American Millennials Are Dying at an Alarming Rate
https://slate.com/technology/2025/08/millennials-gen-z-death-rates-america-high.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.worldSyndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.
View original on lemmy.worldhttps://slate.com/technology/2025/08/millennials-gen-z-death-rates-america-high.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
42 replies
Idk could have something to do with everything being priced out of reach for the everyday person. Which makes living brutal leading to declining mental and physical health which leads to people either killing themselves or dying early of preventable causes because the care they need is too goddamn expensive.
Idk though I ain’t no fucking expert just a disabled gay bitch who can’t even afford to get an allergy test done so I can see if mine are gone now or if I got new ones.
Don't forget the spoonful of plastic in your brain!
Considerably more than a spoonful, probably enough to make an entire spoon.
contactless dream purchasing intensifies
Have you tried having health care for a change?
Living in the US, back when I was on a high deductible insurance plan, I would avoid doctor visits because it would cost over $100 for any single check-up. My employer put enough money in a health savings account to make up for the high costs, but I had the mentality of "If I didn't see the doctor, I could bank the $100 for a later emergency." I'm the type of video game player that will stockpile health potions, never use them, and then die cause I didn't want to use them. I realized this is a fucked up situation and so I switched to a more expensive low-deductable plan and will now visit the doctor when "I think I might need to" instead of when "I really need to."
But yeah, lots and lots of people on low-premium (low monthly payments) high deductible plans with that save money mentality. They only see the doctor when it gets severe.
Here in Australia I pay $125 for a phone consult with some doctor, or $150 to go see a doctor for the smallest thing. Probalwm is I need a recurring prescription, so I have to go :( 10mins ...
We are slowly sliding towards the USA healthcare system :(
Yeah the erosion of bulk billing will kill people
You have summed up exactly why I hate high deductible plans. Every year at open enrollment I have this debate. And every year I do some math and always convince myself that the high deductible is cheaper and that I should just go to the doctor when I feel like it. Even knowing that, there’s still this weird mental block.
It’s just so extra frustrating because everything involved in living here feels like some sort of dumb economic calculation. “Should we eat meat this week or save up for when it’s on sale?” Eating out for “fast food” if we’re in a hurry hurts because it’s cheaper to go to a real restaurant.
I dunno, it’s just all mentally tiring and it’s hard to get into a mode of just enjoying life. I just want to do the side quests and have fun but end up with Lydia in my house guarding my hoard of potions I never use
We all have to be health, security and financial experts or we "fail."
Best I can do is concentration camps
Also, perhaps not having such an egregiously unhealthy population in general so that constant professional healthcare is not mandatory to not die an early death.
The two things are intertwined, and the root problem is wealthy people doing everything they can to make the working class and poor miserable. That's why we can't have universal healthcare, or bike lanes, or public transportation, or anything that benefits most people except for a few rare excsptions.
They really need to figure out how to contend with hyperbole as well
Both have their benefits. But dying for preventable reasons that could have been taken care of if one saw a doctor when it started is a real issue in the US.
Never said it wasn't. That is absolutely a problem. My point is that a ton of Americans are quite unhealthy, and those preventable things which need prompt attention pop up way more frequently than they should due to this. Also makes people way more susceptible to outbreaks of infectious disease.
Gen-Xer here. Never have I ever in my life seen or heard of a generation get as royally fucked as Millenials when compared to their contemporaries (boomers, gen-x, gen-z). I guess whatever generation went through WWI, the Spanish Flu, and the great depression takes the cake, but still. Poor millenials.
Not disagreeing that millennials got it tough, but interested to know why you think gen z have it easier than millennials. I haven't seen this perspective before (at least from someone who's not a millennial).
My take is that gen Z grew up around much more anti–capitalist, anti–work rhetoric, and had more realistic expectations about how well life within the system was going to go for them. Millennials really thought that if they studied hard, worked hard, remained loyal to their employer and kept climbing that ladder, they would live comfortably and happily ever after. Gen Z didn't have to break that programming. To them, it was much more obvious that the system was rigged against them, and they were better off focussing on whatever works for them right now. They're just as financially screwed, of course, but possibly have a better attitude about it.
Fair analysis. As a member of gen z myself (on the older side, born in the 90s) I can understand how having your hopes dashed like that can be tough.
If we're talking about the mental toll then I think you're probably right. Never having hope in the first place hurts slightly less. That being said if we're talking about actual material wellbeing, it's pretty clear gen z (so far) have it worse.
I'm saying this as someone who is a slightly older gen z, I feel absolutely blessed to be on the older side as the younger kids are so incredibly fucked it's hard to even explain. I believed that studying hard would get me places, and it kinda did. If I was even 2 years older it would have got me far further. The shift since covid is hard to overstate. If things carry on in this direction I just don't see a future for most of my generation.
Nature vs nurture but as a socioeconomic point of view. I haven't ever thought about it like that, but you may have an argument there. As a mid level millennial it's an interesting take. I'm gunna think about this for a little bit.
How do you think gen x faired as a generation in this thought process?
I’ll second the comment already made. Gen-X could still mostly follow the traditional path despite the beatings they took that screwed things up. They had a chance to become somewhat established. Z, otoh, was told they could do the same thing but started taking hits right away in an already declining economy. Anyone remember the memes of MBAs or Bachelor’s degrees working the Starbucks counters? Yeah, it was real. They thought they’d be ok but got fucked. Everyone after was far more cynical and already knew things were fucked up.
As always, us GenX’ers are getting passed over yet again. 😔
Their analysis period includes when GenX, even some Boomers, would have been in that 25-44 yo bracket and contributed to the 3x higher-than-OECD death rates. It's Millennials today, but most of their stats will be GenX
just like math class, nobody seems to find x
It's hard to watch someone else achieving your dreams.
You have to be asleep to dream.
Anyone got a link to the full article?
Journal Citation - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2834281
This thread is absolutely crushingly sad.
I wonder about diet especially in the early years. ww2 generation did not eat much crappy food in their lives and silent generation maybe some. Boomers in their adult lives and Xers in high school. Millenials from early on. Im not saying this is 100% all across the board but it feels right to me from a typical person standpoint. It often seems like a lot of bad things are way worse when you are exposed to them when developing.
Counterpoint; y'all breathed aerosolized lead.
Maybe in some cases but I think at least with Xers a lot of the lead was gone already. Not the asbestos though.
Leaded gasoline wasnt phased out completely until 1996 (and its still used in small older aircraft). And the soil around roadways are still quite contaminated. So not gone, just reduced...
I was thinking more in terms of lead paint and you would be hard pressed to find leaded gas even in the eighties.
Millennials are just that gracious to future generations.
Huh. I guess they didn't pull themselves up by their bootstraps after all.
/s (big time)
Do any State Plus members wanna post the contents?
Paywall removed: https://archive.is/aiJJ3
Thank you!
When it said American I realized that nothing of real value was lost
lmao cold hearted
Facts