The Shortcut Generation: From Psychedelics to Dating Apps, We’re Giving Young People Tools Without Wisdom
Why struggle, discomfort, and failure still matter—even in the age of instant insight
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Ted
A friend of mine is flailing.
He wouldn’t describe it that way, of course. He’d say he’s “exploring new paths” or “doing the work.” But to those of us watching—friends who’ve known him long enough to remember when the work was actual work—it’s something else. Something softer. He is, I think, going through the quiet panic of the second act. Not a full-blown crisis, not yet, but a slow unraveling. A drifting toward shortcuts dressed as solutions.
The last few times we spoke, he would rattle off the usual fixes: a new therapist, a new medication, and—the last time—a guided psychedelic retreat that he said “will completely rewire” his brain.