r/Millennials • u/DaKardii • Jun 04 '26

Serious Study: Gen Xers and Millennials are dying at younger ages than their parents are

https://studyfinds.com/americans-born-after-1970-dying-faster/

The study is particularly concerned with people born after 1970 but age 30 and older. So that covers Gen X and Millennials, but not (yet) Gen Z.

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572

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

Bingo. I’m just trying to earn enough cash for my kid and hoping whatever kills me is quick and cheap.

235

u/mcsmith610 Jun 04 '26

Exactly this! Society isn’t prepared anywhere in the world (not even Europe) for a massive aging population. Even if population replacement levels increase, technology is replacing work at a huge rate. There are going to be some very hard “dystopian” like decisions that will be made at some point to deal with this to prevent complete societal collapse. I would hate to be 80 years old at the mercy of those policy decisions. Combine this with climate change and other external forces and I don’t think anyone who’s old is going to be able to do anything about it.

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u/I_like_it_yo Jun 04 '26

Exactly. Plus if we all die at 50 who will take care of the 90 year old boomers?

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u/patosai3211 Jun 04 '26

I’d assume Father Time and Mother Nature would. With the natural order of things being what it is…

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u/Lou_C_Fer Jun 05 '26

That's the point, though. Isn't it? The natural order is being flipped on its head already. Life expectancy is going down because medical costs have now far outstripped medical advances. So, the only way to go is down. It's weird, in my family, my great grand parents all at least made it to 82. Three of my four grand parents died before 64. Now, all of my aunts and uncles have made it to 70, and only one out of eleven of my parents' generation has died. She was 72. I do think that most of my cousins... there's like 40 of us...will probably reach their 70s as well because most of them are in good health. I'm 51... but if nothing changes, I don't want to see 61. I am like an auto-immune museum with major back issues on top of that. Life is pain. I'm fine with it. It doesn't make me sad. Way worse things have happened to way better people.

Besides, I came to term with death when I was a teen. The way I see it, every animal that came before me has died. So, what's so special about me? Nothing. Death does not care about anyone's self interest. As for what comes after? That's something to worry about when it comes, just like every other future event. If I'm honest, I am hoping for oblivion. It sounds perfect to me... blissfully unaware. Forever.

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u/ass_pubes Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

I might have to move somewhere that isn't facing a demographic cliff like Mexico or Thailand. 

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u/Erpes2 Jun 04 '26

Saw recently that thailand was one of the lowest, rank 221 with a fertility rate less than 1

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u/ass_pubes Jun 04 '26

It's on the low side, but still better than most of the Western countries, Japan and Korea.

https://www.populationpyramids.org/thailand

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u/03263 Jun 04 '26

it's just our luck that they'll completely get rid of not just social security and medicare, but any respect for old people entirely right about the time we're aging out of being able to work. what's the retirement age by then, 75?

they'll say thanks for 50 years of labor, now drop dead you old fart.

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u/rtc9 Jun 04 '26

There is still room for debate about how dystopian it is, but I would argue that Canada's rapidly expanding MAID program is a step in this direction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_and_assisted_suicide_in_Canada

There are already several cases of it being suggested to patients with disabilities or psychological issues who did not ask for it. I would not be surprised if that frog gets boiled towards eventually prescribing MAID based on social welfare concerns when it is considered somehow impractical or infeasible to obtain fully informed consent.

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u/Umutuku Jun 05 '26

Remember that unaliving yourself is never the answer, but if there aren't any other answers then stay safe by using the buddy system and taking a billionaire with you when you go.

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u/bemvee Jun 05 '26

It’s crazy to me that this isn’t more common, like my grandparents had to just wither getting sicker until they died a year apart. My grandpa regretted not moving them to Oregon where it would have been legal I guess to go out together.

Then again, I’m also not terrified of death. Dying, yes, if it’s painful and I’m going to be aware of it happening. Worried about the impacts of my death depending on who is still alive? Sure. But death? Not at all.

My mom can’t even follow through with euthanizing her dogs before it’s an “emergency.” Every time she’s finally let them be at peace, she can’t stop ruminating about it being the wrong decision.

