this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2026
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As the oldest millennial I'm tired.
Xennial here. Every time I eke out some sort of stability, the world takes it away. About to likely lose my job which would also end with losing my house and the ability to get another one. Nothing hiring in my industry in the area, no one wants a remote backend engineer in Japanese timezones, and I'm very much done.
If I live through this, I get the bonus of basically having no real retirement options at all, either.
At least we're the smartest generation!
I mean, yeah... Gen Z is the first generation to be less intelligent than the previous generation ergo we're smartest generation.
I can't tell if you're serious..
He is, i saw the study too. Last generational study that came out showed a small, but statistically relevant drop in intelligence in Gen Z relative to their predecessors, which is the first drop ever since we can measure these things.
And why wouldn't we see that? General education institutions have been under attack for decades now, and tinkering with your stuff is becoming more and more illegal and discouraged by the hollowing out of the concept of ownership. Software has been reduced to smartphone apps for most people, and critical thinking is seen as dangerous by many states including the US and is therefore discouraged. And let's not forget that most people are living paycheck to paycheck and do not have the headroom to engage critically with their surroundings.
That isn't what I'm talking about though. 🤦♂️
Even with you mentioning that i still don't know what you are talking about, so some clarification would be nice :-)
The very end where a conclusion is drawn:
Gen z being dumber doesn't automatically mean the preceding generation was the pinnacle of intelligence. They could also be dumber than the one before them but not as starkly and not studied the same way, or there could have been a plateau for a few generations that gen z fell off from.
The Flynn Effect (IQ is rising ca. 3pts/decade) encompasses at least the silent generation, so if we accept the proposition that generations before that probably did not have a higher IQ - because there was less intense education and less knowledge available and needed for normal functioning in society - then (at least in developed countries - in less developed countries which haven't plateaued yet the Flynn Effect seems to be still in effect) the generation with the highest IQ were the millenials.
The numbers are not 100%, because these things develop slowly, and there seems to be divergence between Internally and Externally Scaffolded Tasks (externally are those where you get all needed information and have to come to a conclusion, things like series of symbols or numbers; internally are the tasks where you need to generate the relationship yourself, drawing on language, memory, and abstract reasoning, e.g. "In what way are Justice and Fairness alike").
In developed countries, with internally scaffolded tasks the growth has been continuing (although a bit slower), but with their external counterparts there is a significant decline to be seen since the turn of the century.
This was deposited in front of the US Senate. The blog entry of the responsible researcher is available here: https://thedigitaldelusion.substack.com/p/i-told-the-senate-gen-z-is-less-cognately
You really think a bunch of lead poisoned boomers and apathetic, mildly lead poisoned Xers are more intelligent than the most educated generation to have ever existed? Hmm OK...
we're smartest generation. unga bunga. shiny rock shaped like participation trophy good.
Also you're tagged as "egomaniac" so I know to ignore you elsewhere.
I'm not the one getting overly invested in a one off comment, but do what you need to do, lesser one...
It's literally true as measured by IQ scores. Look it up.
I am serious.
I know 💀
At least you got a warning. Wish i did /s
Holy fuck, you posted almost word for word my situation as well. I'm not a remote backend engineer though, and I'm not in a Japanese timezone.
I"m even worse off because I managed to save myself a decent nest egg - but they're going to crash the market and it will be fucking worthless.
Depending on the exact setup, it does not have to be. Assuming it's in stocks or a stock fund, you can always hedge it against downturns with options. Of course I do absolutely recommend really understanding that first before using it, as you can also gamble and lose money faster. But when you do, contracts exist that allow you to 'configure' a portfolio that, temporarily, will cancel out any market drops. Barring ethical reservations, of course. Naturally, that also carrries the risk that the bank selling the contract goes tits up, but it seems you're already in that boat. To manage that, you can aim for diversification across multiple banks and instruments. Not an advertisement or anything, but since covid I've found directly owned old-school crypto to be a good hedge in rough times (but need to get in low and work in the 2-5year timeframe). But for the love of god, leave out all emotions, calculate with a spreadsheet and don't put all eggs in one basket.
I'm not any kind of advisor, just got pissed about the shit economic situations we lived through and looked into what can be done about it.