I am tired; and other famous Millenial quotes

First world problem alert: lately, I’ve been feeling constantly exhausted, barely able to finish basic tasks without getting distracted by my phone. And when I think about everything my parents were doing at my age—raising kids, holding down full-time jobs, running households—I spiral. I feel useless. The guilt is paralyzing. It’s a vicious cycle.

And it’s not just me. A lot of my friends say they’re in the same boat. So, what’s going on with us?
Why are millennials so tired?
Are we the burnout generation that didn’t even make it to work before checking out?

We live in a world flooded with “how-to” content—yoga flows, DIY skincare routines, productivity hacks, organic meal preps, travel reels, mental health tips, and footage from someone’s fifth vacation this year. No matter what you’re doing, someone online is doing more. Better. Louder. And somehow with better lighting.

Get 8 hours of sleep? Great—but now you’re boring for staying in on a Friday.
Go out and have fun? Cool—except your marathon-running friend just woke up at 5 a.m. to train for their second Ironman while you nursed a hangover.

This is what the internet calls FOMO. But it’s more than fear—it’s pressure. The pressure to never miss out, never fall behind, never be “just okay.” It’s exhausting. It chips away at your self-worth and makes you feel like you’re constantly underperforming at… life.

Something I’ve noticed among my fellow exhausted millennials is this constant tug-of-war between conflicting priorities. We want to do everything, all at once:
Get 8 hours of sleep.
Have a booming social life.
Start a business.
Hold down a stable job.
Get married, but don’t settle.
Travel the world, but also save money.
Have kids by 30, but also live your life.

It’s… a lot.

And here’s the trap: there are still only 24 hours in a day. Sure, some people out there seem to be managing it all—career, wellness, creativity, activism, socializing, side hustles. But most of us are just trying to survive the week without rage-quitting our jobs or crying in the office bathroom.

This illusion that we can—and should—“do it all” is draining. And it’s isolating. Because the more we chase perfection, the more we disconnect from what we actually need.

FOMO and the constant pressure to perform have become a kind of silent epidemic. They wear us down, bit by bit. But while this might sound like a rant against social media, the truth is: the power still lies with us.

Yes, algorithms are addictive. Yes, the scroll is endless. But we still get to choose how (and how much) we consume. We can discipline our media habits. We can stop measuring our lives against perfectly curated highlight reels. We can say no to content that leaves us feeling like we’re not enough.

And maybe, just maybe, we can start tuning out the noise and tuning into ourselves.

Because honestly? Even Netflix is wondering if I’m still watching.
It’s probably time to turn it off and go take a nap.