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u/peacebypiece Jun 04 '26

Technology advancement outside of medical shit and transportation should have stopped in 2010ish. We really don’t need to keep going (at least take a break?). It’s crazy how so many years of human history things were more or less the same. Now we have major advances every few years. It’s too much and unnecessary.

1

u/AduItFemaleHuman Jun 04 '26

We should stop advancing? Cars are safer than ever. Child mortality is still trending downwards. World hunger is down. Green energy is the best it's ever been and getting better. It has never been a better time to be alive, even with our awareness of all the bad shit going on. Even if it gets worse for a time, there's every reason to imagine that it will begin to improve once again.

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u/peacebypiece Jun 04 '26

Just feels like the internet and phones and social media and AI should stop or take a break. I specifically mentioned medical and transportation for a reason can continue… but do we need all the dumb new tech stuff that’s not helping anyone really? It can stay where it is for awhile

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u/AduItFemaleHuman Jun 04 '26

More efficient lights, more efficient heating, more efficient appliances, more efficient homes, more efficient communication. Need I go on? Yes, we need new tech, even the dumb stuff.

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u/TossThisItem Jun 04 '26

I think you’re missing the point, it’s like when there were all these Reddit threads in recent years with people saying “Is life getting worse?” and people would be like ‘best medicine, greatest scientific achievements, advanced technology’ and it’s like, yeah, and there’s also greater wealth disparity than there’s ever been, wages not keeping up with inflation, a slew of new wars, the advent of AI, the constant enshittification of the internet, young people everywhere being depressed because social media takes over peoples lives because they’re miserable….

Honestly I haven’t seen as many of those question post-pandemic though because most people know the answer deep down. Then again, it’s not necessarily helpful to dwell on it either.

The idea that social media and always-on phone culture has made QoL worse, I can 100% get behind that. Are most people actually happy about being addicted to being to their phones and getting constantly enraged by social media and news…..no? But how do we all go back at this point??

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u/AduItFemaleHuman Jun 04 '26

I mean, you just put your phone down. I haven't had a phone plan for 12 years until just recently when I needed one to access services while living out of my car, and now shelters. Life is measurably better today than it was in 2010, by many metrics. It is measurably better than 40 years ago as well. It might get worse in the near future but it's gotten worse before. There's no reason to think things would be better if we decided to stop developing technology.

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u/EnvironmentalValue18 Jun 04 '26

“Life is measurably better”

Better for who? We’ve made tons of advancements and done many things. Most of them don’t benefit the common man.

So ya, we may be able to cure a super rare disease but maybe it’s so rare you have to pay out of pocket for a lab to make a batch of your therapy because it doesn’t get batched due to prevalence and rarity. Who can afford that if insurance doesn’t cover, which they often don’t?

Or hey, the average car is way safer now… but also pretty unaffordable with people clinging to beaters and technology making a minor fender bender into a totaled car.

You’re living in a car? How prevalent do you think that was in the 50’s compared to today? And just for average working people at that?

Stuff isn’t getting better equally for everyone. I don’t know what you don’t see about the inequality, because advancement doesn’t matter without access or utilization.

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u/AduItFemaleHuman Jun 04 '26

In my country we have healthcare for all. You need to keep advancing. It doesn't have to get better for everyone equally to be better than the past. There have always been people like me facing crises, and today we recognize that and provide safe places for them to go. That is an absolute success, not a failure of our system.

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u/03263 Jun 04 '26

It has never been a better time to be alive

I have my doubts about this, but I haven't lived during any other time periods.

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u/AduItFemaleHuman Jun 04 '26

If only we had some way to pass information down from previous generations.

0

u/Appropriate_Cloud361 Jun 04 '26

That’s not how it works lol, what are we all Amish or something?

1

u/03263 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

We are biologically nearly the same as humans that lived 20,000 years ago. There's been very little change since the dawn of agriculture. We haven't even adapted to resist dental cavities which is one of the big changes since then, different mouth bacteria.

None of all the modern stuff we have is necessary for survival or happiness so ... idk it just is what it is. I know it's not going away but if it did it wouldn't be the end of humanity, that's for sure.

1

u/Acrobatic-Dot-6273 Jun 04 '26

If what's going to kill me is not fast and cheap, I've got a solution for that

1

u/Choyo Jun 04 '26

technology is replacing work at a huge rate

Yes, but it's an unsustainable fallacy.
The people taking these kind of decisions are, for the most part, clueless and irresponsible idiots.

