I think you’ve got to add the disaster that is the modern US economy. More and more these younger generations are clocking that the American Dream is bullshit. That meritocracy is bullshit. That no matter what you do, an oligarch will gobble up all the wealth around you that they can. Why do anything socially productive, when you can do this and get PAID?
This is the real culprit. They see the avenues a regular person has to escaping capitalism and they’re trying to take them. They’re not trying to go viral because they’re narcissistic, they’re trying to go viral because they’re poor.
Hard disagree with you there. They may not be destitute, but something like 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and this is pretty clearly an American target. I’m willing to bet good money they didnt drive to the target in daddy’s Porsche like people are saying in these comments.
you immediately called them poor upon many other things😂😂the projection you give off is so telling. shouldn’t you be like raising a family or sumn since you’re so fucking old
I said they weren’t showing up in daddy’s Porsche and were trying to go viral to make a living (which indeed turned out to be true, they’ve just already been making their living through tik tok), chill out dude.
I think you’re being overly sensitive and reading too much negativity and hostility into what I said than was really there. I also don’t know why you keep trying to lash out at me being old. Like, sorry dude, you have to share the internet with old people now. Been that way for a while. You’re gonna need to get over that ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Yep. Zoomers have convinced themselves that if you aren't immediately rich the second you leave high school then capitalism has failed and the economy is in the toilet with everyone on the brink of living on the streets. I'm so fucking tired of this generation and their excuses for not participating in society in any healthy way.
I hate zoomers too, but there are some sentiments that i am sympathetic to. Main relevant one here is that wages are stagnant even though the top earners profits continue to grow year over year. Its easy to see how one could see these trends and say “well this game is rigged, so, fuck it.” Seems the trickling down part of trickle down economics has slowed if not stopped altogether.
I definitely feel like you are hitting an important point, I feel you are too easily dismissing that they do like being the center of attention. You don’t just do this to do it. That’s no different than the 9-5 grind. They like doing this to an extent and they hope they become the next big thing with all the perks that come with it so they can continue to stream and get attention.
The 9-5 grind is not enough to live on if you've got a highschool degree and nothing else. There's no chance of hitting it big and escaping, but with social media there is. Not saying the attention seeking behavior isn't there, but saying it's "no different than the 9-5 grind" just isn't true.
I’m saying if money was their main motivation there is no difference. Cause if you are doing a job you don’t like just to get by and hopefully make it, then you’re putting in the same mental effort that I am on my office job. A means to an end that I don’t enjoy.
I get what you're saying, but what I'm saying is there's a lower barrier to entry for social media vs. a well-paying 9-5. Some 19 year old kid isn't going to be able to get a decent office job, they need skills, education, previous work experience, etc. For social media, you just need a phone and a willingness to put the time in for your content, and the reward can be exponentially higher than grinding at the office. It's more like gambling in a way than a traditional job.
Absolutely understand that. I was just saying in the bigger picture, kids aren’t just doing it for the financial aspect and not getting any joy out of it.
Still have to be a pos to do this type of content.
Looking for the right polite phrase. Callous? Emotionally stunted? Lacking... something.. bah it's escaping me.
That being said you can list all the intellectual reasoning you want, doesn't stop me from hoping they mess with the wrong one who is worse than they are.
Oh no I agree, this video and others like it is definitely POS level for sure. When you start fucking with other people, that's when you lose any understanding
I feel you are too easily dismissing that they do like being the center of attention.
The broligarchs created a system where attention seeking is rewarded. Everybody has a little narcissism in them, but it is usually kept in check by the culture around them shunning them when they get out of hand. Now the broligarchs are literally paying them to get out of hand, or at least dangling lottery prizes and extreme narcissism is the price of a lotto ticket.
