The Post That Wouldn’t Leave My Head
I saw this post the other day from one of my Instagram followers, and it stayed with me.
“Some of us are really just living. We ain’t dating. We don’t like anybody. Nobody likes us. We are just living, working, sleeping, and living life.”
When I asked her if this is how she truly feels, she answered with a simple yes.
That answer said more than the post itself.
Who She Is, And Why That Matters
This particular follower is around twenty-five years old, living in Jakarta. She is not poor. Not quite middle class either, but somewhere near the middle. She has a good support system around her. She dresses well. She does not post attention-driven photos of herself.
I would consider her fairly average and fairly normal.
And that is the problem.
Because this feeling is not rare. It is everywhere.
A Generation Running in Place
Nearly all over the world, anyone between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, even into their thirties, feels much like her.
Working. Sleeping. Repeating.
Like a hamster running on a wheel, going nowhere. Living day to day, hand to mouth. It is not that they do not want more. Many of them want more badly and are willing to work for it. What they cannot see is a clear path forward.
There is no visible reward for the effort. No light at the end of the tunnel. Just motion without direction.
The World They Are Inheriting
You cannot separate this feeling from the state of the world.
Look at America. Look at Europe. Look at the wars, the economy, and the constant instability in so many regions. Look at politicians and where they are taking us, and how much we are letting it happen.
The whole world feels upside down.
So when she posted that, it made sense. And it made me feel terrible for her.
A Future That Feels Smaller
The younger generation is facing massive hurdles.
Home ownership feels unreachable.
Stable long-term careers feel rare.
Many will bounce around trying to find themselves and a life that feels worth living.
Not because they lack ambition. Not because they lack discipline. But because the systems they are stepping into do not resemble the ones previous generations had access to.
When you sit down and really imagine their future, it feels bleak.
Why This Feels Dystopian
This is what makes it all feel dystopian.
People are doing what they were told to do. They are working. They are trying. They are surviving. Yet they feel disconnected, unfulfilled, and stuck.
When someone young, stable, and supported says they are just living, it is not laziness. It is resignation.
And that should worry all of us.
Because a world where an entire generation feels like life is something to endure instead of build is not a healthy world at all.
