A personal message from Gen Z

My guess is most of my readers are Gen X or older. Perhaps I'm projecting (I'm gen x) or perhaps my style resonates with my cohort.

I find it interesting that older generations outwardly appear more vocal, while gen z is presumably the most fucked. Again, that's probably because I don't get to talk with many young people.

So I keep my ear to the ground and listen carefully when gen z speaks. Conflicted between a world of opportunity and a closing door, gen z has the most at stake. And, given most of the chaos was baked in before they were conceived, they are the generation which can rightfully blame others for their predicament.

I recently received an email from a gen z person I personally know (family) who lays it all out. With some assistance, I encouraged this person to expand on their email to create the commentary below.

This is likely representative of what most young people believe.

I’m terrified. Every single choice I make right now is absolutely pointless.

We were raised on the gospel of meritocracy, told to "pull up your bootstraps" and that hard work guarantees success. But my boots are shredded and the only thing waiting at the top of the hill is the cliff edge.

I look at my life and see a colossal joke played on us by history. We were born into the fallout.

Previous generations bought houses, raised families, and had pensions simply by showing up. They got to play the economic game with cheat codes, and now, they’ve handed us the debt.

Today's economic reality is about staving off poverty. Every dollar I owe for my education I'm not even sure I need, or can benefit from, feels like a chain around my ankle.

I am paying for a future that no longer exists. A debt burden imposed on us by a system that has already collasped. A system that was bailed out while we, the innocent inheritors, were left holding the bag.

Why should I spend my precious, finite energy trying to save for a home when the housing market is a grotesquely unaffordable? We are tenants in a world owned by others. Every rent check is a surrender. And the older generations preach about saving? They had affordable houses and free college while I have crushing debt and a rental market that laughs in our faces.

This is why I question every decision. Should I be building a career or finding a way to live now, because there might not be a later? How many extra hours should I work when that effort simply maintains a miserable status quo?

My economic despair is worsened by dread about the planet. We are living under a doomsday clock. I know the planet is collapsing. I’ve seen the reports, the charts, and the heat waves. My generation is the first to grow up with the certainty that our world is ending.

The institutions that are meant to serve us are committing a slow-motion atrocity, prioritizing short-term profits over the survival of humanity. And all of us watch, paralyzed. Even those with the power to do something about it.

How can I plan for a thirty-year mortgage when scientists are warning of mass climate migrations and resource wars starting next decade?

When they tell me to plan for retirement, I genuinely wonder if I'll even live to see 50, or if that decade will be defined by famine, water scarcity, or social breakdown. Long-term planning seem utterly ludicrous.

Marriage? Dont make me laugh!

How can I commit to building a future with someone when I can't even afford an apartment, never mind a house or condo? Does love even have a place in collapse, or are we just looking for someone to share the burden? I've had crushes and friends, but have never thought of anything beyond that.

Previous generations would get married at age 20 and immediately start a life! That seems crazy to me. My generation, except for those with rich parents, have to scrape together a down payment so we can pay a debt until we die in the water wars.

My parents call me a cynic but how can you commit to another human being when your existence is perpetually precarious?

I suppose there is no right time, but whether it's a marriage, home or career all I see is delay. It just feels like the promise of moving out and starting our own lives together is just another lie. Love and family are luxury goods that only the rich can afford.

All this creates a generation with a hunger for radical solutions. We have nothing to lose.

Do you still wonder why charismatic outsiders promising to burn the whole system down start sounding like the only sane option?

Compromise and patience are weak and ineffective against the scale of the problems we face.

We’re being sold radical promises by politicians who target our rage. Some veer to the left others to the right. This radicalization is a direct consequence of institutional collapse and abandonment.

I know these promises are empty. I suppose most people do. But we are so desperate for a lifeline that we'll grab onto anything that comes our way.

While most essays end with "and here are the 3 things we can do to fix this" I don't have anything to share. Is there even a solution? It seems like all I can do is vent and try to live another day. Thank you for listening.

Special thanks to my guest writer for sharing so openly.

My name is Sarah and I run Collapse2050 by myself. It is a place for the collapse-aware community to learn, debate and connect. Please consider subscribing. The site is free for all, but paid subscribers and one-time contributors help to cover hosting and production costs. Support also goes towards my gradual shift to full time writing and helping people like today's contributor manage their future. Thank you. Sarah