Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation

by Anne Helen Petersen

podcasts, even sporting events come to feel like checklists. It doesn’t matter if you actually like any of these things, or even actually consume them in entirety, so much as signal, on social media and in person, that you are the type of person who consumes them. And when you only have so much time to dedicate to leisure, there’s a constant demand to make the very best use your time, consuming the products and engaging in leisure that most effectively demonstrates your status as a cultural omnivore. You open (and then aspirationally save for later) dozens of articles recommended by others. You buy some yarn and a how-to-knit book, and never cast a stitch. You start a book, then wonder if you should be reading that other, cooler book. You dabble, and then you look over your shoulder—or scroll your Instagram—for something better.