exiting school with high student debt and not able to get a job that matches what they went to school for. why have children? Why bring them into a hellhole like this? They are not instilling in their children the proper mindset, the hardiness, the resilience. Hello and welcome to awake at the wheel. So the 2025 World Happiness Report has suggested that Canada's young people have been deemed among the unhappiest generation. This is quite the shift because in the past, as recently as 2011, individuals aged 30 and underbody in some of the happiest. So in a pretty short amount of time, that age group has gone from the happiest to the unhappiest. This shift has only taken place in four other countries in the world, and that includes Jordan, Venezuela, Lebanon and Afghanistan. So lots going on in terms of a huge shift in demographic happiness. Lots to discuss here. But, Oren, what are some of your initial thoughts on that? Well, I can't speak to the other countries. But in Canada, one, I think, you know, given that age demographic, I think Canada has some of the worst housing prices, possible. And so it's not just about not being able to buy a house. It's more existential than that, because buying a house is kind of like symbolic of, okay, I'm ready to have a family. And so people feel that they're not able to go on this journey. That does as as taxing as it is, as challenging as it is, as frustrating as it is. You know, having a family does give people a sense of meaning and purpose. It does give them a sense of fulfillment at times. So, you know, feeling this, that you're, delaying that stage of development. I think that's one of the contributing factors. Absolutely. And yeah, in terms of what that report suggests, among the contributing factors are economic pressures. So not just with housing, but in terms of the cost of living in general. A lot of individuals in that age group are finding that they are only, able to access contract positions, not actual salaried positions. They're exiting school. Canada has one of the highest educated populations. So exiting school with high student debt and not able to get a job that matches what they went to school for. Delayed milestones, like you said, is one of them as well. Milestones such as, buying a house but also later marriage, later parenting, home ownership. All of these are linked to, these feelings of unhappiness. Additionally, social and cultural factors have contributed to that. So things like social media, constant social comparison, 24 seven news cycles that are feeding individuals with negative outcomes and stories of negative outcomes, in addition to a purpose gap. So not having a clear sense of what's next. So really a lot of what you just summarized and what you said are leading factors. Right? And especially in Canada. And I'm going to say it, sorry but not sorry. The fact is Canada is one of the I hate to say it was just countries on the planet, and wokeism destroys because either you're made to feel like I'm a helpless victim and the world is against me. I'm the not privileged and if I am the quote unquote privileged either, I don't feel this way. So why are you telling me I'm privileged when I don't feel it at all? I feel disempowered, disenfranchized, disenchanted, demotivated. Yet you're telling me I'm privileged. So there's a real, you know, disconnect there? Or be if you are one of the people who does feel like, yeah, I am, ambitious, I am going to make it, I am strong, I am stoic, and so on. You're told, or you're toxic. So there are a lot of factors that I, you know, and I put it squarely on Wokeism. And I know that, you know, that's one of the things that we talk about. But it's not me being political. It's not me just throwing labels out there. It's me knowing what you know. I have seen directly and in reading all these reports and hearing people talk about it, it truly is that divide about the, you know, the privileged and the non-religious, the oppressors and the oppressed and so on. It doesn't help anybody. And because we are one of the countries that, promulgates such toxic thinking more than other countries. I think that's one of the reasons that we're seeing so many people at this in this juncture of their life feeling so lost, distressed, helpless and hopeless. Yeah. And sort of related, but not really. But I think that in part, maybe part of the challenge is, and I'm having a hard time formulating this thought and connecting it to what you just said. But I think there's some element of like, my generation, your generation and older generation saying, well, back in our day, we were able to figure it out and make it work. And, and maybe there is some element of us not fully recognizing that it was a bit easier. But also, I say that and don't fully buy that because they're talking about people under 30 in 2011. Well, that was that was me. That's when I had my child. That's when we bought our house. We were both working great full time jobs and careers that were satisfying. But those didn't just fall in our laps. So while we worked really hard to get what we got, we still were able to get it. That might look different these days for individuals, but I think you're right in terms of that victim mentality of like, well, you know, everyone said that I'm never going to have a house. I'm just not going to try. I think there is some degree of that for sure. And there's also I mean, here's the thing, though, what I'm going to talk about both sides of my mouth. Another thing that, you know, the progressives are the woke are really harming people with from a young age. Is this, they're catastrophizing the world's going to end, the environment is going to eat us all up. You know, so people are thinking, why have children? Why bring them into a hellhole like this? So that's on one side of my mouth. On the other side, every generation has had a similar message in my generation, it was, you know, nuclear war was going to wipe us out. The generation before me was nuclear war is going to wipe us out. Right. And so, so these we've had these and even the, you know, the climate disasters and everything that was even in I think Al Gore's, fraudulent movie, I think was in the 90s. So. Right. So it's, that's an element. But the difference is, again, back then, even though