Rising young worker despair in the United States

Scope of the problem

• Commenters across the US and Europe report similar despair among young adults: difficulty forming independent lives (job, housing, relationships) and a sense the future offers little.
• Several note that this isn’t confined to the U.S. and may be even worse for young men in some domains (employment, dating, homelessness, suicide), though the paper’s data show higher despair scores for young women.
• Some older commenters say their own midlife despair levels now match what the study finds for youth.

Work, autonomy, and “BS jobs”

• Many emphasize loss of workplace autonomy: monitoring, metrics, AI-based surveillance, and tighter control over time and output.
• Hybrid/remote work brought flexibility but also isolation for young workers who missed in-person socialization and mentorship.
• There’s frustration with “BS jobs” that feel pointless yet necessary to survive, and with a broken implicit contract: boring work no longer reliably buys stability, housing, or a family.

Housing, markets, and inequality

• Housing is a central grievance: high prices, constrained supply via zoning/NIMBYism, algorithmic rent-setting, and the legacy of racist housing policy and “pulled-up ladders.”
• Debate over whether the problem is “markets” vs. distorted markets: some argue for more public/non-market housing (Vienna, Singapore examples), others highlight structural scarcity and infrastructure costs in big cities.
• Broader concern over wealth transfer to the very rich, national debt, and the likelihood that future generations will pay via inflation, higher taxes, or benefit cuts.

Gender, social media, and radicalization

• Dating market angst is widespread, with claims it’s harsher for young men; others note despair is rising faster for young women.
• Several point to social media and recommendation algorithms pushing boys toward alt-right/manosphere influencers; others stress this is a response to genuine hopelessness and lack of credible role models.
• Disagreement over whether young men’s problems are mostly self-inflicted (bad attitudes, role models) or primarily structural and exploited by extremists.

Generational conflict and meaning

• Strong resentment toward older generations (especially Boomers) for hoarding assets, blocking reform, and moralizing at youth.
• Some urge individual grit and “hiring the strivers”; others argue this individualizes systemic failure and ignores that doing everything “right” can still leave people stuck.
• A recurring theme is loss of meaning: commodified, surveilled lives; scammy get-rich schemes; and technology that feels dehumanizing rather than empowering.