And teachers have noticed.
One educator in particular recently took to the r/teachers subreddit to ask if anyone else finds “a lot of older teens are dead inside?”
“They have no ambition and no personality,” the teacher wrote. “They are like non-player characters in a game, they just exist? It’s scary, I have a few kids with zero personality, they are like zombies. They don’t laugh or smile, they have friends but don’t talk. They plod along in no rush or sense of urgency to finish anything.”
Teachers, parents, and students past and present shared these insightful responses in the comments:
1. “I got a completely unexpected depression diagnosis this year. I’m a pretty optimistic, hopeful person, typically. Not in a false positivity type of way, but just my general outlook. In therapy, I’m realizing I feel very powerless and have a lack of control over so much.”
“It happened fast over the past year, although some things were deeper. I’m not surprised after unpacking it all, but I think a lot of people are facing sudden changes and processing the world in the transition of Covid/”post-Covid”/modern society.”
2. “Yes! The conversations I have had with the kids this year have been wild. Most of them are completely fixated on ‘getting rich.'”
“The boys by being ‘entrepreneurs’ and the girls by marrying ‘elite men.’ Every day, I do an icebreaker, and they can barely answer questions about their own likes and interests. It’s really sad.”
3. “In my opinion, it’s because the natural, human interaction that used to be part of daily life is no longer there. For example, growing up, my neighborhood was FULL of kids who all played outside. Riding their bikes, running around, inevitably meeting other kids, and navigating those interactions. There was no internet, no phones — just human interaction. A lot is learned through that.”
“But now, that same neighborhood is EMPTY. You don’t see kids outside anymore. Those natural, spontaneous, relationship-building interactions aren’t happening. Everyone is staring at screens for whatever purpose, and everything is controlled, structured, and planned. Plus, we now have a very dominant social media presence that feeds kids whatever pro-capitalist narrative the powers that be want to feed them. All controlled.
The lack of real, true, honest, spontaneous human interaction is destroying people from the inside out. People aren’t learning how to navigate HUMANS and human life; they’re learning how to navigate the system. It’s a fundamental lack of love.”
➡️ Have your own theory? Let us know in the comments.
4. “I graduated at 21, but the reason I was so apathetic in school was because I paid too much attention to world issues and felt like I had no future, so I didn’t see much of a point in trying too hard.”
“I definitely still feel it now, years later, but I am also diagnosed with clinical depression, so who knows? It could be a mix of a lot of things. Phone addiction, depression, hopelessness, and lack of empathy.”
5. “Last school year, I would have agreed 100%. This year, we have a policy banning internet devices during school hours, and it’s been a game-changer. My students (nearly all seniors) are talking with each other and working together.”
“When I walk through the hallways, I see groups of kids playing Uno and laughing. I wouldn’t have believed taking away their phones could have this big of an impact, but it’s been night and day. If there’s no school-wide policy, having kids put their phone in a storage locker/phone holder when they enter class is a pretty good place to start.”
Related: 21 Photos From August That Made Me Gasp So Hard I Pulled A Muscle In My Neck And Choked On My Spit
6. “Every Monday, I ask my students what they did over the weekend. My 11th-grade students say, ‘Nothing. Stayed home.’ It has been years since I’ve overheard students in class talking about a party that they went to over the weekend.”
“It’s not because they are better at being discreet than students were 10 years ago. I think they just aren’t doing that kind of stuff anymore. Everything is expensive. Fewer teens are driving. Parents can monitor your every move and expect 24/7/365 availability. Everything is filmed/shared. It must SUCK to be a teen in 2025.”
7. “The majority of high school kids I talk to openly admit to ‘bed rotting’ (and/or gaming ) until 3-4 a.m. Almost daily.”
“They don’t have a lot of motivation because they don’t have post-secondary plans and are just coasting. Less than 1/4 of my classes (usually more) are hoping to go to college/junior college/trade school. The rest just shrug.”
8. “Some Mondays for my entry ticket, I’ll just have a question asking, ‘What was the best part of your weekend? Why?'”
“The answers? ‘Sleep,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘video games,’ ‘basketball,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘went to the mall with friends,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘sleep.’ Hardly any of the kids have hobbies, let alone interests. I usually say, ‘I really hope the best part of your weekend wasn’t being unconscious.'”
9. “Hi, I’m 25, and I can honestly say that most young people feel this way. We feel trapped.”
“I personally finished college with a double major (both teaching degrees), and every school I go to asks for previous experience. I work in a job with OK pay for now, but it’s nowhere near college-level. I can’t move out of my parents’ house because every flat I can afford will require a roommate, and I have anxiety and depression (diagnosed by doctors, yes, multiple), so roommates are out. Buying a house is highly unlikely in the next 20 years, so that nixes starting a family. I feel trapped and without choices. I’m great at teaching; the professor who was my mentor asked for my teaching plans to use in their classes. Dating life is a whole other story, I’m not getting into right now, but it also contributes to the gloom of our reality.”
Related: 29 Photos That Never, Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever, Ever Fail To Make Me Laugh
10. “iPad kids. Never had the chance to socialize or develop a real personality. Of course, there are other reasons, but I think this is a big one.”
11. And finally, “It’s not just teens. Look at the adults. A large portion of society is just deeply depressed right now.
“I totally agree. Everything is so expensive, there’s so much animosity out there, lots of seemingly hypocritical behavior (imo). I actually feel really bad for our young people because it might be very hard for them to be optimistic. I’m hoping they help turn the climate of our country around, though, so who knows??”
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
Note: Some responses have been edited for clarity.
Also in Internet Finds: “20 Years Later And No One In My Life Has A Clue Except Me”: People Are Anonymously Revealing A Secret They’ll Take To The Grave, And I Wasn’t Expecting Thiiiiiiissssssssss
Also in Internet Finds: Plastic Surgeons Are Exposing The Procedures They’d Never, Ever Get, And My Jaw Is Actually Hanging Open
Also in Internet Finds: 50 Hilariously Unlikely Photos That Couldn’t Be Recreated Even If You Tried A Million Times
