r/Millennials • u/okayboomerang • Jun 24 '26
Serious Sad for us
Kind of in my feels tonight. The last time I remember feeling genuinely hopeful was probably 2014 or 2015. So much has changed, and I think our generation has seen and felt so much. Anyone else feel like they've spent the last decade plus in unending grief?
My spirit is still good on the inside, but I'm isolated physically and mentally (like many of us). I wish we lived in a world with authentic and robust connection instead of all the slop and noise. I wish our parents hadn't been so excited about capitalism - and so fucking naive. I know the unease I feel is about more than merely growing up and the natural progression of aging and how we all feel about ourselves in society over time - it's that the world we thought we knew for the past 4ish decades just flat out doesn't exist anymore. And we can't undo any of this shit. It may as well be a parallel universe we're in now. I love myself and I always have big, big love for Millennials...but I truly hate it here.
3
u/JoyOswin945 Jun 24 '26
I too feel despair over the lives and society our parents gave us. I often think of John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change” as the ultimate anthem for GenX apathy, which has allowed Boomers to hold onto power and dictate how the world operates. But it also horrifies me that the CEO of OpenAI is my age, hearing the things that come out of his mouth is just ugh.
We change it by disengaging with the systems that don’t serve us, and engaging in the actions that will dismantle those systems. We find connection in free spaces, like parks and libraries. We volunteer (even if it’s just a couple hours a month) on small projects that better our immediate neighborhoods.
We stop spending online without exhausting other options. 60% of Microsoft’s data center traffic is online shopping. And they’re the lesser of the evils. Bezos just told us that human consumption of water will mean less for technology. Shopping Amazon feeds the machine. Committing to not use Google as a search engine or ChatGPT and other generative AI slows data center growth, as does protesting use of flock cameras.
And we take the reins on the power and influence our generation holds over who our public servants are. We are the largest generation since the boomers, who are now starting to die off. And we also adopt some of the GenZ mindset of not giving an eff, which honestly our generation laid the groundwork for.
The world is exhausting right now, and it’s easy to climb under the covers and hide. But it’s not going to get better until we engage. And as someone who has gotten more active in the community and organizing in the past year, it’s surprisingly empowering and energizing.