What you're describing is a real type of person, and one that should be avoided, but that's probably not what's fueling this statistic. Large portions of the population did not suddenly become lazy and lose all ambition. They're not engaged with the economy because they're losing the ability to engage. This is a global phenomenon, and it's getting worse and worse as tech makes most of the population increasingly irrelevant in the job market. We are rapidly approaching a situation with only two end states: Some kind of intense wellfare state, or riots and brutal chaos. Forget South Africa, the US is full of 30-and-unders who are perfectly capable and willing to engage, but can't because there's no place for them. No good jobs, rent and home prices are through the roof, college prices are through the roof and don't buy a good career anymore anyway. And on and on.

The problem isn't that young people are lazy. It's that they're being left behind. And if something isn't done about it soon, society is going to start to crumble. In some ways, it already has.