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I don't agree. If you past the point where you are rising new potential and you have any income or some kind of right to income virtually nothing is expected of you. Kids in the mandatory school years face a fair amount of expectations in return for nothing tangible and only receive a smaller portion of the modern ultra conveniences.

while true, teenagers in particular have lost a great degree of the agency that was afforded to prior generations. the concept using surveillance devices on your children did not exist 20 years ago and yet you can see threads of HNers discussing how they or their schools monitor their children quite regularly.

Society doesn't demand anything. You're free to drop out and live in a van down by the river if you want.

And many, many do.

It gets harder every year. Twenty years ago you would've said cabin in the woods, but now you have to be a licensed electrician/general contractor/plumber to build a cabin, and the woods aren't zoned for residential. They'll be coming for the people in vans next.