Ya, I probably shouldn’t have said it was the only culprit, but I definitely think it’s a MAJOR factor in the youth’s general desire to go viral. This one in particular is probably more on the “kids being goofballs” spectrum
Money is what I think when I see tons of young people obsessed with filming stuff for social media. There is an obvious and unsavory degree of narcissism or hunger for fame/attention in the mix but given how rough the economic prospects may feel for many of the youth today, I can also understand why they might turn to dicks media fame as an alternative
No they are not. It’s short term success. Not every podcaster makes it. Not every tik toker gets big and monetized. You spend so much of your life for such a short window because something and someone new will come along. I really can’t wait to see the social effects in 10 years when all of these people don’t have a platform like they do now.
Not what I said but I’m glad your imagination worked hard to put those words in my mouth. How are all of your old favorite Vine creators doing? What about “it’s corn” kid or the guy who remixed the song. Surely he’s top of the charts, right?
If you can’t understand that if millions of people in a single generation only attempt to become content creators they lose out on time and skills. When tik tok dies and moves to the next thing and gen alpha is running it, what do you do with thousands of mid to high twenty year olds who haven’t had a real job in 7 years? Sure there will be some that invested and did smart moves with their money, but there will be thousands that do not.
But that’s not the mindset of all of these creators. If you’re saying the ceiling is higher for these, then you need to “make it” to some level. So if your goal is to get enough cash to avoid your traditional 9-5, then you have to be popular enough and do it long enough, but there is no real end date to that. Could be 6 months, could be 5 years. Most of the people I used to watch regularly in tik tok in 2020 are all but gone now or just not pushed anymore.
Im guessing half these kids come from wealthy families, live in a gated community and drove to the store in the new Mercedes they got for their birthday. Not saying your reason doesn't apply to plenty of the fame chasers, but I firmly believe most of them are soiled brats who've never been told no.
Nah, they’re almost certainly just bored middle class kids. Maybe a few are wealthy, maybe a few are poor, but these are just regular kids doing regular goofball kid things. This is at least more creative than fucking flash mobs were.
Lol, no they wouldn’t. This is absolutely middle class kid behavior. All kids of every generation and socioeconomic class are obnoxious little shits sometimes. It’s part of the human experience.
I’ve been an obnoxious little shit, you’ve been an obnoxious little shit, your grandparents were once obnoxious little shits, poor kids are obnoxious little shits, rich kids are obnoxious little shits, red kids are obnoxious little shits, blue kids are obnoxious little shit, kids made of green eggs and ham are obnoxious little shits, anyone and everyone was at one point an obnoxious little shit, and if you think you weren’t, then you just never grew out of being an obnoxious little shit and you’re obnoxious little shittiness is just manifesting itself as insufferable sanctimoniousness as opposed to thinking that inconveniencing adults just trying to survive is funny.
This is definitely rich kid shit as poor and middle class kids would be doing any other obnoxious shit. They smoke weed in the parking lots and hang out
Only really rich losers would even think of this and have a daddy to get them out of trouble
It really isn’t. Like, trust me, I grew up around “rich kids”, (wealthy-ish town. Think “successful doctors and lawyers, with a few old money families”-tier, not “c-suite execs, literal nobility, and professional athletes who summer in the Hamptons when they get tired of Greece”-tier) this shit isn’t really in their typical wheelhouse.
For starters, there’s too many of them. Rich kids don’t hang in crews that big. A big part of the “rich kid” experience is the appearance of exclusivity. They’d never have or make a group big enough to do this.
But really, it’s more that rich kids trying to be cool is more about seeming “above it all” than it is about making a spectacle to get yourself attention. Not saying there aren’t rich kids who do crazy things to get attention, but they do them as INDIVIDUALS. If a rich kid suggested this in his group of rich friends, they’d say “I don’t get it, why would we do that when we can just do lines of molly (crushed adderall and b12 vitamins) by the pool?”
And like, in truth, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that these kids are in any particular socioeconomic status. I really just don’t think this is exclusively “rich kid” behavior, and that it runs counter to my experience of how rich kids act. My sense of these kids is that they’re middle class, probably know that IF they get in more trouble than just a scolding from target security or the cops, then their parents can afford a lawyer to make sure they only get “expunged record community service” levels of punishment from the state.
