Gen Zzz

 

By Frank Filocomo

Gen Z is becoming "the nihilistic generation."

Many Zoomers - particularly Zoomer men - feel as though they'll never be able to own a home or provide for a family on one income like their parents did. 

Memes like this are all over social media:

To be sure, many of the memes that utilize this format are actually quite funny. But there's no denying that they're profoundly sad, too. They strike a nerve, an indisputable truth. 

29-year-olds in Brooklyn, where I live, are not home or landowners; they rent studio apartments they can barely afford. Some just rent rooms at $1,000/month. 

Cats have supplanted kids. Don't get me wrong, I love cats, but this is a negative development. 

Out birthrate in the U.S. is below replacement. 

What's more, it feels like the life has been sucked out of Zoomers. 

This X post is instructive:

Statistically, Gen Zs are: - reading fewer books - less sexually active - drinking less alcohol - smoking less than millennials - less likely to follow cricket - dumber than previous generations - not wasting afternoons watching ants crawl so bc wtf are they actually doing?

— microaggression (@mutton2pyaza) September 29, 2026

Sure, this anonymous X user doesn't bother backing up any of these claims, but the general thesis is accurate. That is, Gen Z is "Generation House Cat."  

Generation House Cat doesn't drink, have sex, participate in social events, or read.

They prefer comfort. And, don't get me wrong, I get the appeal. 

Comfort, however, isn't conducive to human growth. On the contrary, it stunts growth. 

But how do Zoomers snap out of this fog?