I love your approach to the statistics about Gen Z. Instead of just rattling them off, you use them as an opportunity to show how we can help. I may not have the entrepreneurial answer, but I can change my interactions with them now that I'm armed with some knowledge and a desire to make a difference, even if just for one Gen Z. Thanks for this, Bill.
Each generation wishes for the way things used to be and fear for how things will be for those that come after. Yet this thought only comes as the sun begins to set on one's life. That's the circle of life.
The kids of today will figure it out. Just like you did and your parents did before and their parents before that.
All you can really do is accept you can't solve the world's problems. But you can be nice to others, return the shopping cart, let that car merge and like ripples in a pond...
“Affordable, low-pressure, built-in activities, daytime, alcohol-optional: That seems like a pretty smart starting point.“
This, 100%. A smart starting point for us all!
Everything about today’s world is more complex than it was in the mid-70s, and things like cars, insurance and rent are significantly higher relative to other prices than back then.
I recently talked to someone who visited a place in South Carolina, I believe, & her sons made reservations at a business that's been around for a few years. It's a board‑game café or tabletop game lounge - I don't remember the town, or the name of the place. I believe it suggested reservations, altho on some nights not required? It had large tables for board games, card games, RPGs, etc., & provided lots of games to borrow during the day/evening (it might have only been open in the evening?). I don't know if it charged a per-person for the evening fee, or an hourly rate. I imagine if you lived there it would be wise for the business to sell a season pass or something like that. I don't know about liquor license, or snacks or other drinks offered, but that would certainly be a money maker. Suggestions: host game nights, D&D sessions, tournaments, or meetups
talking about deporting folks, saw this on BBC. Nothing on any US news, altho I don't read as much as many folks do. But I'm gonna take a wild guess & say no left-leaning news is publishing anything about the millions of Afghans who fled to Pakistan & Iran but are now being deported back to Afghanistan. Many have been there for years but are being forced to leave. "In a little under three years, we've seen six million people, a population that is itself the size of a small country, come back to Afghanistan," observes Charlie Goodlake, spokesperson for the UNHCR in Afghanistan. And it's not much of a secret how women & young girls are expected to live in Afghanistan. But in parts of Iran & Pakistan, I believe the expectations for females can be similar.
Needed to create an account to be able to read it… even tho it acknowledges’someone provided an unlocked version” — unfortunately more control freakery 🤦🏻♂️
Relative of Afghans Who Helped U.S. Military Is Deported to Africa
The Trump administration has deported thousands of immigrants to countries where they have no ties. Dozens were on the latest flight, to the Central African Republic.
…. Deporting relatives of Afghans who aided the U.S. military during its 20-year campaign in Afghanistan breaks a longstanding American commitment to protect wartime allies. Thousands of Afghans fled with their families after the Taliban overthrew the U.S.-backed government in Kabul five years ago.
Under the Biden administration, many received special visas or asylum. Immigration judges granted others “withholding of removal,” which allows noncitizens not granted asylum to remain in the United States because they would face grave danger if returned to their country.
9/11 was a small part of it. From 1979, Afghan citizens tried to get out of that country to the closest areas of Iran & Pakistan. Soviet invasion (1979) The first massive refugee wave began when the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Millions fled intense fighting, bombings, and political repression. Pakistan adopted an “open‑door policy,” allowing Afghans to enter.
Iran also accepted large numbers under similar humanitarian policies.
Then, civil war after Soviet withdrawal (1989–1996), Afghanistan collapsed into brutal factional fighting. Kabul was heavily destroyed, and hundreds of thousands more fled to Pakistan.
Taliban rule (1996–2001) caused more to flee — especially minorities and women — due to repression, forced conscription, and harsh social restrictions
And, you mentioned the U.S. invasion and war (2001–2021) due to the attack on US soil. By the end of 2001, Pakistan hosted over 4 million Afghans.
