Todd Hayen – Off-Guardian June 27, 2026
What in God’s name has happened to our youth? Not all of them, not yet—but the affliction is spreading fast. What contagion has taken hold?
I could name a dozen, but the one that troubles me most—and the one that flows from all the others—is the loss of depth. By that I mean the quiet abandonment of any real pursuit of meaning, the evaporation of purpose, and the slow death of genuine passion.
Am I merely an alarmist? Would most people push back and say I’m exaggerating? Possibly.
People have probably been saying similar things about the young for centuries—about my generation fifty years ago, about the one before that, and so on, stretching back a thousand years or more. Maybe this drift toward spiritual shallowness began generations ago.
I suspect humanity has been sliding along a very slow trajectory toward inner emptiness for a long time, though the decline wasn’t steady or steep until perhaps the mid-19th century. Since then, especially with the erosion of spiritual awareness, it has accelerated dramatically.
The causes are tangled and overdetermined. It’s hard to pin the blame on any single cultural shift—the fading belief in God, the moral unravelling of society, or the rise of smartphones and social media. I sound like an old preacher on a soapbox, Bible in one hand, fist shaking at the sky, preaching fire and brimstone.
To be fair, in some measurable ways humanity has improved. We no longer tolerate the routine horrors once considered normal: the systemic subjugation of women, the open acceptance of slavery, the casual use of torture as public spectacle, or the brutal treatment of children and the mentally ill.
Life expectancy has risen, literacy is widespread, and basic human rights have gained ground in many parts of the world. Yet I struggle to reconcile these gains with the deeper rot I see.
Maybe I’m just an incorrigible doomster. Or maybe, after the apparent optimism following World War II—when it seemed we might finally make peace with centuries of ugliness—things quietly went off the rails.
Look around today: the Epstein scandal and its lingering shadows, what many describe as genocide in Gaza, the explosion of powerful synthetic drugs, widespread child trafficking, rampant pornography that has warped entire generations, endless foreign wars, the normalization of surveillance states, and what appears to be a reckless, almost wanton effort to injure or kill large swaths of the global population through a novel pharmaceutical intervention pushed with unprecedented coercion. It feels as though the devil has finally claimed the throne he has coveted for millennia.
But I digress—or do I? Let’s return to the young and their apparent surrender of purpose and the search for meaning. In my practice, I see many people between eighteen and thirty. The majority show signs of this peculiar zombie-itis.
Don’t misunderstand me—by conventional modern standards, many are “successful.” They chase high-earning careers that promise shiny toys, luxury homes, expensive cars, and attractive partners. Yet beneath the surface, their relationships are often dysfunctional, their own children seem headed for the same void, and real contentment is rare.
Yes, therapists mostly see the troubled ones, so I can’t claim a perfect sample. Still, I witness the same pattern in my personal life, on social media, in films and television, and in the broader culture. It’s everywhere.
These young people fixate on making as much money as possible with the least effort, dressing in the finest clothes they can afford, acquiring the biggest house and flashiest car, and securing the most physically appealing partner available.
Few show interest in the deeper workings of the world they inhabit—beyond having convenient targets for outrage (Trump, naturally, and nearly everything associated with him). Hobbies rarely extend beyond gym routines. Learning for its own sake, travel as genuine exploration, or any serious engagement with religion or spirituality for inner growth? Almost nonexistent. The conscious pursuit of meaning and purpose simply isn’t on the menu.
Are they happy? I don’t believe so. Some convince themselves they are, as long as the stream of instant material gratification keeps flowing. For brief intervals, the dopamine hits mimic happiness. But the feeling fades quickly, leaving them emptier than before.
How long can a culture sustain itself on such shallow soil? Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World offers a chilling blueprint. In that dystopia, society engineers happiness through genetic conditioning, consumerism, casual sex, and above all, the drug soma—a perfect pharmaceutical that delivers euphoria without hangover, physical dysfunction, or disruption. Soma doesn’t just numb pain; it erases any need for depth, reflection, or struggle.
Citizens remain placid and productive precisely because they never confront discomfort, loss, or the big questions of existence. The “happiness” it provides is stable and endless—until the rare Savage from outside the system introduces real feeling, at which point the fragile illusion cracks.
In our world, the modern equivalents of soma (endless scrolling, consumption, pharmaceuticals, and curated outrage) seem to work much the same way: they sustain a zombified equilibrium far longer than one might expect, precisely because they starve the soul of anything real.
