Failed Fledgings, Parasite Singles, Four NOs, Basement Dwellers, NEETS or Ninis.
"The Lost Millennials": What the heck is going on?
All over the world, the Millennial and GenZ generations (and their parents!) have a problem. The problem is that a large minority of these “adults” are choosing not to work or have a career, not to date, not to own many possessions and to not have a family. They want to earn the minimum amount possible to survive and then live life on the internet.
But even in the case of the large majority of young adults that are working are often deemed the most difficult generations to work with. They come in late, don’t work hard, won’t do overtime, want long vacations, and demand extra money. And they basically don’t give a flying fart about careers or advancement. They change jobs on a whim. This is all well documented. Again, what is important is not their social life, money, dating, careers - what is important is gaming, streaming, online porn, and on-line communities. They are, for lack of a better word, “addicted” to the net and the virtual life they have created for themselves. This virtual life has become their reason for being.
Just read some of the headlines and statistics from around the world.
In China, the “four nos” refers to young adults who have “no interest in dating, getting married, buying a home or having a child.”
Youths’ desperate ‘four no’ attitude worries China
Job-insecure youngsters are giving up not just on home-ownership dreams but also on dating, marriage and family
AsiaTimes, July 12, 2023
The Chinese government is being called upon to take action to stimulate the economy and create jobs at a time when young people in substantial numbers have adopted an attitude that’s termed the “four nos”: no interest in dating, getting married, buying a home or having a child.
When National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Fu Linghui said on June 15 that only about six million people between 16 and 24 in China were still searching for jobs, he did not count the 11.6 million new graduates about to enter the job markets.
His figure also excluded the many in their 30s who’ve been suffering from unstable income. Some of these people now refer to themselves as the youth of “four nos,” a trending term on the internet in China
In Japan, the term used for such people is “Parasite Single”
In the UK - the term is “failed Fledglings”
In the USA, we use phrase “Basement Dwellers”
In this country, the unemployment rate is higher than the government figures suggest and is probably between to 4.4 to 6.9% (this graph is from a government website).
How many of the people who have dropped off the unemployment rolls are young adults who chose not to work, who chose to have jobs that require little effort or work part-time?
In the EU, they call these young adults "NEETS” (not in education, employment, or training).
The age of this cohort is 15-29. NEETS include those not actively looking for work. It is estimated that 18% of the young adults in Italy are NEETs.
When we are in Europe, we are astounded by the numbers of young people - clearly living on the edge, hanging out in groups in the middle of the week - in the town centers.
There are actually forums for NEETS, such as this one.
A peek into one of the NEETS forums is eyeopening:
These are people who don’t want to work, have no intention of working, and are happily living off of family or in minimalist situations.
In Spain, the term used for such people is ‘nini’.
Another name used in Europe is ‘the Lost Millennials’.
’NEETS’ in India - yep, also a problem.
‘NEETS’ in South Africa? At around 30% of that age cohort
It is actually pretty interesting to do an internet search on the words “NEETS” and (the country of your choice). Almost every nation seems to be struggling with this issue.
This is a worldwide issue and every country seems to have come up with various reasons for it, except the one that is at the heart of the issue.
But I can state it here. This is a group of people that doesn’t want to work or be engaged in the real world.
‘Disengaged’ and ‘disaffected’ are two words that crop up again and again in the research papers and articles. But the solutions often seem fixed on more education, job training, finding more (better) job opportunities and incentives to work. The solutions suggested all seems so very…stale.
This is all interesting but then there are the myriad of statistics, anecdotal stories, etc that these generations are extremely resistant to work -even when they are at work.
Trust the WEF to put a positive spin on this:
These young adults will inherit the earth. They will be responsible for what happens in the next 50 years. They are our future. We, as a world, have failed them.
Worldwide, societies have failed to realize the harms of social media, gaming, online porn, constant streaming, virtual reality, etc. Parents have not turned off the electronics and taught their children the values of family, a creator, a sense of purpose, and being responsible for one’s self. The satisfaction of a job well done, of being productive. The importance of family for future generations. The importance of having children to pass on one’s heritage. To be proud.
Parents have allowed electronic devices to be babysitters. In return, these young adults are addicted to their digital lives. They do not have adequate social skills to hold decent jobs and be responsible members of society. They are happy to allow their parents, teachers, adults - to continue to “do” for them.
Our schools have failed to teach these young adults critical lessons. They allow cell phones and computers in the classrooms of even the littlest children. Kids are indoctrinated about CRT, DEI, gender “diversity,” and pride - which normalize social equality as a cultural objective. As James Lindsay so eloquently states - these programs are a gateway for indoctrinating people into socialism. Schools teach how to search for answers on the internet and what to believe but do little to teach children how to think and master a skill. There is inherent value in memorization, stretching the brain to really learn a difficult concept, to read countless books for fun on a sleepy winter’s day.