And, uh oh, the return of Taliban (2021)
After the Taliban regained control, Afghans fled again due to fear of reprisals, restrictions on women, collapse of public services, and economic freefall. In the meantime, there is chronic poverty, food insecurity, and natural disasters. Afghanistan has faced decades of drought, earthquakes, poverty, and food shortages, pushing families to seek stability across the border.
They continue fleeing today because the Taliban has not let up on any restrictions, & there's a lack of jobs, etc.
And now Pakistan & Iran are sending millions of those back to Afghanistan.
looking at timelines in my post below & such, seems like the rulers of Afghanistan had more to do w/ the need to flee than other countries' interference, altho that did affect some...
poem:
Home
by Warsan Shire
no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well
your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won't let you stay.
no one leaves home unless home chases you
fire under feet
hot blood in your belly
it's not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilets
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn't be going back.
you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied
no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching
or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough
the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off
or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important
no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
I saw that but I don’t remember where now. Maybe BBC or The Guardian. Were also sending deportees back to Haiti or if not back to their own country, then to poor countries in Africa where they’re being dumped with no passport of any kind, not speaking the language; just being hung out to die. Joyce Vance wrote about little Liam Ramos and his dad who were deported to Mexico(you can find it here on her Substack page). Also, at least two Haitians have committed suicide rather than go back to their bloody country where they will assuredly be killed just as the Afghanis. There is no rhyme or sane reason behind these deportations but that is the whole point. It’s the cruelty.
I’m talking MILLIONS—- I’m not excusing what’s happening here, however I don’t agree with “whataboutism” - MILLIONS - many many women & young females to face the restrictions of the Taliban. That’s what they were trying to escape from.
Some things don't change. If you want companionship and opportunity, it's a pretty safe bet that you are going to have to walk out of your house. You can't do everything online. It's very easy to just reach for your phone, but try taking a walk. Sit down at a cafe and have a coffee. Talk to people. Go to easily affordable places where you can start a conversation--a museum, a zoo, a library (yes, people still use them occasionally), a coffee place, a college campus, a political rally, a religious institution, a conference, or a supermarket. Talk to people. Be curious. Put yourself out there. Don't have any expectations. But it's only logical that if you want connection--whether it's romantic or job-related or spiritual--that you have a better chance if you physically put yourself where those connections are likely to be.
Love your comment. Sadly, many people are afraid to do these simple things you described.
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
A suggestion: pick-up soccer groups (just show up Saturday or Sunday morning, form spontaneous teams, and play. Another: walking/running clubs. These low intensity but active groups work. Riley Rawson.
Rerun this survey in a Muslim community… and I bet the results are more positive and they have a stronger sense of community and family support and social structure….
Why is Gen Z waiting for us to solve their problem? That whole list is something they can figure out themselves.
• 79 percent want more affordable ways to spend time with others.-Talk to others to find options that work for everyone. And here's an idea. Stop doing bachelorette and bachelor parties that cost thousands of dollars from the pockets of the people who are already spending a ton of money on the dresses/tuxedos, hair, makeup etc.
• 77 percent want built-in activities beyond just sitting and talking.- Who is supposed to build these activities for them? This isn't preschool.
• 76 percent want casual, low-pressure atmospheres and quieter, less overwhelming environments. - Like a cafe, coffee house, a blanket in the park, adult clubs like bocce, darts, trivia, group tours? What do you want?
• 54 percent prefer daytime over nighttime activities. - Great. See above.
• And 68 percent want more spontaneous moments to meet people or make friends. - You can't plan spontaneity. Again, see above.
I would think parents can use this information to help guide their own kids and other family members rather than helping them with things like job interviews and setting up dorm rooms for college.