people were being flooded with some terrible sometimes, you know, quote unquote little trauma inducing, I'm not sure from people feeling that way helpless and hopeless. Not so on. Okay. Even though that was flooding the market, so to speak, the majority, I'd say, if people were not also told the message that there's literally nothing you can do about it. They were told, do this, this, not even, you know, like recycle, do this. Like there was there was an action plan. There was a way to try to help people feel at least a little bit of agency. So then I completely just, you know, a victim of, of circumstance. But that's not what's being, you know, passed on today. And it's not just the schools, it's not just the media. It has to, as always, you know, the parents have to play a role in this. I mean, with my kids, I'm always like, I'm telling them, no matter what you're seeing out there, yes, it's difficult, blah, blah, blah and everything I say, all that I say. But in the end, I always say, look at what you're able to do. You know, like around your own circumstance. Don't worry about the rest of the world. Focus on yourself. Do what you you know, you get. It's the right focus. Focus on what you're able to control so that you don't feel a sense of helplessness. And and not enough parents these days are doing that. They're still letting their children, you know, succumb to the messaging on media, social media in school. And I think it's worse now because as we've spoken about before, parents are so susceptible to the trash on social media as well. So they're buying into the message just as much as their kids are. And as you're saying in describing, like, what your generation's existential crisis was, like what was what was it for mine? Oh, the 2008 market crash where everything went to shit, especially in my region where the auto industry was huge. So like, this was a very, very depressed region. And yet, a lot of people managed to be hopeful and look to the future and figure out what in their immediate reality, they could do to move forward. So again, like there's been catastrophes for every generation, but the framing of it is so, so different at this stage. Yeah. And the other thing which, you know, Canadians have to, recognize and, you know, we are you I use the word privileged with I'm gonna say we're lucky. We are so fortunate. And my wife and I say this to the kids all the time. When you think about it, for a country this large. Yes, we've had some natural disasters, here and there. But overall, it's not like we expect tornado season every year. We're not being flooded all the time. We're not having heatwaves all the time for us. Oh my God, it's three degrees. It's a heatwave. No, I mean right. So we are is situated in a place where we have all these resources and so on. It is damn expensive. Yes. But I'm saying like I tell this to my kids, you know, again, I say, look at how fortunate we are. And I don't say, you know, you should be more. I don't say that. It's more of an empowering statement. I say just always focus on how lucky we are. And, you know, for now, there's no war, right? We're not having, you know, the homes bombed or, you know, and all this stuff. And I say this all the time because, again, it's not about because it's not about guilting or shaming them. It's about helping them have a healthy perspective that makes them feel empowered to say, you know what? We're actually we have we have a pretty good. So yes, there's problems here, here and there, but we have more opportunities. We have, you know, to to be able to, you know, to do something good for ourselves that other people in other places don't have. And so, ironically, you know, we have all this yet, you know, there's so many, luxuries that, that people have today that they, they, they take for granted. So, ironically, when you have all this time on your hands, when you're able to just watch on social media all the problems of the world, it makes you, you know, have these, these, these, mental crises, framing it in the most, maladaptive ways where somebody who's struggling to survive every day, if they have to hunt or they have to, you know, get clean water, whatever else. They're not worrying about these existential crises. They're worrying about the practical reality in front of them. And ironically, even if their life is far, far worse, objectively speaking, they you know, these measures show this all the time. They have better life satisfaction indexes or math or even because they have a very different perspective. They look at what's really around them, as opposed to all the stuff that's going on in their head. Yeah. And to a point that you frequently make, I think it's a difference between happiness and fulfillment. And, I don't know, necessarily all the criteria that this World Happiness report measures happiness upon. But I do wonder if it is more, superficial things that contribute to happiness rather than aspects of true fulfillment. And I think the difference with, you know, you're describing individuals who have a lot less than we do here in North America and yet are happier. I would imagine it's because they're more fulfilled, because they probably have deeper social connections, familial family relationships, connection to their culture, to their religion and so on. And these are all things that create fulfillment, not necessarily having a house and, you know, the job and the social connections and so on. I think that we're really missing the mark here we are. And, you know, and and I want to be very clear here, I'm not blaming the younger generation being spoiled and entitled because that spoiled and that spoiled and entitled, personality or expectations comes from somewhere. It's the parent's job is society's job to make sure they don't act that way, to give them the right perspective and mindset and realize you can't expect everything. And just because somebody else has it doesn't mean that you're entitled to it. You want it. Try your best to work at it, and if you can't get it with something impossible you'll never achieve, then focus on something that is attainable that kids don't develop that on their own. We need the parents and the educators to instill in them the proper, success oriented mindset. And success does not mean money