The Laziest Generation | Hacker News Reader

The Laziest Generation

idiallo.com

14 pointsfirefoxd7 comments

The sarcastic section fooled me because it sounds exactly like so many internet blowhards.

Kids have always self-managed themselves with entertainment. But entertainment used to take a lot of effort. Hobbies, reading, making things, getting out and socializing in real life - which also meant inventing things to do, etc.

Entertainment is on tap now. Psychologically, kids are not built to avoid that.

They are supposed to be exploring. And they are. Finding out what is fun. And they are. Doing the hard work, of finding the easiest path. They are doing the latter, but the need for the former had been 24/7 automated way.

It isn't a mystery to me why sustained efforts may be harder for many.

There's a lot of quality points on both sides:

Side A (market is unfair): NIMBYism, minimum/median wage not growing as fast as price increases, major governmental help to prior generations (inexpensive college, taxes based on purchase price etc)

Side B (gotta make your own way): All property is a privilege not a right (at best you have a _need_ to rent not to own), don't pile in to an overpriced city if wages do not make it make financial sense, lifestyle inflation has very real aggregate consequences (avocado toast, cell phones, global travel etc), people used to live together far more and in less space, yes your wages have declined in real terms but globalization has fought price inflation on goods

> avocado toast, cell phones

These aren't quality points. A cellphone is a near requirement to function in today's society, and "avocado toast" is just a dogwhistle for people being able to actually enjoy life, instead of subsisting on gruel and grinding.

I know multiple employed, functional people who do not own a cell phone. This is absolutely not a requirement. People have simply atrophied in the machine’s embrace.

And not being able to afford having someone cook for you and serve you is not equivalent to subsisting on gruel. I could not even conceive of a word in which my parents or grandparents casually paid people to cook for them. People whining about this just comes off as entitled and out of touch.

> cell phones

I more or less agree about it being near necessity, but I guess what i really meant was an $1100 phone on a $100 a month plan, When a $175 phone on a $15 a month plan would suffice.

Unironically, yes. Look at photos of people today, and then photos of people a century ago. You can’t hide the sloth.

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