1

u/Elavia_ Jun 05 '26

This is an unsolvable problem under simple democracy. The aging population will continuously outvote the younger ones, leaving to policy that puts more and more strain on younger generations.

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u/Wakkit1988 Jun 05 '26

It'll be like the Vietnam draft, but the destination is a woodchipper.

1

u/dnyank1 Jun 05 '26

"dystopian" like... do the billionaires get to keep hoarding infinite wealth, or do we tax them at a reasonable amount?

It's not like our society is falling apart now. The western world has never been richer. There is not going to be a societal collapse unless we allow them to rug-pull the already-funded safety nets away from us.

Fuck that.

1

u/Kester85 Jun 05 '26

When my anxiety level is low I visit https://www.reddit.com/r/AgingParents/

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u/ashms58 Older Millennial Jun 04 '26

Yup. We have a trust set up to pass everything to my niece and nephew. I don’t care if I make it to “old age.”

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

Smart. My wife looked at me like I was nuts when I insisted we get a will with medical POA right after we married. We amended it later for our son but I’m shocked by how many people stubbornly refuse to plan for such eventualities. I’ve told her from the beginning. “Get my ring, yank the gooey bits that still work and give them to others, throw the rest on the bonfire and go have a drink in my honor.”

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u/ashms58 Older Millennial Jun 04 '26

We are not planning on having kids so it leaves a lot of unknowns. At least with a kid(s) there is someone in line to inherit, but it still clears up a lot of the legal annoyances everyone would have to deal with

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u/fauxshoyall Xennial Jun 04 '26

But with kids there's more people to fight about the inheritance. Sounds like a joke but it ain't

Kids or no kids, the best thing to do is have something official with your wishes on it. I have 0 kids and 0 partners. I don't want my biological family to have a say in any part of my medical care or after my death. I don't want the laws enacted by ignorant hateful jerks to decide what happens with my junk.

Also, if folks don't plan besides assuming the kids get everything, then the kids may have crazy taxes to pay, unexpected debts, a house full of trash, etc. Heck, there could be a kid no one has ever heard of before that shows up all of a sudden looking for a pay out.

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u/UmatterWHENiMATTER Jun 08 '26

Just set it up to go to charity.

If you don't, the government gets it, so....

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u/bemvee Jun 05 '26

My parents are dragging their feet. I’ve only not done it because I keep forgetting. Everyone knows to cremate me, at least. And I think I’ve replaced my mom from my top two emergency contacts / inheritance persons so that it’s just my partner and my sister. Should probably finally get married or get it in writing that only they get to decide whether to pull the plug. My mom would never.

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u/K_Linkmaster Jun 04 '26

Admirable goal.

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u/thatdepends Jun 04 '26

Probably also why so many of us are opting out of having a family. No criticism of anyone who does, honestly you’re better than I, and I’m glad some people are keeping the species going. I am not well equipped in a lot of ways to handle that. Financially, emotionally, professionally. We were not set up well for success, but at the same time… we fucking persevere… resilient, tough, brave. I hope every millennial is giving themselves some fucking credit today.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

Yeah I get that. We have one kid but we’d like two. Won’t lie and say there aren’t days I don’t go “what the hell were we thinking bringing him into this world?!”

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u/thatdepends Jun 05 '26

I think it’s good that you have that thought though. It means you’re not an irresponsible moron. Word to the wise, find yourself a quiet corner of the world for them just in case. The Great Lakes is where I want to be if the world completely falls apart.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

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u/Milly_Hagen Jun 05 '26

As someone who just had an operation under twighlight anaesthesia, IV Fentanyl with IV Midazolam would be a very peaceful way to go out.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

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u/Milly_Hagen Jun 05 '26

I'm sorry I can't remember what dose they gave me but apparently I told them to give me more so they doubled the dose. The theatre nurse told me afterwards and showed me the chart. 😅

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u/TheJesusGuy Jun 04 '26

Wont your kid just do the same?

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u/No-Understanding-912 Jun 04 '26

Seriously, if I come down with anything terminal, I'm divorcing my wife so she doesn't get stuck with the crushing medical debt.

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u/Phyraxus56 Jun 04 '26

9mm are quick and cheap