内容简介

　　美国的“千禧一代”（1981—1996年间出生的人），在“美国梦”的神话中长大，曾经对人生抱有远大期望。然而当他们参加工作时，正值美国自大萧条以来蕞糟糕的经济衰退期。千禧一代成为美国现代史上弟一代生活水平不如自己父母的人。仅仅为了在艰难时日中维持生计，这一代美国人就需要耗尽全力。

　　本书考察了美国千禧一代中普遍倦怠的生存状况。通过3 000余份在线问卷、上百次访谈，用年轻人的访谈原声以及作者的个人经验，真实记录了美国千禧一代在工作和生活方方面面承受的重压，包括一路为了升入大学做准备的成长经历、将好工作等同于过度工作的病态职场文化、被工作不断挤压侵占的休闲时间，以及令人心力交瘁的育儿竞争等等。作者还探讨了技术和社交媒体是如何通过创造持续的在线要求和“时刻待命”的压力，让美国千禧一代打工人进一步深陷倦怠境地。

　　本书并未止步于此。作者借鉴范围广泛的学术研究和历史回顾，考察了美国就业市场几十年来的变迁，以及塑造千禧一代生活的政治、经济与文化因素，将当代美国年轻人疲于奔命的根本原因，归结为美国晚期资本主义体系的深层问题——金融监管放松、工会与劳工阶层的削弱、社会安全网的侵蚀等——崩坏的不是任何一代人，而是体系本身。在结语部分，针对美国社会的结构性痼疾，本书从回归个人价值的角度，呼吁美国的年轻人团结起来，携手推动系统性变革。

　　作者简介

　　[美]安妮·海伦·彼得森|Anne Helen Petersen

　　文化研究学者、作家、记者，在付费订阅平台Substack上主编新闻通讯《文化研究》（Culture Study）并撰稿。曾任知名数字媒体BuzzFeed的资深文化作家，在《纽约时报》等主流媒体发表大量文章，是四本书的作者。得克萨斯大学奥斯丁分校媒体研究博士，曾任惠特曼学院访问教授。

　　长期从事流行文化和社会议题报道，善于敏锐感知和捕捉公众心理。2019年1月发表在BuzzFeed上的文章《千禧一代如何成为倦怠的一代》（How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation），获得超过700万次阅读量，成为爆款热文。

Content introduction

America's "millennials" (those born between 1981 and 1996), raised on the myth of the "American Dream", had high hopes for life. Yet they entered the workforce in the midst of America's worst recession since the Great Depression. Millennials have become the youngest generation in modern American history to be worse off than their parents. Just to make ends meet in tough times, this generation of Americans will need to exhaust their energies.

This book examines the prevalence of burnout among American millennials. Through more than 3,000 online questionnaires, hundreds of interviews, interviews with young people and the author's personal experiences, this truly documents the stress American millennials face in all aspects of work and life, including growing up preparing for college, a sick workplace culture that equates good work with overwork, and leisure time that is constantly squeezed by work. And the grueling competition of parenting. The authors also explore how technology and social media are driving American millennial workers deeper into burnout by creating constant online demands and pressure to be "always on call."

The book does not stop there. Drawing on a wide range of academic research and historical reviews, the authors examine decades of shifts in the U.S. job market, as well as the political, economic, and cultural factors shaping millennial lives, and identify the root causes of today's struggling young Americans. What boils down to the deep problems of late American capitalism - financial deregulation, the weakening of unions and the working class, the erosion of the social safety net - is not breaking any generation, but the system itself. In the conclusion, the book addresses the structural ills of American society, and from the perspective of returning to the value of the individual, the book calls on the young people of the United States to work together to promote systemic change.

About the author

[US] Anne Helen Petersen |Anne Helen Petersen

Cultural studies scholar, author, journalist, and editor of the newsletter Culture Study on the paid subscription platform Substack. Previously a senior culture writer at BuzzFeed, he has published extensively in mainstream media, including The New York Times, and is the author of four books. He holds a Ph.D. in media studies from the University of Texas at Austin and was a visiting professor at Whitman College.

He has long been engaged in reporting on popular culture and social issues, and is good at sensing and capturing public psychology. A BuzzFeed article published in January 2019, "How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation," has been read more than 7 million times and has gone viral.