or wealth or fame. Success that I'm living in line with my values and I have some sense of meaning and purpose, and I'm trying to seek fulfillment in whatever, you know, measure that is large or small. That's accessory to mindset. Yeah. And I think to that point as well, perhaps we as a society and I almost hesitate to say this because I think, again, like we mentioned earlier, every generation has had its challenges. But I do think that there is something uniquely difficult financially about the way things are now, like a pack of beacons, $10, like it's, you know, the same one that I bought for$3 probably ten years ago. So things are objectively very, very, out of reach for many people. So I wonder then, if partly what's at hand is shifting what the metrics are for being an adult. So what I mean by that is, I think for your generation, my generation, it was go to school, get a job, get married, have a kid, buy a house, and, you know, some order, that resembles that. A lot of those things probably aren't as attainable in the same timeframe as they were in the past. So I don't know, with this, changed perspective or changed, view of what being an adult would. An adult would be in one's 20s. But perhaps that's what's at hand is a shift in that. Well, yeah for sure. And by the way, in that the list of metrics that you mentioned, I mean, it was implied, but the other one is move out. Right. And that's really important because, I've worked with so many people where I say, look, yeah, I mean, in my generation, we tried to move out as soon as possible, right? Yeah. I left country at 19. I just as I my, you know, just a my 90th birthday basically. So, you know, I, and I tell people and even about about ten years ago even I remember I was talking to some people and I said the one thing, you know, I say I crap on the youth all the time and in my classes and everything, and I say, but the one thing I will never begrudge them, and this was ten years ago, I said, is if they stayed at home longer because they can't afford where to buy or to rent, even that was ten years ago. And it's only not. Even an option now for for so many people. Yeah. And in the old days it was like, you know, I'm from Toronto, so if you want to buy a place or whatever, you know, you go a little bit outside of Toronto, you know, and those places now are unaffordable. You got to go farther and farther and farther. So these are real realities. So so there's two things about that. I've always told the parents, I say, as same with my kids. They know, I help them with housing. They can stay in our house as long as they need, because I would rather they make a pragmatic decision that, you know, if you can save money while at home. And again, so I tell parents and so I tell the adult children or adolescents, I say if it's not intolerable, if it makes more sense, you know, that's, staying at home to save money. So you can either, you know, you're hoping to buy a place. I say, there's no shame in that. But you have to be a good citizen within that home. You can't be a child living there forever. Like when you're 20, 25, 30. You have to contribute, have to, you know, have these discussions and everything like that. So I talk about navigating this, you know, this home environment in a way that works for everybody. And it's very difficult, okay. But they have to be able to do that. I said, there's going to be there's two things. So, was the navigation. Oh yeah. And the second thing and some people aren't going to like this and I still it blows my mind to this day. I have never once ordered Uber Eats. Not once. Okay. Actually, I may have done it once because there was a promotion like it was free. We have twice. So I know where you're going with this. Right. Okay. And same with, you know, taking Uber Lyft only recently. I can't afford it. I can okay. But only until recently. Like, you know, it's 2 or 3 in the morning. I was doing those late night, you know, waiting for the late night bus to come or something like that. Instead of taking a taxi or Uber or Lyft or whatever. And so these are, these seem like small things or even with Starbuck or something like that. It seems like small things. But again, this I tell my children, I say I can afford this stuff, and I don't do it because I'm being mindful of the future. I say, if you can afford it, fine, but recognize that you're spending. These are frivolous things, quite frankly. Okay. They really are. I say, you know, you spend on frivolous, you're not going to have the money because it adds up $2 $5, $10 several times a week, if not more. I say, you know, again. So I'm trying to let my children, you know, think for the future. Yeah. I'm just going to say instead of looking at this house, that's impossible to biggest purchase is like, no, no work on these little small thing. You know, these small items, there's cost and everything like that. And I say to them, I know it doesn't seem like it, but if you change your behaviors and your perspectives now, you will realize, oh, I have more money. Far more money. It does add up. Okay. And I will at some point be able to purchase maybe not the dream house, but something that I, you know, couldn't do if I kept spending frivolously. Exactly. Yeah. And from a values perspective, I agree with you 100%. I think we share those values quite a bit. But I'm of two minds on this because first, I'm going to sound like such an old lady saying this, but I see people in their 20s who, you know, just graduated, I know are not making a ton of money, but they're getting their hair done, their eyelashes and their nails done, their Lululemon this and like, that shit's expensive. I don't even spend that kind of money. And I could quite frankly, and I don't. So I think there's there's two things here where it's like, perhaps there isn't, an understanding of what you described, where if I don't spend that kind of money and I save, you know, playing the long game and, and, setting a goal and working to achieve it, there's great value in that. But on the other hand, if they're buying into the messaging of I'm never going to own a house, well, then perhaps they are shifting their priorities and perspective to, well, at least I can, you know, enjoy these small luxuries or create this lifestyle that makes me feel