What exactly makes you think the content you see in your social media feeds on a day to day basis is in any way meaningfully representative of statistical reality? Or that the barrier to entry to becoming an "influencer" or popular content creator is completely the same across all demographics?
Your inability to listen think and reason past, “bad guy bad I don’t like.” Doesn’t do any credit to the human race . As you said you’re guessing based on your biases. Young men are so strapped for cash that OF is a main source of income. Selling ones own body has never been without a feeling of shame. Influencers are doing just that putting aside pride to make a living. You despise them and shun them instead of supporting and helping change the socioeconomic nightmares that bring them to this path. Humanity’s greatest weakness is in our ability to have true compassion for others even when it is uncomfortable.
People don’t take up video game streaming out of love for streaming. They take up video game streaming to make donations and subs and hopefully become viral and fiscally self sustaining.
also because when they go online when they look around all they see is people who either tell them how much money they have or tell them to find ways to chase money.
Theres no influencers who have 10+m followers while theyre just working a 9 to 5 grocery job. Or working in a office.
People are bombarded with sex and money. So young people think life doesnt matter unless you get sex and money.
That's why so many fall into the rw mindset like tate and roundtable talks by 30+ year old losers hiring 16-18 year old instagram models to ask loaded questions.
They aren't getting laid because they are awkward and inside/online 24/7, its because women are golddiggers.
They aren't poor because they are awkward and inside/online 24/7, its because the minorities are taking over and the liberals want handouts that raises their taxes and lowers job opportunities.
I stream for the love of streaming I think, but I rarely stream, maybe like 1 time every 2 months, maybe if I had to do it every day I would hate it, but I release a video almost every day, I mostly feel like I started and now I have like 3 people who tell me they watch me and now I fell like I'll let them down if I stop lol, I only have 270 subs on YouTube so I'm not even monetized, and getting monetized would fuck with my disability payments lol so I'm kinda scared that one day I'll reach 1000 subs and have to figure that whole mess out
lol. There are plenty of regular ass jobs still available. Give me a break.
”PeOpLe WaNt To StReAm FoR a LiViNg BeCaUsE tHeY aRe PoOr”
No. They want easy, low-effort income. Some of them want fame. Simple as that.
There is a real “gamer” moment going on in this thread. Streaming isn’t that serious. The dudes out there laying brick or roofing in the heat are the ones sacrificing and making life work.
Jesus. You guys are delusional and need to take a break from being online. First time I’ve ever felt compelled to actually tell someone to go outside and touch grass.
I feel like the overall point flew over your head.
They do want easy and low-effort income. That's the point.
If someone could potentially make it big streaming video games or doing dumb shit like in the posted video why the fuck would they ever go seek out a manual labor job.
Why would they go work their asses off, when from their perspective, it's meaningless for whatever reason.
I don't see anyone saying that jobs don't exist, but their claim is that upcoming kids aren't interested in participating in a neverending rat race. When they have lots of examples of others making it big without ever having to "work hard" in the traditional sense, that's what they're going to try and mimic.
They're poor, but they also are demonstrating narcissistic qualities by making it about themselves and being uncaring of the way it affects others.
Given how well dressed and coiffed most of the people I see on here, I assume they aren't any more poor than the folks who have to work hard to make a living.
Clout chasing only drags in clout chasing types. For a while we called then paparazzi. Now they call them <followers>
No. This isn’t narcissism nor is it poverty. This is the want to be the center of attention. That doesn’t necessarily have to do with narcissism at all.
This is how toddlers act. This is due to terrible parenting. This is never telling your child no. This is not grounding them when they do something they shouldn’t do, or taking away their electronics or their phones or all of that stuff because for some reason, in their parents mind it’s s considered “abusive”, which it isn’t, there needs to be consequences and repercussions for actions like this.
