Existentialism and the Curse of Being a Teenager in the 21st Century

Being a teenager today feels like an ongoing existential crisis. Between the pressures of social media, figuring out our future, and facing a world in chaos, we're constantly questioning our identity and purpose. This essay explores how existentialism captures the modern teen's struggle to find meaning in an uncertain world.

---

Being a teenager in the 21st century feels like living through an existential crisis on a daily basis. Existentialism, with its focus on figuring out who you are and what life actually means, couldn’t be more relevant to how I feel. I feel like I’m stuck in a room with a ticking time bomb, hands sweating over a pair of scissors wondering which wire to cut. It’s like we’re thrown into a world that doesn’t come with any clear instructions, and it’s up to us to make sense of everything—while dealing with intense expectations, emotions, and revelations from every direction. 

Social media and technology make this crisis feel even more overwhelming. Instead of simply existing and finding our way naturally, I find that we get constantly fed images of how life should look—perfect bodies, perfect friendships, perfect achievements, that one kid who somehow got an internship at NASA… The list goes on. The pressure to create a version of ourselves that’s “Instagram-worthy” adds to this feeling that we’re supposed to be something specific when, in reality, we don’t even know what that something is. What does it mean to be complete when perfection is unattainable? Existentialism talks about how we have the freedom to create our own meaning, but in this world, it feels like everyone else is telling us what meaning to chase. 

Additionally, the inevitable future approaches rapidly every day. Existentialist philosophy tells us that we are free to choose our own path, but for teenagers, this freedom is almost like a double-edged sword. How am I supposed to have my career, identity, and direction figured out at 17 years old, when I’m still trying to figure out who I am in the first place? The uncertainty of it all—the looming pressure to have a clear plan for the future while knowing that everything could change—is maddening.

Not to mention that there’s the larger existential dread that comes from the state of the world. Climate change, economic instability with inflation on the rise, political chaos—how the hell am I supposed to buy a house when I graduate? The future is uncertain, and the systems in place aren't exactly designed to help us feel secure. It’s hard to stay optimistic or even believe in traditional goals like success or stability when the world feels like it’s falling apart before our eyes. This existential weight isn’t something past generating faces in quite the same way, at least not with the constant reminders we get.

In the end, being a teenager today is about navigating these deep existential questions while trying to find some sense of authenticity. It’s a curse because there are so many forces pulling us in different directions, but maybe it’s also an opportunity. If existentialism teaches us anything, it’s that we have the power to define our own purpose—even if that process feels chaotic and uncertain right now. But for most of us, it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’re stuck in a constant limbo, searching for meaning in a world that’s constantly telling us what we’re supposed to be.