Generational Angst and Anxiety

Remember the nineties? Perhaps you do, as a kid that had dreams of the family you wanted to create one day or the adventure overseas you would embark on. All in this was the idea and potential for your career to cement you in adulthood. It is July 2020 and the reality of the global pandemic and economic fury is now a pathway we walk into as our future as people entering the prime of their adulthood.

As young people we are creative with the worlds we can create. But what happens when a series of changes happen. The rise of terrorism, the devastation on the climate and environment. The upswing of economic uncertainty, especially is stable western states of the US and the UK.

There is a well known feature of your twenties which is when you choose the walk the pathways that will shape your future. The people you bring into your circle, the places you choose to holiday, the jobs you work and the courses you take in order to educate yourself. It can be a vast pathway, with many feeling the brunt of the quarter life crisis as they reach points where their potential is unsure. Many of us have already achieved so many of our dreams. With so many lifestyles that encompass the kids we always wanted or the memories of the holidays we have had or year abroad we undertook.

We are often lambasted with articles that ensure that generations are real and that we are given opportunities according to the economics and global stability of the times. Now that it is 2020, we are expected to sit in the drivers seat again. Prepared to articulate to the world who we are as a generation, are we selfish? Are we a victim? Are we frustrated? Determined? The sacrifices we make each day colour our lives for if we choose meaning and purpose through responsibility, we find that the uncertainty of the future is also met with potential.

When I see pictures of queues outside of food banks, welfare offices and the ongoing of instability in the USA during the coronavirus it feels as if an empire is on its knees. We face the reality that the global stability is being seated in a place of a political vacuum and post truth world.

There deliberation from our simple dreams of owning an apartment or starting a family become the background of a world that is increasingly uncertain. As young people we are facing psychological stressors that link us together and separate us again, as we fall back into individualism.

There is always going to be different political perspectives on how to solve issues and how to secure the future, but now as we face the reality of living in a new decade, ask yourself, how do you create the world around you to reflect your generation?

I am fortunate enough to live in Australia. A country where I feel economic uncertainty does affect me, but I am also able to access medicare and further support for my safety. I used to have dreams of having a family one day but no longer feel it is economically viable or environmentally consistent to bring children into this world.

Please comment to discuss this further.