For the average student, does it actually matter whether they pass the class or not?

The social contract of "do well in school and you'll get a good job that allows you to afford live a decent life" is on increasingly shaky grounds thanks to things like the property Ponzi scheme reaching even higher levels of pressure, hiring in knowledge work positions being broken, and understandable uncertainty around how AI is going to reshape many positions.

If they're going to be fucked either way, can we blame them for not caring and instead focusing on the very little things that still bring them happiness?