stock here: ht MissFrill, What this guy doesn’t get into is that the media is 100% feeding these story lines, this dread.
Even the skater girls’s joy, has been twisted into a “white male oppression” narrative. Think about that.
Why Millennials and Gen Z Are Feeling So Much Dread
Sage Advice from the Tractor Shed
There’s a kind of quiet dread settling over younger generations — Millennials, Gen Z, and likely Gen Alpha behind them. If you listen closely, you can hear it in their conversations. You can see it in their hesitation. You can feel it in the way they talk about the future.
This dread didn’t come out of nowhere. It has roots.
Let’s unpack it.
1. The “Go to College, Get a Good Job” Promise Is Broken
For decades, the formula was simple:
Get good grades → Go to college → Get a good career → Make money → Build a stable life.
That formula no longer works the way it once did.
Many young adults followed the advice. They earned degrees. They took on student debt. And now they’re discovering that a diploma does not guarantee financial stability.
Starting salaries in many respected professions — including teaching — are often insufficient to afford rent, healthcare, and transportation, let alone save for a home. In many regions, a household income of roughly $140,000 is needed to comfortably afford a home, healthcare, a vehicle, and retirement savings.
Yet a large majority of U.S. households earn far less than that.
When the promised pathway fails, it doesn’t just create financial strain — it creates psychological strain. It erodes trust in the system.
2. AI and Job Uncertainty
On top of that, artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming industries.
Young professionals — especially college-educated ones — are watching automation move into white-collar sectors that once felt secure. The fear isn’t irrational. It’s uncertainty about long-term stability:
- Will my job exist in 10 years?
- Will my degree still matter?
- Is my career path already outdated?
When stability feels temporary, anxiety becomes constant.
3. Growing Up in Crisis Mode
Many Millennials and Gen Z adults came of age during:
- The Great Recession
- The COVID-19 pandemic
- Ongoing geopolitical instability
- Climate anxiety
- Record global debt levels
They are the first generations to grow up with smartphones in their hands and 24/7 exposure to global crises.
They don’t just hear about problems occasionally — they live in a constant stream of them.
Doomscrolling has become normal. They consume more global information — and misinformation — than any generation before them. That level of exposure amplifies dread.
4. Social Media and the Comparison Trap
Social media adds another layer.
It creates a permanent comparison machine:
- Someone is always more successful.
- Someone is always more attractive.
- Someone is always more accomplished.
Even when you’re doing fine, social media can make you feel behind.
Young adults document their lives online. But constant documentation is not the same thing as connection. Visibility is not intimacy.
5. Loneliness in a Hyper-Connected World
Ironically, this is the most digitally connected generation — and possibly the loneliest.
Many grew up with:
- Helicopter parenting
- Reduced outdoor socialization
- Increased screen time
- Fewer in-person friend networks
After graduation, building a social life becomes even harder. Work doesn’t automatically create community. The “bar scene” isn’t real connection. And digital communication often replaces face-to-face interaction.
Isolation fuels anxiety. Anxiety fuels withdrawal. Withdrawal deepens isolation.
It becomes a loop.
6. Mental Health Pressures
Depression and anxiety diagnoses are rising.
Part of that may be better awareness. But part of it is also real pressure:
- Economic strain
- Social comparison
- Isolation
- Uncertain futures
Young men especially may struggle to articulate how they feel. Many were not raised to openly discuss emotions. Instead of talking, they internalize.
Texting replaces calling. Online replaces in-person. Vulnerability becomes rare.
Without strong support systems, stress compounds.
7. Healthcare and Structural Barriers
Mental health care is expensive. General healthcare is expensive.
Young couples often delay marriage because combining incomes can disqualify them from government healthcare assistance. Many adults in their 20s and 30s live at home because housing is unaffordable.
When basic life milestones feel financially unreachable — home ownership, marriage, children, retirement savings — the future feels stalled.
Feeling stuck creates dread.
8. The Economic Reality
Since 2020, food prices have risen dramatically. Insurance premiums have increased. Credit card debt is climbing, often used to cover necessities.
Many households live below $80,000 per year.
Under those conditions:
- Saving for retirement is difficult.
- Buying a home is unlikely.
- Owning a reliable newer vehicle strains budgets.
It’s not laziness. It’s math.
So Is the Dread Earned?
In many ways — yes.
Millennials and Gen Z aren’t irrational. They’re responding to structural pressures:
- A shifting labor market
- Rising costs
- Broken promises
- Digital comparison culture
- Social isolation
Their dread isn’t weakness. It’s the psychological response to prolonged instability.
What Now?
Acknowledging the reality is the first step.
The solution likely isn’t one single policy or cultural shift. It involves:
- Strengthening community
- Rebuilding local, in-person relationships
- Encouraging practical skills and resilience
- Rethinking the education-to-career pipeline
- Making healthcare more accessible
- Reducing digital overexposure
But at the most basic level, it starts with listening.
If we dismiss younger generations as “soft,” we miss what they’re actually reacting to.
They’re not lazy.
They’re overwhelmed.
If this kind of grounded reflection resonates with you — the practical, common-sense look at where we are and how we got here — stick around. There’s more to talk about from the tractor shed.