happy. I don't know if it truly does, because then the other layer to that, I think, is the influence of social media and seeing so many young people living this unrealistic, probably fake lifestyle, and young people absorbing that and thinking it's real. But again, just those are the thoughts that came to mind, as you were saying, that that perhaps this is a way of coping with the the potential reality of I'm never going to own a home. Yeah. And I have heard people say that, you know, and I say, you know, fair enough. I say, however, you know, and this goes back to the marshmallow test from, I believe, the 60s, where it has been shown, you know, unequivocally that the person who's able to delay gratification, even as a child, even or something so small, if I don't eat this marshmallow now, I'll get to later on, okay, that that mindset predicts success down the road because you're able to focus on what's most important. So yeah. So if you're saying, well, I'm going to lead a hedonistic lifestyle now, blah blah. Yeah. Well, how about 20 years down the line or 30 or 50, right? I know people don't think that far, but that's where it's a parent's job to help their children see that they may not get it okay. At least emotionally. They may not get it. But if you start instilling the message early on, the there's a better chance that the child will eventually internalize it. And, you know, and have a more sustainable life. So again, I get what you're saying. And I've heard many people say at night, tell me, I get it, I say it. But yeah, in the end you have to think of long term. And this is again, this is why and I'm not sure why, you know, so unique to Canada. I do truly believe, once again, I really do believe that our overly quote unquote progressive, like I think we have more progressive or woke people are elbows up, you know, than, you know, most, countries, proportionately speaking. And I think that that has a direct correlation on the people's lack of happiness, because those parents are too, I'm sorry to say it, but many of them, because they're buying into the messaging and my poor children in this, and then they're suffering. They are not instilling in their children the proper mindset, the hardiness, the resilience. And as you say, values. Okay. And if you're trying to chase something that these other people have, you're never going to be satisfied temporarily. Maybe, but you're never going to have what other people have. You need that internal, that intrinsic motivation that I want to do it because it's something I want to do because this is how I want to be. The kind of person I want to be, the way I want to live, what I want to fight for. Those are my values, rather than emulating somebody you know on the screen. Absolutely. And I guess to add to that, in terms of what people can do, what young people can do, I think that finding a sense of mastery in the present moment, of what you can do, do it really well, and that's going to give you a high degree of fulfillment. Again, happiness versus fulfillment is really, really important to identify in one's life. You know, these these more frivolous things that we're talking about. Yeah. That's going to make you temporarily happy. But focusing on your values, focusing on mastery, focusing on right now is going to contribute to feeling fulfilled. And that's far more important. Yeah. And, you know, Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, he passed away not on. Right. And so I always like to give credit where credit is due. Now he claims I'm not sure if he's the first, but he said that he, had a reframe that he says, you know, that everyone else has followed, which is one of the oldest sayings was, you know, follow your passion, right? Like they go try to find a job that you know, that you're passionate about. And he said, no, that's the wrong message. He said, you know, follow what you're good at. You're talking about mastery, okay? If you're good at something, if get a job in line with that. And once you've, you know, you have that sense of mastery, you will feel passionate about it as you're making money, as you're getting esteem, as you're rising the ranks, you know, that's what you should be focusing on. Otherwise it's a fantasy like, well, I want to, you know, I'm going to go to university to get this degree to blah, blah. Well, it sounds great on paper, but in reality it's not paying the bills. You're going in debt, you're not learning a useful skill or trade, and you're redundant before you even graduate. So, right. And again, far too many parents of the progressive type don't have the, you know, the balls or ovaries to tell their kids that you're thinking the wrong way. This as parents, it's our job not to tell the kids what to do, but to help them have the kinds of perspectives that will set them up for success and will make them more resilient to the kinds of mental distress and unhappiness that we're talking about today. Exactly. So to our listeners, I don't know if we have a lot of young people who listen to our podcast, but if we do, I want to know what you think. Do you think that we're off base here? Is this in alignment with what your experiences? And also parents of young people, I, I'm curious to know if you have been trying to instill such values. Is this new information, is it something that's doable? Let us know in the comments. Yeah. And as always, none of this is easy. You know, it's very you know, as I always say, the solution is simple, not easy. So I'm not pretending that never snap your fingers. That's going to change. But we have to at least try. Right. And that's that's all that we can do. And, you know, having raised three, three, young women or the 28, 22, sorry, 28, 24 and 16. Right. So I've watched them grow up at different, you know, different stages. And I've watched them and their peers. Right. And I always tell them, it's like, I don't care what your friends are doing. I don't care what their parents say and do. I said, this is how we're doing it, because I know this is what's going to help you. You know, again, I have all the traits and attributes that we've been talking about. So if I can do it, anybody else can do it. So, anyway, on that hopeful note, until next time, keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.