That said, there are bright exceptions. Not every young person has been fully captured by the mold the prevailing agenda has cast. Many who pursue serious art or music operate from an entirely different paradigm—one that values creation, beauty, and inner exploration over external metrics.
The same often holds for those drawn to skilled craftsmanship, deep philosophical inquiry, genuine community service rooted in compassion, or any disciplined spiritual path that demands self-confrontation. And then there are those rare souls who, for whatever mysterious reason, simply never swallowed the poison—perhaps protected by family, temperament, or sheer stubborn grace.
Still, the trend is unmistakable and accelerating.
A society that loses depth in its young eventually loses its future. Without purpose, passion, and the willingness to wrestle with meaning, we drift toward a Huxleyan stasis—comfortable, efficient, and profoundly hollow.
The real question isn’t whether this loss is happening. It’s whether enough of us still remember what depth feels like, and whether we can model it fiercely enough for those coming after to recognize its absence—and begin, once again, to seek it.
—
Todd Hayen PhD is a registered psychotherapist practicing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He holds a PhD in depth psychotherapy and an MA in Consciousness Studies. He specializes in Jungian, archetypal, psychology. Todd also writes for his own substack, which you can read here
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our young as babies are vaccinated with crap at school they have LBGT filth pushed at them
for those that are vulnerable they get told they are in the wrong body and want their bits cut off
at uni they get indoctrinated with socialism
then there is life with no hopers all jobs and opportunities go to migrants
who get everything even being allowed to rape our children
yes the young of the uk have no future
just left wing bollox
but here is weather control
see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pllRW9wETzw&list=RDpllRW9wETzw&start_radio=1
“What many describe as a genocide in Gaza.”
Seems the article writer isn’t too sure we are witnessing a genocide. I assume said writer is Jewish or, given psychotherapy is full of Jews, doesn’t want to make their colleagues feel uncomfortable.
Believe it or not, I awakened this Sunday morning thinking much the same thing.
But maybe you don’t need
a registered psychotherapist with a PhD in depth psychotherapy and an MA in Consciousness Studies, who specializes in Jungian, archetypal, psychology to figure this out, though Todd here ought to have a pretty good idea.
First off, examine your starter image of the kiddos: an amalgamated string of nons and others — a multi-kulti row of random riff-raff, most of them apparently blown across the channel in small boats.
Just as there is no “magic dirt,” that will enable any random featherless biped standing upon it with the finer qualities of the Anglo-Saxon value and skill set, there is no mystic phenotype that will, once popped out of mommy’s womb, automatically grow into the type of man or woman Todd is longing for.
While a good foundation may exist, having been painfully and patiently constructed during prior epochs, it may crumble if exposed to degenerating conditions, influences, and forces.
If/when no positive influences are encouraged, or may even be mentioned — let alone be viewed as anything other than bigotry, hate, and racism, the results are not the “universal mensch” the Hebraeified numbskulls who rule the subject matter, and the governments and departments of our onetime homelands are longing for!
Too much influence by women and feminized “men” gets you only the sort of children you are complaining about.
What to do? Other than complain about it?
How about some real myths and folk tales, relevant to the time, place, and people, and inspiring of the desired qualities and world view?
No? I didn’t think you were serious, bro, but you don’t get “Avalon” by promoting the road to either Bedlam or Downtown El Lay!
Thomas the Tank Engine and Gary Goose cannot fill in for Clever Hans, Jack from the Beanstalk, or the Great White Hunter from Little Red Riding Hood!
Carla McGraw, Josh Hawley, Leif “The Coot” Oldhart, and the gang from “Local Group Thalburg” are who you must turn to, if you want your children to amount to something. Wotan, Holda, and Edwin Hare are crucial parts of that equation as well.
Click the link, or search for it if Rixon sees fit to delete the URL, but post the rest of this comment.
https://jackheartblog.org/wp/2026/06/local-group-thalburg-the-experience-of-a-single-north-american-town-2026-2030-part-v-by-an-american/.html
“The smartphone is the medium to techno-Communism.” –Nico X
Remember when people were still relatively normal, before smartphones & social media took over their minds & lives? These aren’t even people walking around anymore, but new digital-human hybrid mindless Videodrome vermin –test subjects in a CIA-KGB mass global social engineering project–all by design of course.
You will eat gruel and you will love it.
The Deep State attempting to turn the Brits vegetarian.
Hitler was vegetarian?
I heard he was. Now not so sure.