I think parents, schools, and government failed Gen Z by by refusing to adopt guardrails and limits pertaining to screen time and social media manipulation. This is the first generstion to grow up entirely with smart phones and high speed internet. There is no mystery as to why this generation feels more isolated, socially awkward and lonely. My fear is that we may see an accelleration of these problems with with Gen Alpha, especially if we fail to figure out how to control AI before it learns to control us.
also the issue w/ a trophy for everyone & helicopter parents who did everything for the kids, & then for the kids in college & now for the 'kids' searching for jobs. These 'youngsters' have never been left on their own to discover how to fail & get back up.
Funny how what Gen Z wants today is the same thing I wanted as a baby boomer back in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Went on many first dates to the zoo or a walk around the local park or just go for coffee. That happened because we made it happen. I remember a newspaper article featuring a guy who was complaining that he could not meet women. So I wrote the paper and said we are out here, where have you been looking? We ended up going on a date at the zoo. No connection so it didn’t go anywhere, but I took the chance. I miss personal ads in the newspapers, they were a lot more fun than Tinder or Bumble.
I am getting really tired of the later generations whinging about their lives but not doing anything to fix it. No one can make you get off social media. No one can make you get out of the house. No fairy is going to come down and create moments to meet people. As a recently widowed 65-year-old, I have much the same wishes as Gen Z. I could easily stay in my home watching Judge Judy all day. But I don’t. I get outside, look at the people I pass, smile and say hello, talk to cashiers.
Maybe instead of Gen Z complaining about what they want and expecting others to do it for them, it’s time for them to take control of their lives and start living. The fact that more than 30 percent of them stay home to avoid people or emotions is just scary. If you don’t have the ability to deal with people and your emotions, how do you ever expect to move forward? If you just bury them, the issues never go away, they just keep coming back and coming back stronger.
While I have empathy for people trying to go out and meet others outside their comfort zone, but I don’t have much sympathy for people who expect others to solve their problems. Doing that doesn’t help you grow as an adult.
The old adage of ‘if you want a friend, be a friend’ still goes. Put down the electronics! Volunteer somewhere. It’s free and involves people. Check out your local animal shelter. They might could use volunteers to walk their charges. A friend of mine used to go to our shelter with her camera and take pictures of adoptable prospects that were then posted online for the shelter. Like health care or think you do? Visit your local hospital and find out if there are any volunteer jobs that can be done. I was a candy striper in my local hospital years before I ever went back to school to learn to be an X-ray tech. Don’t like patient care? Perhaps there are other opportunities, say in Medical Records? When my son was not old enough to work, he volunteered at our main library reading to the kids after school. When that wasn’t scheduled, he helped return books to the stacks or helped set up various displays that the library had. As soon as he turned 16 and could drive, he was working part time at Chucky Cheese.
It’s really not like these kids are all that special. Think of all the children who were born in the 1920’s only to have their way of life disrupted by the Great Depression and then World War II or having to worry about catching polio. My mother was 20 years old when she got polio in 1940. Think that didn’t disrupt her life?
If nothing else, grab a pair of rubber gloves and a bag and go around the neighborhood picking up trash. That may lead to getting the whole community involved-or not but at least things will be a bit cleaner and you’ve gotten outside and exercised. Look around and find a need.
I love your approach to the statistics about Gen Z. Instead of just rattling them off, you use them as an opportunity to show how we can help. I may not have the entrepreneurial answer, but I can change my interactions with them now that I'm armed with some knowledge and a desire to make a difference, even if just for one Gen Z. Thanks for this, Bill.
Each generation wishes for the way things used to be and fear for how things will be for those that come after. Yet this thought only comes as the sun begins to set on one's life. That's the circle of life.
The kids of today will figure it out. Just like you did and your parents did before and their parents before that.
All you can really do is accept you can't solve the world's problems. But you can be nice to others, return the shopping cart, let that car merge and like ripples in a pond...
“Affordable, low-pressure, built-in activities, daytime, alcohol-optional: That seems like a pretty smart starting point.“
This, 100%. A smart starting point for us all!
