How Millennials Are Showing Signs of Decline

The life habits of Millennials and their new place in capitalism is showing some alarming signs. There is now evidence Millennials will have a decreased life expectancy as compared with GenX and Boomers.

American millennials are seeing their physical and mental health decline at a faster rate than Gen X did as they age, according to a new Blue Cross Blue Shield report. In healthcare we refer to this as "deaths of despair" and technological loneliness (disconnection) and financial burdens ("distress") are on the rise.

Thanks to an apps, binging and empty online dating culture, Millennials are going solo more often in life and housing, and it appears to be taking a toll on their social-emotional health and relationships that takes a toll on their sleep, wallets and even their life-expectancy rates.

While GenZ don't have the same access to credit cards, many Millennial are mired in debt with the student loan crisis and sky-rocketing costs of housing in the most expensive cities in North America where the good jobs are. Getting married later also has an economic cost of being single until otherwise, and having fewer long-term relationships.

Nowhere is the connection between health, lifestyle, money and digital consumption as apparent as with Millennials and their outcomes. We think of "technology" and digital transformation benefiting us as consumers with more convenience, but it's now clear social media has had a toxic impact on the quality of life of millions of Millennials.

Millennials are facing unprecedented face-to-face isolation as compared with previous generations. We still don't fully understand the health dangers of this. Millennials are likely to see in the area of a 40% uptick in mortality compared to GenX of the same age. Millennials appear to have a "mental health" vulnerability that without proper management leads to more deaths related to despair, depression and the social cost of excessive individualism and ruthless capitalism.

The financial burdens placed on Millennials are impacting their mental health in ways wealth inequality in Capitalism hasn't yet fully understood. The student loan crisis doesn't just impact the career and life prospects of Millennials, it impacts their life expectancy directly though accumulative conditions. Many Millennials it turns out today, cannot even afford adequate health care in the United States.

What does that say when our professionals in their prime working years are struggling to meet their basic needs? What does it say about Capitalism today?

American millennials aren’t exactly the picture of health. Many of them underestimate the impact of technology on their mental health, sleep hygiene and how financial stress (and distress) can be impacting their health in the 2nd half of their lives. It's been a long time since life expectancy actually has declined in North America.

As a futurist, studies like this concern me when I'm looking at the big picture through a sociological lens. One-third of millennials have a health condition that will lower their life expectancy and quality of life, according to a recent study from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Index.

Millennials came of age in the great recession of 2008, and many are not prepared for the next global recession, nevermind retirement, the financial pressure of starting a family and the dissolution of the nuclear family. Millennials have had to negotiate a more cut-throat capitalism where individualism has further deteriorated their mental health. We've also realized being hyper-educated doesn't always translate to stable career paths and steady incomes.

In terms of health outcomes, disability caused by illness of despair and a lack of social connecting compared to other generations, Millennials face a rising tide of technological loneliness with a vulnerability that other generations did not have to contend with. However, what happens when mental health issues compound with age and other health risks?

Key findings

The researchers identified the top 10 major health conditions affecting millennials, which include:

• Alcohol use disorder;
• Crohn's disease/ulcerative colitis;
• Diabetes (Type II);
• High cholesterol;
• Hyperactivity;
• Hypertension;
• Major depression;
• Psychotic conditions;
• Substance use disorder; and
• Tobacco use disorder.

Many Millennials have higher debt to income ratios, less financial literacy and a more volatile career path in general as compared to GenX and Boomers. Less Millennials in their 20s experience a "Middle Class" lifestyle than previous generations. Less money mostly always leads to poorer health outcomes. More drastic individualism will have real impacts on healthcare costs and ballooning healthcare costs of the entire system. This is exasperated by increases in seniors in all Western societies and even China.

Getting out of debt, saving for the future, and preparing for unexpected emergencies should be a priority no matter your age or income, but what happens when you give up? What happens to your mental health when you lose hope? Deaths of despair, technological loneliness, the opioid crisis, spiraling wealth inequality, and serious debt are all elements of poorer conditions in American capitalism impacting many Millennials.

The oldest Millennials are only in their mid-30s, but studies like this one are already indicating they suffer more vulnerability to these top 10 causes of illness among Millennials. With a certain segment of American healthcare profiting from "unwellness", Millennials will be lucrative clients. With current projections, millennials could end up shelling out a third more in treatment costs than Gen-Xers of the same age! That's shocking but also highly profitable for Big Pharma and BigTech getting into healthcare.

Stagnant wage gains mean a special place in Hell for Millennials in the 2nd half of their lives.

According to Business Insider, In 1960, the average annual health-insurance cost per person was $146 — in 2016, it hit $10,345. When adjusted for inflation, that's a ninefold increase. Costs are expected to further increase to $14,944 in 2023. The ballooning costs of healthcare and health-insurance means American Millennials and their declining health are facing nightmare like scenarios of disability and potentially poverty.

In Capitalism as it is today with accelerating wealth inequality, if many American millennials are in dire straits financially today, one can only imagine how this generation will experience their midlife and old age. What will be the cost of the financial stress we put our young people through in today's version of capitalism?

It's easy to blame low income for bad financial habits and even poor dietary habits, but what happens when the scale of the dysfunction of Millennials in an unfair capitalism hits healthcare costs? It's going to be very difficult on a system with already trillions in national debt. GenZ are going to be reluctant to foot the bill. Even as they frame an "OK Boomers" movement that pits the older generation as being bad citizens for the planet.

Millennials won't just have to contend with economic and monetary uncertainty, but a fastly deteriorating health condition related to a myriad of factors. As professionals its less taboo and there is slightly less stigma to talk about disability, mental health, and chronic conditions, but it's going to become an even bigger issue.