In a survey of 2,000 Americans, 38 percent of Gen Z respondents said they were experiencing a midlife crisis.
  • codexarcanum@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    26·
    2 days ago

    Millenial here, I had an existential crisis in my mid to late 20s because the job market was shit, my romantic relationships were in shambles, and prospects for the future looked grim. I managed to shake myself out of it and find a path forward after moving and changing a lot of my expectations for how life should be. I realized that I’d been lied to my entire life about what was important and how to achieve it. I realized that I was struggling so hard because the path laid out for you is one that benefits owners and rulers, not yourself.

    Nothing in America has gotten better since then, and all those factors are worse. Jobs are less stable, less interesting, and lower paying. Relationships are even more alienated and hard to form. The future looks totally fucked.

    I wouldn’t call it a midlife crisis, but I had another big breakdown in early 2020 as I realized that the pandemic response was indicative of how we were collectively going to handle all the other issues of the 21st century: climate-change-enhanced disasters, wars, famines, and plagues. All my faith that humanity could pull together in crisis to handle the looming apocalyptic challenges evaporated from seeing people hoarde toilet paper and cheer on mass death from avoidable disease.

    So now I’m just trying to enjoy the downfall. Either I’m wrong and the hateful, spiteful, shitty people are correct in which case I guess there’s nothing to worry about. Or I’m right, people suck, and I’m privledged to have been born at the very peak of human progress before the whole species dies back to the low fuedal periods, if not extinction. Might as well enjoy the ride!

    • Psychodelic@lemmy.world
      14·
      2 days ago

      Thirty-six percent of millennials also said they were going through a midlife crisis, while only 15 percent of baby boomers said they experienced similar financial stress during early adulthood.

  • Laser@feddit.org
    292·
    2 days ago

    The term midlife crisis doesn’t refer to just any crisis, it’s a very specific thing about your identity and achievements and can be financial, but doesn’t have to be. It’s more of a “what have I achieved in life / how do I compare to others” thing after about half of your work life (or actual life sometimes) is over. If you measure success financially then yeah it might play into the equation but being strapped for cash in your early twenties doesn’t make a midlife crisis.

    • klemptor@startrek.website
      15·
      2 days ago

      I’ve heard “quarterlife crisis” used for this before. I think a quarterlife crisis is different in some key ways from a midlife crisis, and it makes some sense to distinguish between the two. I think more than comparison to others’ achievements, these crises have malaise/discontent at their cores. By the time you reach a midlife crisis, it can be extremely hard to make changes that will reinvigorate you: a lot of the time you’re pretty stuck - in that boring job, with that big mortgage, in that “Parents, Inc.” marriage, with those needy kids. When you’re going through a quarterlife crisis, I think it’s that post-college “is this all there is?” doldrums. But at that age there are fewer variables and change might be tough, but still easier because there are fewer people relying on you.

      Just based on my observations, anyway.

        • klemptor@startrek.website
          7·
          2 days ago

          It’s where the partnership is mostly focused on the kids, leaving very little time for the parents to connect. I see this more and more with how heavily scheduled kids are now. Parents have to schlep them from school to sports to playdates to music lessons, etc… it seems so overwhelming. And people don’t seem to use babysitters anymore so it’s rare the parents get adult time together to go out on a date, listen to live music, go dancing, see a movie, etc - just be people in love together and focus on each other. I think time together without the kids is vital to keeping a connection with your partner. Otherwise everything is parenting and logistical planning. You need balance.