Everything about today’s world is more complex than it was in the mid-70s, and things like cars, insurance and rent are significantly higher relative to other prices than back then.
And everything is more mandatory than it used to be
I recently talked to someone who visited a place in South Carolina, I believe, & her sons made reservations at a business that's been around for a few years. It's a board‑game café or tabletop game lounge - I don't remember the town, or the name of the place. I believe it suggested reservations, altho on some nights not required? It had large tables for board games, card games, RPGs, etc., & provided lots of games to borrow during the day/evening (it might have only been open in the evening?). I don't know if it charged a per-person for the evening fee, or an hourly rate. I imagine if you lived there it would be wise for the business to sell a season pass or something like that. I don't know about liquor license, or snacks or other drinks offered, but that would certainly be a money maker. Suggestions: host game nights, D&D sessions, tournaments, or meetups
talking about deporting folks, saw this on BBC. Nothing on any US news, altho I don't read as much as many folks do. But I'm gonna take a wild guess & say no left-leaning news is publishing anything about the millions of Afghans who fled to Pakistan & Iran but are now being deported back to Afghanistan. Many have been there for years but are being forced to leave. "In a little under three years, we've seen six million people, a population that is itself the size of a small country, come back to Afghanistan," observes Charlie Goodlake, spokesperson for the UNHCR in Afghanistan. And it's not much of a secret how women & young girls are expected to live in Afghanistan. But in parts of Iran & Pakistan, I believe the expectations for females can be similar.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e074nn8eko?at_campaign_type=owned&at_medium=emails&at_objective=awareness&at_ptr_type=email&at_ptr_name=salesforce&at_campaign=newsbriefing&at_link_origin=newsbriefing&at_email_send_date=20260901&at_send_id=4666497&at_link_title=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bbc.com%2fnews%2farticles%2fc2e074nn8eko&at_bbc_team=crm&at_audience_id=255864356
The NYT regularly covers this topic. Here is the last one that popped into my head today. Here is a gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/us/afghans-deported-us-central-african-republic.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-VA.LmjB.zutEfJgTGGJ-&smid=nytcore-ios-share
Needed to create an account to be able to read it… even tho it acknowledges’someone provided an unlocked version” — unfortunately more control freakery 🤦🏻♂️
Here is the headline and gist of the article:
Relative of Afghans Who Helped U.S. Military Is Deported to Africa
The Trump administration has deported thousands of immigrants to countries where they have no ties. Dozens were on the latest flight, to the Central African Republic.
…. Deporting relatives of Afghans who aided the U.S. military during its 20-year campaign in Afghanistan breaks a longstanding American commitment to protect wartime allies. Thousands of Afghans fled with their families after the Taliban overthrew the U.S.-backed government in Kabul five years ago.
Under the Biden administration, many received special visas or asylum. Immigration judges granted others “withholding of removal,” which allows noncitizens not granted asylum to remain in the United States because they would face grave danger if returned to their country.
I don't think that article sounds like it touches on what Iran & Pakistan is doing to those people who are being forced to return to Afghanistan.
Don’t you think USA and Russia have done much to create that situation ??
? makes me wonder why the millions, years ago, not recently, chose to leave & go to Iran (of all places!) & Pakistan.
Because the USA were bombing their homes
9/11 was a small part of it. From 1979, Afghan citizens tried to get out of that country to the closest areas of Iran & Pakistan. Soviet invasion (1979) The first massive refugee wave began when the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Millions fled intense fighting, bombings, and political repression. Pakistan adopted an “open‑door policy,” allowing Afghans to enter.
Iran also accepted large numbers under similar humanitarian policies.
Then, civil war after Soviet withdrawal (1989–1996), Afghanistan collapsed into brutal factional fighting. Kabul was heavily destroyed, and hundreds of thousands more fled to Pakistan.
