Men Without Work (2016)
My 2c.<p>Society doesn&#x27;t care about young men. They&#x27;re pretty much left to fend for themselves. Hopefully they have a good family structure, and a few good male friends. Without that they&#x27;re toally adrift.<p>I learned this lesson when I got a flat tire driving across two states when I was 20. No one is willing to help. I guarantee a 20 yo woman would have no problem flagging down help, heck people would stop to help without being asked.<p>I&#x27;m 51 now, and I understand why more and more men are checking out. The grind isn&#x27;t worth it. There&#x27;s a reward system in play here, you grind at life and are rewarded. Grind in school and you graduate. Grind more and you get a degree. Grind more and you get a family and career and some big toys.<p>It seems that the amount of grinding men have to do is increasing, and the net rewards society bestows seem to be decreasing. I won&#x27;t get into a shouting match on what the problems men experience are, you can fill in the blanks with your own experiences and biases, but all the men I know seem to agree that there seems to be less of an upside to sacrificing for the greater good than there used to be. As a middle aged man strangers I meet expect the worst from me, why should I try?<p>As an alternative you can spend your hours grinding away at video games and leveling up. And the games are getting better every year.<p>It seems to me that many young men are finding leveling up in games is simply more rewarding than leveling up in real life. I wish it weren&#x27;t so, but here we are.<p>Historically speaking, civilization is built and defended largely on the backs of young men. When they check out, it can&#x27;t be a net good for the trajectory of society.<p>Or maybe this is a win for feminism? Women finally have work equality and so men don&#x27;t have to work as hard anymore.<p>I don&#x27;t have answers. But the trend has been clear for a long while.