Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

Another aspect here I think is the generalized fear and anxiety present in young people. Having spoken to some family members in the 15-18 age bracket, the message they seem to be receiving is that they are without a future... they won't be buying homes, they won't be getting high paying jobs, and that the system is not going to work in their favor. I think people of this age are uniquely feeling mortal and vulnerable in a way teens typically have not, causing them to be more hesitant to risk losing their mind which they may need to protect themselves down the road. But they also are modern teenagers, not only low in willpower but also coddled by their smartphones, which is why technology addiction is the go to "safer" alternative to habitual drug use.

Also, you typically need to be unsupervised with friends to get into drugs, something teenagers no longer have access to compared to 10-15 years ago. If we look at the social decline due to the pandemic, what made experts think these kids would bounce back? They are forever changed, and will forever be less social than other generations because they missed out on formative experiences.

First-time home owners have increased in age[0], the middle class is shrinking[1], education costs have vastly outpaced inflation[2] as have medical costs[3].

Perhaps the generalized fear is not so much about "coddling", but concrete realities. I do not envy them.

[0] https://www.axios.com/2023/11/20/american-housing-market-old... [1] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/20/how-the-a... [2] https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-co... [3] https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/how-does-medical-i...

Also the insane political risks and social instability, climate change, heightened risks of war and econmomic calamity, housing cost increase.

All I want in life is a good union for software. Role finished this week, who needs me next week? Off I go.

The political instability, social instability, climate change, wars, and more will affect you whether or not you deny them.

Those are easier to cope with when you live in a supportive society. _Most_ humans naturally help each others in case of emergency. It’s easier when the framework is already in place.

People help each other in war? Catastophy? Sometimes they do, sometimes they definitely do not.

Yes they do [0].

[0] Poland's entire history.

Look up what people in Poland did to help Jewish Poles when the Nazis came in. Someone whose family was from a small town in Poland made a documentary about it maybe 10 years ago. Generations later people in the town were still covering up that their ancestors put the Jewish neighbors in a barn and set it on fire, and still strongly discouraging asking any questions. What happened to the property of the large Jewish population in Poland before the war?

People do help each other. Look what Denmark and Bulgaria did in the same situation.