Taliban rule (1996–2001) caused more to flee — especially minorities and women — due to repression, forced conscription, and harsh social restrictions
And, you mentioned the U.S. invasion and war (2001–2021) due to the attack on US soil. By the end of 2001, Pakistan hosted over 4 million Afghans.
And, uh oh, the return of Taliban (2021)
After the Taliban regained control, Afghans fled again due to fear of reprisals, restrictions on women, collapse of public services, and economic freefall. In the meantime, there is chronic poverty, food insecurity, and natural disasters. Afghanistan has faced decades of drought, earthquakes, poverty, and food shortages, pushing families to seek stability across the border.
They continue fleeing today because the Taliban has not let up on any restrictions, & there's a lack of jobs, etc.
And now Pakistan & Iran are sending millions of those back to Afghanistan.
looking at timelines in my post below & such, seems like the rulers of Afghanistan had more to do w/ the need to flee than other countries' interference, altho that did affect some...
poem:
Home
by Warsan Shire
no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well
your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won't let you stay.
no one leaves home unless home chases you
fire under feet
hot blood in your belly
it's not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilets
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn't be going back.
you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied
no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching
or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough
the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off
or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important
no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
i dont know what i've become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here
I saw that but I don’t remember where now. Maybe BBC or The Guardian. Were also sending deportees back to Haiti or if not back to their own country, then to poor countries in Africa where they’re being dumped with no passport of any kind, not speaking the language; just being hung out to die. Joyce Vance wrote about little Liam Ramos and his dad who were deported to Mexico(you can find it here on her Substack page). Also, at least two Haitians have committed suicide rather than go back to their bloody country where they will assuredly be killed just as the Afghanis. There is no rhyme or sane reason behind these deportations but that is the whole point. It’s the cruelty.
I’m talking MILLIONS—- I’m not excusing what’s happening here, however I don’t agree with “whataboutism” - MILLIONS - many many women & young females to face the restrictions of the Taliban. That’s what they were trying to escape from.
Get Bari Weis on this pronto!
Do you really believe the situation is caused by Taliban ? And it is not completely intertwined with the war actions of Russia and USA ??
look at the timeline
Some things don't change. If you want companionship and opportunity, it's a pretty safe bet that you are going to have to walk out of your house. You can't do everything online. It's very easy to just reach for your phone, but try taking a walk. Sit down at a cafe and have a coffee. Talk to people. Go to easily affordable places where you can start a conversation--a museum, a zoo, a library (yes, people still use them occasionally), a coffee place, a college campus, a political rally, a religious institution, a conference, or a supermarket. Talk to people. Be curious. Put yourself out there. Don't have any expectations. But it's only logical that if you want connection--whether it's romantic or job-related or spiritual--that you have a better chance if you physically put yourself where those connections are likely to be.
Love your comment. Sadly, many people are afraid to do these simple things you described.
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
A suggestion: pick-up soccer groups (just show up Saturday or Sunday morning, form spontaneous teams, and play. Another: walking/running clubs. These low intensity but active groups work. Riley Rawson.
Rerun this survey in a Muslim community… and I bet the results are more positive and they have a stronger sense of community and family support and social structure….
Why is Gen Z waiting for us to solve their problem? That whole list is something they can figure out themselves.
• 79 percent want more affordable ways to spend time with others.-Talk to others to find options that work for everyone. And here's an idea. Stop doing bachelorette and bachelor parties that cost thousands of dollars from the pockets of the people who are already spending a ton of money on the dresses/tuxedos, hair, makeup etc.
• 77 percent want built-in activities beyond just sitting and talking.- Who is supposed to build these activities for them? This isn't preschool.
• 76 percent want casual, low-pressure atmospheres and quieter, less overwhelming environments. - Like a cafe, coffee house, a blanket in the park, adult clubs like bocce, darts, trivia, group tours? What do you want?
• 54 percent prefer daytime over nighttime activities. - Great. See above.
• And 68 percent want more spontaneous moments to meet people or make friends. - You can't plan spontaneity. Again, see above.