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AI Overview
Adolf Hitler’s diet is a subject of historical debate, but evidence shows he frequently ate meat, particularly before World War II. While Nazi propaganda heavily promoted his image as a strict, non-drinking vegetarian to make him appear ascetic and pure, his actual eating habits tell a different story:
Pre-War: Prior to World War II, biographers and chefs confirmed he frequently ate meat, with stuffed squab (pigeon) and Bavarian sausages listed as favorites.
Wartime Changes: During the war, Hitler heavily restricted his meat consumption. However, this was largely due to chronic digestive issues rather than ethics.
Exceptions: Even in his later years, he occasionally consumed meat, such as liver dumplings or fish, and was known to indulge in caviar. If you’re interested in World War II history, I can share more about: The Nazi regime’s laws regarding animal welfare How Joseph Goebbels crafted Hitler’s public image.
Most people are smothered by the endless layers of antiChristism that have been piling upon us & crushing us down since Copernicus.
If by this they mean cat and dog societies of cheaters and cheated, then yeah.
I don’t know if Andy Burnham will turn out good or bad for Britain, but I suspect he will refuse to make ordinary people a lot poorer just so already rich people can get a bit richer, but for that rich people will call him dangerous.
‘Literacy is widespread’. No – it WAS widespread, but illiteracy is now increasing fast as the Western educational system destroys itself. In the UK, most school leavers are semi-literate at best. As for when this decline took hold – that’s easy. Look to when an outside subversive group started to seriously influence the Western establishment. As for ‘a lack of purpose’, that’s already taken care of – pseudo religions have been provided in the form of the climate change cult, ”eco activism’, wokery, and so forth. The youth pursues these with all the enthusiasm of old.
Loss of depth
Some time ago there was an american study of high school students’ academic performance.
Results found?
Today’s students couldn’t solve a math school exam from 1920!
This must be happening in many other countries too.
Loss of depth heh? Writes an “Jungonion” Psychoterrorist that has studied “depth” and consciousness.
Maybe, just maybe forget about the “kids” for a moment and look at their parents – if there are any left that somehow are still together or were not divorced while chasing the coin, which surely these days seems a bit like a miracle! This is where “Depth” in the West went missing along the way, right after the war.
Look back into the soccer World cup in 1956 and the teams that participated and if you like take Germany and look at their team photos and take a peek at “their” team now. There was a pic in the Jerman press taken in front of the German goal with 9 players in the picture. The German goal keeper Neuer was the only white person in the publication with 4 Ecuadorian players and 4 “German blacks or dark Mischlings”.
Another of the few white Germans left in the NATIONAL MANNSCHAFT is Joshua Kimmich whose “proud Jerman mother” is a great supporter of the team on the other side of the pond. Here is “she”:
https://images.bild.de/6a3d98d2afe845031b3ae6f6/0cc4d1037b8fb9cc167f352ebc4d98d8,2dc68327?w=1280
“A society that loses depth in its young eventually loses its future” – NO SIR! It is rather like: A society that has lost its adults to greed and selfishness can not expect any future for children at all! Maybe it is time for all those kosher psychoterrorists that lead humanity into the abyss of schizophrenia to take a leap themselves and take their “Fraudian/Jungian words of the psycho Gods” along the way for some reading in case the journey will be long and boring with no “patients”.to treat at all.
some bullshit here
Hitlers chef was a jew he wrote a short book which i now cant find
But he was a vegetarian
the protection of children and animals act put together by Hitler and i believe Himmler not Hess as claimed previously
the worlds top expert on hitler david irving also concurs
LOL…
some quack shrink has fathomed that vast swathes of imbecile kind are shallow grasping narcissists… stumbling round with their heads stuffed up their arse..
perhaps he’s having a crisis of conscience..
How anyone could expect anything healthy- or even functional! – to grow out of the toxic cesspool of today’s Bwitain is, I’m afraid, a ” bridge too far”.. 😒
Hitler was a vegetarian you say.
He had a Jewish cook, who said so…
I don’t know what kind of a man Hitler was. Being vegetarian doesn’t make him any more or less human.
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how many Australian politicians are vegetarian?
AI Generated
There is no official or exact count of how many Australian politicians are vegetarian, as dietary preferences are personal and not tracked by parliamentary rolls. However, a small handful of outspoken plant-based politicians are prominent, including Georgie Purcell (Animal Justice Party MP for Northern Victoria) and Emma Hurst (Animal Justice Party MLC in NSW).While a precise nationwide tally does not exist, the vast majority of federal and state politicians are not strict vegetarians.
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If Hitler was a strict vegetarian…
Then there was something wrong with him…