'I am trading my youth for a paycheck I don't even enjoy'
'I don't even know what happened to the last two years. I wake up, log into work, stare at a screen for 8+ hours, scroll my phone to feel alive, and repeat. My dreams, hobbies, relationships, even my personality, everything's just been paused while I 'build my career.' Anyone else feel like your youth is slipping away while you're busy trying to survive?'
That noiseless throbbing of doing the bare minimum while time zooms past unnoticed is something many young adults are so familiar with. The digital age assured connection and convenience, but for many, it's offered a bizarre combination of coldness and detachment instead.
The post ushered in dozens of responses, depicting an image of a generation silently wrestling with burnout, inertia, and a craving to feel truthfully alive again. A path through the fog
Not all the responses were reverberations of desolation and hopelessness. One middle-aged commenter provided an optimistic, reflective viewpoint:
'I spent my 20s doing the same as you but not being properly paid. Now, everything in my life is at an all-time high—mental health, friendships, fitness, even hobbies. You're on a path that can lead to even greater success. Just hang in there. A bit more short-term pain for long-term gain. Keep going.'
It was a comforting reminder — the toil in your twenties isn't always for naught. That doesn't mean the present has to be miserable. Reframing the clock
Another commenter broke it down in basic terms and statistically:
'There are 168 hours in a week. 56 go to work. 56 to sleep. That leaves 56 hours to live. Don't let work suck the life out of life.'
It's a compelling reminder that although work is most of the time engulfing, it's not everything in our existence. Transforming our mindset—seeing work as a way to finance the life we want outside of it—can be a game changer. See also The "always-on" culture: Is Singapore's work-life balance a myth? The phone trap
Several users cited the common contemporary trap — the black hole of scrolling.
'You're wasting your life on your phone, not at work,' one user said curtly. 'Use your job to build your future, but spend your time living. Pursue hobbies. Fall in love. Build something that matters.'
This disposition resounded again and again from the commenters — people usually see work as the culprit and blame everything on it, but the actual bandits of people's time and happiness are the devices they retreat to when they feel dazed. Time for a hard reset
One user offered a sweeping yet significant decision:
'Same experience here. But I took a break—6 to 12 months off—to work on personal projects I'd sidelined. Maybe I'll go back to overemployment, maybe not. I just couldn't keep going like that. Social media may have been the final straw… or the wake-up call I needed.'
It's an audacious move, but one that reflects the worry many feel — the need to take a hiatus, 'retune', and remember who they were before the fatigue and lethargy became entrenched. You can reclaim your time
This viral thread has become a looking glass for a generation crisscrossing the burdens of productivity culture, economic concern, and digital devastation. But within it, there is also the demand to regain agency.
Life is not just about surviving. It's about creating that part of yourself that feels active and thriving. Even if you have to excavate a little more to find them, your visions and ideas are still there, waiting.
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