turn to socialism or self destructive behaviors to cope with the loss of their perceived status. They feel unrecognized and abused by the system.
I don't know what the solution is here, but I've been thinking about this a lot and felt like typing this up. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks of my hypothesis.
Even if the economy hasn't changed, the culture noticeably has. Young people aren't dating as much and it's not uncommon for people in their 20s to have literally no friends in real life. It's really every man for himself.
Much of that is the fault of parents. Expectations have become so low that kids have no reason to form relationships. The parents of Boomers had to decide whether to let kids sit in front of the TV all day or make them go outside. The parents of Gen X had to decide whether to let them be absorbed by Video Games and Cable TV or force them to go outside. The parents of Millennial kids had to contend with Cable, Video Games and Computers or go outside. Most of the parents of Gen Z seem to have just given up since the Smartphone was added to the mix.
The way previous generations parents fought this battle was if the kid was at home, they were made to do some type of work/chores. Parents got soft and the kids got softer. I've known a lot of parents who have let their kids accomplish absolutely nothing and then blame it on the times we live in rather than take responsibility.
It's also because the current wave of feminism in the West has made the majority of young women undateable to begin with so over 60% of men in their 20s are just checking out entirely. Young men are trending to be more conservative plus we have the rise of "Passport Bros" who have the money to be spending their time in other countries or outright importing foreign "tradwives" rather than bothering with women in their homeland. If I hadn't met my wife over ten years ago I'd probably be in the same boat.
Yep, most of the youngest married couples that I know are pushing 40 while most in their 30s and 20s is perpetually single.