There are no careers, you go to college and end up working at a McJob. T his is indeed a sad and scary picture. T o my mind, Gen Xers have perfectly legitimate reasons for keeping a safe distance from a consumer society. At least these young people seem to be willing to acknowledge reality. T here is an important difference between cynicism and despair.
Despair is the loss of hope.
Generation X hasn't lost hope, it never had the kind of hope those of us in our fifties are familiar with. Generation X mourns the absence of that hope. T he trouble is that illusions help us get through life. Facing life without them is tough. Many young people may not be able to sustain the energy of Generation X - that's when depression, or drug addiction, or belief in some new illusion may set in.