The Generation With Nothing To Lose

[Apollo Tenzen]

Following my last post of the GEN Z, i found a follow up video about the mutation going trough the young generation.

1 in 3 American men have stopped working. Not unemployed. Just gone.
In Britain, almost a million young people under 25 are not in education, employment or training.
600,000 of them are not even looking anymore.This is not laziness. This is a generation that did everything it was told to do and found the system had changed the rules without telling them. Six years of university. Real debt. A labour market that moved. A housing market that priced them out. A culture that told them their problems were their own fault.
When young men have nothing to lose, history has a very consistent answer for what comes next. We have seen it before. In Rome. In 1790s France. In 1930s Germany.
Extra info:
Gen Z was sold a lie – work hard, go to college, and you'll afford a house, start a family, and retire comfortably. Except the average first-time home buyer is now 40 years old (up from 33 in 2021), wages have been stagnant for 50 years while productivity increased 77%, and we just hit a 22-year record for layoffs in a single month despite record corporate profits and stock market highs

Stoicism is having a moment with Gen Z — not because it is trendy, but because it works. A generation facing economic uncertainty, information overload, and mental health challenges is finding practical answers in a 2,300-year-old philosophy. Marcus Aurelius on controlling your thoughts. Epictetus on not worrying about what you cannot change. These are not abstract ideas — they are tools. Below are the passages that resonate most directly with the challenges young people face today.

Stoic philosophy – once the domain of ancient sages and scholarly tomes – is experiencing a vibrant resurgence among Generation Z. From viral TikTok videos to high school podcasts, young people are embracing Stoicism as a tool for navigating a chaotic world. This report delves into how Gen Z adopts and interprets Stoicism across online communities and cultural domains, examining popular themes, influencers, prevailing tone, criticisms, and how this revival contrasts with older generations' approaches.
TikTok and Viral Stoicism: On TikTok, Stoicism has flourished into a trending lifestyle theme. Videos tagged with #Stoicism have garnered massive view counts, with content creators distilling ancient wisdom into bite-sized lessons. Posts frequently praise the philosophy's key figures – from Seneca to Marcus Aurelius – pairing their quotes with relatable modern scenarios. In one viral meme, the Greek myth of Sisyphus (popularized by Camus) is invoked: a TikTok video with nearly 2 million likes shows Sisyphus pushing his boulder accompanied by a flowchart asking "Do you have a problem? Can you do something about it? If not, then why worry?". This neatly captures a core Stoic idea (focus on what you can control) in a Gen Z-friendly format. Instead of lengthy lectures on Epictetus, TikTok offers punchy Stoic soundbites to the scrolling generation.

Stoicism and Gen Z — Stoic Sage

Why Gen Z is turning to ancient Stoic philosophy. How Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus speak to modern anxiety, uncertainty, and the search for meaning.

stoicsage.ai

Why Gen Z is the New Silent Generation?

Why does Gen Z seem so anxious, cautious, and emotionally exhausted? Most people blame smartphones, social media, or bad parenting. But history suggests something much deeper.There are surprising similarities between Gen Z and the Silent Generation. Although separated by nearly a century, both...

elysianfields.se

 

[Arnold Schwarzwald]

Now this I can understand better and get behind!

 

[Arnold Schwarzwald]

I don't have time to fully engage but this is the first Gen I think in modern time what was sold the lie and off the bat said "nah, what else you got?" And it feels like the implication is that they might burn down the fruit stand if they don't like the answer it's pretty cool if you ask me.