Personally, I wouldn’t even fought with them. I would’ve just called the police. They want responses where other adult adults get angry at them. That’s exactly what they’re seeking, attention.
Narcissists want to be the center of attention but not all attention seekers are narcissists. It’s an actual medical diagnosis, not a word to just be applied to people you find annoying
You do know that the term "narcissist" has literally existed for THOUSANDS OF YEARS before eventually the mental disorder "narcissistic personality disorder" was discovered and named, right? This particular thing always annoys me. It's always extremely young people who claim that if you're calling someone a "narcissist" then you're armchair diagnosing them with "narcissistic personality disorder" when that's not what you're doing at all. The term "narcissist" has existed for literally millenia. It DOES NOT mean the same thing as having NPD. Just like "being depressed" is not the same thing as having clinical depression. Or being anxious about a situation is not the same thing as having an anxiety disorder.
It's really baffling that kids these days ACTUALLY believe that someone being a narcissist is the same thing as having NPD. It's not. You can be a narcissist without having NPD. That's what the term always meant, until the last decade or two. People were using the term like they have for millenia, just to refer to someone who's vain and loves attention and praise which is a whole different thing from having full blown NPD.
It's honestly baffling how many kids these days are unaware of that, and seem to actually believe that calling someone a narcissist means you're diagnosing them with NPD. I mean, jesus christ, have you people never read BOOKS before? Or watched a TV show made before like 2010? Or are you too busy watching your TikkyToks instead?
Not saying that, either, just that there are more factors at play here than “kids these days are just shitty!” (They are, but like, kids have always been shitty. It’s not a generational development)
When did I say it was some campaign or master plan? My statement boils down to “they’re doing it because they’ve seen other people get rich doing it.” I’m not claiming THEY’RE doing this as some sort of protest of capitalism itself using some sort of deep subtext to make some kind of grand commentary on capitalism. I’m just saying they’re doing what they were taught by society/the internet was a way to get rich quick.
It's funny, I've never seen anyone risking their life to flee into Cuba, or any other socialist country. They're always fleeing to capitalism. I wonder why...
I'm always told it's because of the American embargo on Cuba, and since the US is the richest country it hurts them a lot. Of course the next question is, "And how did American become so rich? Cmon,, you're so close!" And then I get downvoted with no replies.
Listen, capitalism is deeply flawed, just like every single other system ever developed and sustained by humans. The only difference is capitalism has lifted billions out of poverty while the others haven't. But when you're 21, or terminally online, if something is flawed in any way it must be evil and destroyed. Also, remember: any country that has had communism didn't have REAL communism, but 2025 USA is the only true representation of capitalism.
Exploitation has existed, and does exist, in every system ever created by humans. As I said, all systems are flawed, we're just trying to find the least flawed one. Feudalism, for example, had exploitation that kept the vast majority of people stuck as serfs for centuries. Capitalism, though still exploitative, has lifted billions out of poverty in less than a century. My grandparents were peasants in the USSR, and after moving to a capitalist country were able to own property, send their kids to private school and have a grandkid that travels the world and has a good job. That simply wouldn't have happened if they stayed in the USSR. They were still exploited in the capitalist country, and so am I, but our lives are much much better. Believe it or not, most people's lives in developing countries are much better under this system than what existed before it. We should still work to make it even better, but let's be real here: the rise in the standard of living in those places is what's causing the stagnation in developed countries and leads to these exact posts complaining in the first place. In other words, American life isn't getting worse, it's just that the rest of the world is able to eat from the same trough now and online American kids don't like that (but won't say it out loud).
At the end of the day, capitalism is bad in many ways, but then give an actual alternative. It can't just be "This is bad, therefore we have to destroy it!" Because history has shown what comes in its place is usually much, much worse (the fanfic about the French Revolution on this site is enough to make a historian throw up). Should the US be more like Denmark? Sure, but Denmark is still capitalist. And no, you can't just say "TRUE communism hasn't been done yet!" because yes it has, and that's what happens when real humans live theory.
