Ep. 267 - The Field Day Episode [VIDEO]

I'm late but I will say this about the Gen Z shit, we are getting dumber, the amount of people I would see with chatgpt installed on their cellphones who sit in classes in highschool and just use AI for everything and can barely read is awful. Ludwig said that Gen Z is more confident too, and Aiden is right that we really aren't.

Gen Alpha is the generation yall are talking about btw, zoomers are entering or out of college lol

I graduated class of 26' (Covid during 7th thru 8th grade) and the last two years of high school I did online school. The reason I did this was because I had horrible anxiety and I genuinely had like 30 percents in some of my classes when I was going. I didn't know what to do with my life or if I even had a future. I started college a month ago and it really changed how I see school because it is just easier than high school. I work hard in college and so do my peers I don't really see anyone just flat out not trying or using ai for every assignment or anything like that. I think that the future is bright if the AI doesn't kill us all before we get there.

Gen zs revolution will actually look like a big party !

We had a girl at work who didn't know quarters were 25 cents. She just kept passing out a bunch of dimes for change for like 3 months.

Graduated high school in 2022, covid for sure ruined any desire I had to learn in a school environment, I was a B+, A- student but after distance learning I just coasted and played games in class, and once we got back into school I would consistently zone out during class and lost any love I had for learning, at least in a school setting.

I'm an "elder" millennial and have a gen zer working for me and i have, in fact, put him on a forklift. He's brilliant! For reference, this is in a pretty small community (think 5000ish people in most towns and no cities over 200k), in BC. So far my experience employing Gen Z has been positive and I won't be swayed by media pushing generational divides because I'm sick to shit of still hearing about avocado toast this far removed from 2008, and I'm sure he's tired of hearing that Gen Z is useless and unemployable. I do think that city kids are going to be way more screwed than any kid that lives in the sticks and still gets booted outside to go play with their friends or get pushed to get a hobby because there's not much else to do out here

So instead of con/non-con we have Beast/NonBeast fanfic, 2026 is so interesting

as a child of a european chainsmoker i’ve had nightmares abt those weird images

as a tux specialist lud calling out the lapel types is so fire hell yeah

Class of 2020 and we didn’t even have prom

what a great LS ep at the end

Aiden is absolutely right. I am an older student that graduated pre-covid, and I recently went back to community college. Some of these kids who missed high school/middle school because of covid are really not doing well. They can't form independent clauses. They can't write basic sentences or speak or make eye contact. They scroll tiktok in class during lectures and tests. They use AI to write their "introduce yourself to the class" posts. I was in denial about it for a long time but after having group discussions with them I can say I am genuinely worried about our future. I know it's not their fault, schools in the area are criminally underfunded, but it's really sad to see.

As an elementary school teacher(I’ve taught since 2020). The future will be okay. Gen Alpha is alright. There will be some dumb iPad kid adults, but it’s the same as the dumb TV kids. It’ll all work out in the end

You guys should do a whole podcast in front of a green screen with the normal set as the background and then right at the end you knock the green screen down and you’re in a parking lot or something. Just to send some of the viewers into a schizophrenic episode.

As an educator, the convo around education in America was like tick damage

there is definitely some truth to the fear of losing necessary professionals like doctors. I'm 22 and I'm an accountant studying to become a CPA, cause most the US CPAs are old as shit and gonna retire in like 10 years. I definitely fear that we will lose a lot of necessary professionals, but doctors are probably safe cause medical is such a big industry and people like money

Attending school post-COVID really showed how much intra-generational knowledge got lost with just ~two classes graduating online. American HS culture might recover, but those hand-offs from year to year of tradition and responsibility were severed entirely for a good two years. When I returned to class, I remember talking with my peers how we were all Seniors now with the associated responsibilities they had always had, but still felt like sophomores. College is even worse, IMO. Just graduated class of 26, and the AI use is rampant just to get the day by faster. Part of it's the anti-education wave in the 2000s and 2010s, part of it is the timeless affinity for an easier way out (as Nick mentioned with Chegg). I think the biggest thing is young adults and kids not fully understanding the lasting effects tasks have on neuroplasticity and learning, and how learning *itself* is a skill requiring constant work to better yourself, else everything remains hard first try. Convenience is probably the most prolific drug at this point, where the easy way to a 'good enough' result gets passed along without mind for larger consequences down the road. My biggest concern is when this mindset remains unchecked later in life, and now we have working professionals who genuinely don't care. They're either cushioned from consequence by support systems already straining from post-COVID apathy, or mistakes and negligence pile up until a catastrophe mounts and regulation is forced to catch up. My hope is that disdain grows for the ever-present corporate push for these corner cutting measures, and that the next generation wakes up to the massive psy op that is hustle culture. Social media has permeated this concern with perfection that's unprecedented, to where people would rather slop out a 'finished' product than ideate and scrap a WIP project for something better. I still talk to friends and artists today that understand the harm this mentality can cause, and it gives me faith in a tomorrow better than the barrel staring us down yesterday. Not a lot, but some.

