The Rise of Play Among Youth Culture
grownkid.substack.com · 1,169 words · saved by 1 readers
Young people are growing tired of doomerism, edgelords, and nonchalance, and now, a new counterculture is taking shape: the rise of playfulness.
2018-2019 brought the youth mental health crisis into the mainstream and gave rise to parasocial creator-to-fan relationships as vulnerable content gained popularity. In 2020-2023, friendship-centered creators and power-duo podcast hosts owned the internet. In 2024-2025, as a response to the U.S. Surgeon General ringing the alarm on the loneliness epidemic the year prior, third spaces and niche gatherings popped up everywhere. In 2025, niche social clubs, members-only spaces, and URL-to-IRL experiences became all the buzz. And right now, another shift is underway - this time, it's play. In…
related reading
- Life After Lifestylesubpixel.space
- Advice to Young People, The Lies I Tell Myself - Jason Liujxnl.co
- Advice to Young People, The Lies I Tell Myself - Jason Liujxnl.github.io
- youth is not forevermindmine.substack.com
- Live in the future, build what's missing.boxx.substack.com
- Play to Win: A Post-Work Societyjzhao.xyz
- Three creative tides to care about nowkneeslapper.substack.com
- digital playgroundsspencerchang.substack.com
- a gen z guide to fixing your doom-pilled brainstephstiner.substack.com
- Alysa Liu rewiring your neural pathways for 4 minutes straightyoutube.com
- youth is not forever - Isabel Unraveledmindmine.substack.com
- A history of kidults, from Hello Kitty to Disney weddingsaeon.co