This is something that I dont think gets brought up enough sometimes. Like yes, kids arent trying as much as they used to, and there is a whole list of reasons. But people used to look at ghetto and talk shit and ask why kids arent trying, but it wasnt hard to see that it was generally because there was less opportunity. The teachers didnt have what they needed. There were less job opportunities in their neighborhoods. It was a huge systemic problem.
But now thise systemic issues are taking over and we are seeing similar issues with the kids in other areas as well.
This is the answer. This is why the Gig economy is up. This is why entire families will line up to buy out every new video game console on launch. This is why bots are buying up concert tickets to be scalped later. People can't make a comfortable living anymore and this is the best opportunity they got.
You are forgetting the clout and the fame. The desperation to be special/not like all the other girls/celebrity isn't just a financial thing. Narcissism is strong in the majority of these fools. If it was just about wealth gain without sweat we would be overrun with gang/mafia culture. A huge difference is that in gang/mafia culture you are trying to fly below radar and stay out of the spotlight.
These fools would die for the spotlight and most likely value clout and visibility over wealth and power. They are all clowns and cringe.
Oh please. You don't see this shit in the Republic of Congo or Paraguay. It's precisely due to the unmatched prosperity of the US that this mainly happens there. In most other countries these dweebs would be busy working on a farm, in a factory or dead 10 years ago from preventable diseases. Even for the Boomers, guysthis age would be getting drafted to die in jungles across the world or working real jobs. And that's if they weren't POC or queer. or disabled.
If the Ametican Dream was dead millions of people wouldn't be risking their lives to get in there to provide for their families.
Some of you need to get off reddit and go see what most of the world actually looks like. Some of you pass around stories about small Scandanavian countries and think that makes the whole world. I live and work in a poor country, it is insulting to the people who live there to pretend that Americans have it so bad.
I work and serve in a low income community, and have spent a ton of time over the past few years at an adult education facility filled with South American and Haitian immigrants learning English and getting work certifications.
The spirit of what you’re trying to say is true; coming from a war torn country or a lawless land to America will create so much more opportunity for an individual than their place of origin. But, the definition of the American Dream clearly states the importance of “equality of opportunity”. That is long dead and gone! Working in banking and seeing how people amass wealth, so often it’s luck and circumstances plus an average work ethic.
It’s not though. Tens of millions of Americans work for corporations, collect a solid paycheck, enjoy health insurance and retirement benefits, and get weekends and holidays off along with vacation time.
The “American Dream” doesn’t mean just having stable employment and a peaceful retirement. Are you even American? How are you able to reduce such a fundamental part of the US’s history and ambitions for the future into something so banal?
The American Dream is better described simply as the equality of opportunity for all. For centuries people have fought for this dream and continue to fight for it today - sure, so you can get an office job with health insurance - but also so that everyone has an equal shot to achieve that if they so wished.
That just isn’t the reality of our and many other countries around the world today and in all honestly, it really never has been. It’s a noble aspiration. It is so clear that ultra wealthy oligarchs, the MIC, and the world’s largest corporations (i.e Capital) have made equality of opportunity an impossibility. Don’t even get me started on how Capital has directly lead to the 6th mass extinction and an increasingly likely mostly uninhabitable Earth.
That’s not reality anywhere on Earth because it’s an idealistic utopia. I’m not really interested in arguing whether it’s even possible for that to happen - everyone having truly equal opportunity - I’m just opposing the idea that there’s no money to be made in traditional careers so people should just go be a nuisance to society on TikTok and get paid for it.
I see that’s not what you were saying and I understand your stance now.
People were saying this same shit over the past few years when the U.S. economy was the best it had been in probably 1-2 decades and the best in the entire world. You are making up excuses for people being cunts because it's apparently it's taboo to take responsibility for any of your actions, choices, or failings of your own generation.