Putting anyone else on game for buying their first suit on the cheap since I finally bought and tailored one. Normally, I think most people would recommend you go made to measure from like Suit Supply or Spier and Mckay if you can afford it. But I ended up just getting a decently fitted one from Nordstrom Rack for like $200. I got measured at a Men's Wearhouse so I had a vague idea of what to look for off the rack. Normally they are supposed to have an in-house tailor but mine didn't so I got mine tailored at the flagship Nordstrom near me for like an additional $100. If you live near a rich area, you can try thrifting for like a nice Italian one (Zegna, Canali, Giorgio Armani) but I live in Utah so all the suits in thrift stores are old Mormon missionary/Sunday church ones lmao

I just subscribed to the yard patron on 9/11!

I forget they don't have the fucked up images on your tobacco or cigs in America. You become so desensitized to it. I even have a favourite pic which is the one of a baby with a pacifier but the pacifier has a cigarette in it. The erictile dysfunction one is a close second though. The blind one is also pretty cool

Watching this ep as a teacher got me fkd up

Dam yall so old

There’s a podcast game similar to this mini challenge thing where everyone has a secret word that they have to sneak into the podcast and everyone will guess at the end each others words. Definitely holds retention and is kinda a fun mystery for the viewers too

im dumb kid dumber unfortunate

im 20 and gen z im absolutley fucked

I own a few small businesses that employ high school students who want part time work. From what my experience has been over the past few years, I think 25-33% of those kids will be pretty successful, and 33% have next to no social skills/are just not prepared for the real world at all

Nick, you can delete YouTube from your phone, and install opera, then use YouTube through opera which also has an adblocker

HS of 22, class of 27 for me. I work in education with middle schoolers currently, and I feel like the difference between kids with higher adverse childhood experiences (poverty, death/divorce of a parent, developmental stage during COVID, etc) and those who have less is really significant. Check out this study/review for more info on ACEs and their effect on individuals and society: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3968319/ In general, kids who have healthy support systems around them tend to do better in most significant metrics, which seems pretty obvious but so many kids aren’t getting that support. Whether it’s because their parents can’t afford to spend quality time with them; reading, playing catch or whatever, because they’re too busy working 2 jobs. Or because even if they do have time, it’s just takes so much less effort to as @BraydenAllen put it, “keep your brain lubed up with TikTok, than to push yourself to grow.” Which is true for all parties involved, not just the kids. Kids on their own can have a difficult time pushing themselves without some extrinsic motivation, like validation from peers, rewards, or even just getting a good grade. If their parents aren’t pushing them, and their teachers aren’t either for a multitude of reasons (large class sizes, underfunded, districts pushing AI usage, etc). It makes so much sense that they’re just gonna let the little guy in the back of their brain that tells them that “it’s okay to just let the AI do it for them” win. I personally don’t think this system is sustainable, and when, inshallah, the AI bubble pops I just hope that we are resilient enough to rebound from it and can build a better system to prevent it from occurring again.

I graduated HS in 2020 and college in 2025 and I feel as if I'm like in between these two groups of Gen Z where there are those that got the worst of it in the earlier high school/middle school years, and those that were less impacted since they were already in college or about to graduate. I definitely feel the impacts of COVID and AI but to a lesser extent if that makes sense. Gen Z feels really broad but segmented in a way and I feel like I'm between an older and younger segment. Idk if anyone else here feels the same.

I’m blind I’m deaf I was born to be a ref!

Late Gen Z here, I went through covid in MS/HS, while I think that social media and COVID hit our generation hard, and absolutely there’s is a major literacy crisis going on, I think it’s also unfair to say our generation is doomed, when there are still many of us who withstood these blows and have grown into intelligent and literate people. There are many people I’ve met who simply didn’t care about school or learning, but as I’ve gone through college most of the people I meet are people genuinely excited to learn, and are very capable individuals. I think a lot of people in the coming years are going to finally begin to heal from COVID and actually grow into the people they were meant to be. Were off to a rocky start, and things ain’t great, but I try to be optimistic, so i’m with lud, the kids will be alright. Gen Alpha though? I can’t say, we will have to see how they turn out…

That sweater that nick is wearing is heat!! I need it

What field day are they talking about

i had covid during highschool and it didn't effect anything except one semester of my freshman year. i learned everything the exact same as my older brothers. idk about the US but canada was just the same and this is a social media problem and not school

Aiden is so right about Covid in high school. I graduated 2020, so senior year of hs and freshman year of college were midst of Covid and it permanently altered the course of my life. I dropped out and am only now going back to school part time as I work full time and probably won’t graduate till 2030

Dont get got sounds really fun

Nick is kinda right where we just kinda had to learn stuff on our own or have people like my cousins who are in there 30s to see this happening and then help us grow but pretty much did shit on my own, schools for English literature really suck

I’m currently in college and at least for the doctor thing most of the people who I know who are pre med or currently in med school do it either for the prestige of being a doctor or because that’s what there parents did and they were raised with the expectation of that what they’re going to do. Helping people is part of the equation but only partially. If all you wanted to do is help people you can spend a lot less money and time and be a paramedic or nurse (not discounting them it’s just a lot less time in school.) Ultimately I think Slime is right with the point at the end with the amount of people in fields requiring degrees. While it does change there is still plenty of people interested in traditional fields.