But to put this mess into the larger discussion.
Many parents are allowing this to happen. They set low expectations, allow children to occupy their homes long after when they should have fledged - and I truly believe they think they are doing them a favor.
Adults who believe that others should be responsible for their basic needs have learned to rely on socialism to live. They see “equity” as being a culture wherein others care for them, so that they can do as they please - as long as they can do it cheaply and “rent-free.”
This sense of entitlement is not healthy. Once a power dynamic is set-up, then parents get to be parents forever and children get to play and be children forever. Never taking responsibility for themselves. This is a set-up for the nanny state.
“Socialism breeds envy and entitlement.” -Dennis Prager
This same demographic believes that the wealthy should pay-off their student loans, buy their contraception, foot the bill for free college, subsidize $20/hour wages for their minimum skills/minimum training/minimum education jobs, and pay for their health care.
They believe they are entitled - That it isn’t fair that some have more than them.
Redistribution of wealth has a number of names. A “command economy,” is also known in various circles as socialism or Marxism (we can quibble about differences between these forms of governments, but we all know the drill). And we have historically seen these systems fail. Again and again and again.
The stated goal of most socialist democracies is to transition from capitalism to socialism.
As politicians like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders wax poetic about social democracies, we are all witnessing the demise of California, Oregon, Washington State, Michigan, New York and Illinois as well as many other blue states. By and large, there is a rise of homelessness, high taxes, drug and alcohol abuse, uncleaned streets, the middle class and wealthy fleeing, businesses leaving or closing down, new stringent DEI policies, crumbling infrastructure and the dismantling of educational systems in these states.
We have witnessed George Soros buy up prosecutors to convince them to not prosecute specific types of crimes in these same states with disastrous results. California is now seriously considering spending 800 billion to give to one group of people, based on hiring practices in the past and time served in prison. We all know the phrase they use for these programs, which is “restorative justice.” Other blue states are considering similar programs. This is nothing more than another socialist program; a power and money grab.
Socialist policies have stalled the economic engines of these once great states. Anyone who doubts this, just needs to go to Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Portland or Seattle and drive around.
This is has been done in the name of social equity, and even worse is that they have indoctrinated a majority of at least two generations into believing that these policies will work, that equality is based on shared wealth, and that the new bosses will be different from the old bosses. They have weaponized gender dysphoria, history, homosexuality, DEI, feminist theory, racism, weapon ownership, ESG, Marxist and socialist memes to convince children (who are now adults in age, while remaining emotionally childlike) that the values of the USA are not worth preserving. That a government should be based on “fairness” for all. Fairness being wealth distribution. That those that work, should have to pay the way for those that don’t.
Socialists believe that socialism is the solution worldwide. That national governments are obsolete. Functionally, the UN is a socialist organization, with a global agenda.
How to convey to these young adults worldwide that their heads have been filled with nonsense, when they have a sense of entitlement that they deserve special breaks because life should be fair (hint: it is rarely fair)? Even worse, how to convince people who are benefiting from wealth redistribution already - by living in their parent’s house rent free, that big government is not the solution?
These “kids” have swallowed the line that they too can “own nothing, and be happy.” That living a minimalist lifestyle, without prospects for a career or family, is a noble endeavor. Yes, noble - because they believe that being a freeloader means that they can consume less, which helps that earth. And that they are doing their “fair share,” by not participating in real life. After all, real life uses more resources than a virtual one.
This is what indoctrination looks like.
I know a couple families dealing with this (everyone probably does.) And I blame the parents because they let the young adults remain at home and don’t force them to become self-supporting. Young men used to aspire to marriage because marriage meant sex. To get married they needed to be employed- it was a big incentive to work. Everyone laughs at that now, except the young women who want marriage and can’t find a willing husband. We are in big trouble.
The problem is that a large minority of these “adults” are choosing not to work or have a career, not to date, not to own many possessions and to not have a family. They want to earn the minimum amount possible to survive and then live life on the internet.
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I obviously can't speak to everybody who's in this situation, but when I decided to become a minimalist (way before it was cool, obviously), it was because I couldn't stand the thought of funding all of the immoral shit that government does with my tax money. At that time, it was war and funding censorship against the people who dared go against the narrative -- these days it's.........war and funding censorship against the people who dared go against the narrative. 😕
I empathize with the young people who see homes and a 'regular' life as out of reach -- their labor and savings is being drastically devalued every day and they know the game is rigged. How much of your energy should be put into making the treadmill spin?