I would think parents can use this information to help guide their own kids and other family members rather than helping them with things like job interviews and setting up dorm rooms for college.
The eldest of that cohort are almost 30 years old, can’t always put the burden on the parents to fix the kids’ lives.
And how old are the youngest? The parents already had their chance and apparently missed the mark.
I think parents, schools, and government failed Gen Z by by refusing to adopt guardrails and limits pertaining to screen time and social media manipulation. This is the first generstion to grow up entirely with smart phones and high speed internet. There is no mystery as to why this generation feels more isolated, socially awkward and lonely. My fear is that we may see an accelleration of these problems with with Gen Alpha, especially if we fail to figure out how to control AI before it learns to control us.
I agree. Never had to deal with emotions as a kid and don’t know what to do with them as an adult
also the issue w/ a trophy for everyone & helicopter parents who did everything for the kids, & then for the kids in college & now for the 'kids' searching for jobs. These 'youngsters' have never been left on their own to discover how to fail & get back up.
Re "The United States Mint began selling a $1 gold coin emblazoned with President Trump’s face...."
Must be an incredibly small coin to be gold and have a $1 face value - or have I misunderstood??
Like everything trump, it is fake.
Funny how what Gen Z wants today is the same thing I wanted as a baby boomer back in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Went on many first dates to the zoo or a walk around the local park or just go for coffee. That happened because we made it happen. I remember a newspaper article featuring a guy who was complaining that he could not meet women. So I wrote the paper and said we are out here, where have you been looking? We ended up going on a date at the zoo. No connection so it didn’t go anywhere, but I took the chance. I miss personal ads in the newspapers, they were a lot more fun than Tinder or Bumble.
I am getting really tired of the later generations whinging about their lives but not doing anything to fix it. No one can make you get off social media. No one can make you get out of the house. No fairy is going to come down and create moments to meet people. As a recently widowed 65-year-old, I have much the same wishes as Gen Z. I could easily stay in my home watching Judge Judy all day. But I don’t. I get outside, look at the people I pass, smile and say hello, talk to cashiers.
Maybe instead of Gen Z complaining about what they want and expecting others to do it for them, it’s time for them to take control of their lives and start living. The fact that more than 30 percent of them stay home to avoid people or emotions is just scary. If you don’t have the ability to deal with people and your emotions, how do you ever expect to move forward? If you just bury them, the issues never go away, they just keep coming back and coming back stronger.
While I have empathy for people trying to go out and meet others outside their comfort zone, but I don’t have much sympathy for people who expect others to solve their problems. Doing that doesn’t help you grow as an adult.
The old adage of ‘if you want a friend, be a friend’ still goes. Put down the electronics! Volunteer somewhere. It’s free and involves people. Check out your local animal shelter. They might could use volunteers to walk their charges. A friend of mine used to go to our shelter with her camera and take pictures of adoptable prospects that were then posted online for the shelter. Like health care or think you do? Visit your local hospital and find out if there are any volunteer jobs that can be done. I was a candy striper in my local hospital years before I ever went back to school to learn to be an X-ray tech. Don’t like patient care? Perhaps there are other opportunities, say in Medical Records? When my son was not old enough to work, he volunteered at our main library reading to the kids after school. When that wasn’t scheduled, he helped return books to the stacks or helped set up various displays that the library had. As soon as he turned 16 and could drive, he was working part time at Chucky Cheese.
It’s really not like these kids are all that special. Think of all the children who were born in the 1920’s only to have their way of life disrupted by the Great Depression and then World War II or having to worry about catching polio. My mother was 20 years old when she got polio in 1940. Think that didn’t disrupt her life?
If nothing else, grab a pair of rubber gloves and a bag and go around the neighborhood picking up trash. That may lead to getting the whole community involved-or not but at least things will be a bit cleaner and you’ve gotten outside and exercised. Look around and find a need.