I agree with Aiden, there's a real decline... TikTok doomscrolling is actually brainrotting children, so many teachers literally crying every new school year because their class is literally unable to read....

Honestly I'll say I'm in the Ludwig "the kids will be fine!" camp, even if I secretly don't believe that. I'm 28, technically Gen Z, my little brother is 21 now and he considers me a millennial lol. I don't think brain rot TikTok slop is really that evil. Not saying TikTok / modern day social media is not harmful, but if we're just looking at the silly stupid content, it's not particularly alarming. COVID lockdown really ruined a lot of these kids' ability to learn and socialize (face to face) during their formative years. I really feel for them. The effects of that are even more clear now that it happened ~5 years ago. My brother is really sweet, he's a good reader and he is really responsible. But god damn, he is so awkward. I see that with his friends, and in my friends' younger siblings as well. A lot of them are super socially/emotionally stunted, and that bleeds into other parts of some issues that we can see clearly (inability to articulate their thoughts and feelings, major insecurity and relying on AI for information and/or emotional validation, depression, etc). Idk if this made much sense, but just wanted to slide in my two cents.

Gen Z loves cigarettes truth did not work

The powerful people in the US specifically act as though gen alpha will never make it to voting age. Pretty sure they just know we only got 20 years left and it's just not worth it for them to make sure they are capable human beings.

A curvy vegetable? Did Atrioc get in a car crash?

Makes total sense that Mr. Beast would team up with prolific middle school slop author Jimmy P.

“this james patterson guy” when in reality he’s a world renowned author 😭🤣

I graduated highschool this year and yeah a large chunk of us are cooked my senior classes were full of 67 rizz mog and phone time, but also the people who aren't rotting like that are SUPER smart and it's cuz of them I have hope

a third suit guy hit the pentagon

I'm a current university undergrad that switched from mechanical to biomedical engineering specifically to help people, but there are a lot people I've had classes with that genuinely just want the Palantir/Lockheed paycheck its crazy

Well, at least the images stopped Ludwig.

My experience is probably not hugely representative of my generation as a whole, but I graduated high school this last year, and I had covid during my 8th grade-freshman year of high school. The biggest issue that most kids have right now (I feel) is a lack of effort, since there are so many tools, but most of them are actually capable of doing what is expected of them as long as they are helped along the way. They just don’t have much self-independence or patience to learn.

I’m disappointed in no mention of this being uploaded on the kirkiversery

lick snizz is the new what are you talking about

I feel like we might need kickball guy as our aimen replacement

I work with high schools are Aiden is correct. especially the kids who dealt with Covid 3rd- 8th grade. They have zero ability to do school work and all have anxiety disorders

As someone who graduated high school in 2024, what I mostly see in college is that the people who want to learn, are the only ones consuming any important information, which is how I always remember it being. It’s simply effort in terms of showing up for class and talking in class. I don’t know if social media is to blame more than online schooling.

i laugh out loud

dude the guy in the air force shorts they're describing is literally just real life stone beard lmao

graduated in 2020 i feel like im the last year of real school

i’m in slimes camp

tbf mlb umpires dont even know what the fuck they're doing 90% of the time. shoutout the 2012 nl wildcard infield fly call

Yo is that purple yard hoodie for sale

These guys don't understand the pack opening of buying tobacco or cigarettes in Europe, I just packed Throat Guy

It’s weird how ever-present Mr. Beast has been as a figure since the podcast started. I really wouldn’t be surprised if he was the most mentioned person across all episodes (outside Lud, Aiden, Slime, and Nick)

that burgendy sweater that Nick wears looks really good! I must have missed that drop :(

Ludwig's jacket is so good

"this james patterson guy" is crazyyyyy do they know he haunts every librarian ever

Saw that Nick forgot the tag on the hoodie. Soooooooooooo embarrassing. I can't believe he did something so silly.

I think in like 20 years social media will be looked at like we do at cigarettes, like “wow can you believe this extremely unhealthy and dangerous thing was just in every single person’s lives, including children?” Like, I think the fact kids have phones will be like how we laugh at the Flintstones advertising cigarettes. It will probably also a be a very resentful generation as adults because of that fact (among others)

Nick dropping the cyberpunk slang

Tuning in from Walgreens

wahoo!