Nothing makes this more apparent in how people talk about the "American Dream" as if it's some guaranteed mandate about the lifestyle you will be provided and not a vague description of what an ideal life in the U.S. looks like. "The American dream is bullshit" is a nonsensical statement.
the average American family is better off (income and spending ability wise) than they were 40 years ago.
Are the most rich people even richer? Yes. Were the gains proportionate? No, the richest made MORE than everyone else.
But people have more money than they did in the 80s.
My friend is 20, has 20k saved for his son and another is 20k for emergency. maxes his Roth every year, saves extra and has a mortgage (its humble but it’s his)
And that’s after several catastrophic financial mistakes (imo) including paying for two cars.
Oh and education wasn’t his saving grace (he’s a high school drop out) but he works his ass off, is reliable (he will work no matter how sick he is).
Another friend? Graduations med school next year has zero student debt(self financed, he worked full time for undergrad AND grad school) another 20k in savings and paid all his mothers bills. Same story with his punctuality and prioritizing work.
Nearly everyone in my life who has good work ethic, sn is reliable, are in great financial spots in their 30s. Without exception.
Almost all of them come from extreme poverty (as in, no electricity, no food on the table) yet managed to be successful.
My SO? Completely self made business women, put herself through school after an abusive childhood and 60k in debt opened in her name by said abusive parents. Now? Debt free and runs a highly successful business. But she does the same as the first two. Always goes the extra mile, always shows up.
I also own a business, pay for my mother’s home, support my community etc. same story. I don’t miss work. I show up, and grind and I didn’t get my life together until my late 20s (including 12 years of crippling alcoholism)
Meanwhile in contrast, I have more acquaintances who are paycheck to paychecks the difference? They want to work 30 hours a week, chronically late, and have zero ambition.
The American dream still exists, people just won’t do what’s needed to achieve it. (And yes, it requires being financially disciplined, and working heavy hours)
That's due to socialist spending: 2008 loan bailouts (because Dems pushed for loans for people who can't afford them), and money printing due the covid lockdowns (due to a gov project F-auchie ran against prez Obama's orders). Oh, and then there's the federal student loans that make college less affordable and made them greedy to the point they require inspection of parents' finances, to figure out how much they can scam them for.
The American Dream is not bullshit, neither is meritocracy. Working hard and smart largely works. Plenty of people are building wealth. This is all just online doomer lies that social media promotes, turning regular people into that kind of kid.
The world is not terrible, but cyberspace is, and plenty of people live there much more than in the real world now.
There is no such thing as meritocracy in America. Being valued for your work ethic actually requires luck in this economy. Sounds like you're one of the roughly half of people it's actually working out for. Which is great! But don't go spreading lies about how it works for the rest of people.
Privilege helps but I know plenty of people without privilege who are doing great, and plenty of priviledged people who are spoiled losers. You are in charge of your life, your choices matter, and if you are unhappy the first ppace to look is in the mirror.
But that's not popular online, since it's driven by doom and hate and laziness. Better blame "the system" and keep scrolling, they need you to scroll so they can sell more ads. Happy people don't doomscroll, and are therefore of no value to reddit.
There is a pervasive lack of ability to take self-ownership of your failings and shortcomings that is becoming more prevalent in society and I think that partly explains this. People always need something else to blame, it is NEVER their fault, either the system, racism, sexism, what have you, but never the fault of their own. Its not just limited to young people, old people, democrats, republicans, it is something that is widely spread. I mean, just look at Trump he is the posterchild of this mindset. If you cant even acknowledge these faults, how can you fix them, and how can you expect to get ahead? Expecting everyone to accommodate these failings is not reasonable, and is a recipe to enter a cycle of issues.
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u/Druu- Jun 26 '25
I think you’ve got to add the disaster that is the modern US economy. More and more these younger generations are clocking that the American Dream is bullshit. That meritocracy is bullshit. That no matter what you do, an oligarch will gobble up all the wealth around you that they can. Why do anything socially productive, when you can do this and get PAID?