Kenneth Glad
Many young people are trying to build a future at a time when stability feels increasingly difficult to find. A recent advice column argues that shutting out those fears may not be the healthiest way to cope with them.
In a Guardian advice column, Eleanor Gordon-Smith, an assistant professor of philosophy at USC, answered a 21-year-old reader worried about the future.
The reader described fears about jobs after college, rising housing costs, relationships, climate change, politics and whether artificial intelligence could make creative careers even more uncertain.
The reader said they wanted to become a writer and artist but struggled to balance ambition with constant anxiety about what lies ahead.
Rather than dismissing those worries, Gordon-Smith treated them as understandable reactions to wider economic and social pressures affecting many young adults.
Private calm has limits
The reader explained they had often been told to “not think about it” or “focus on what I personally can control”.
Gordon-Smith challenged that kind of advice, arguing that emotional wellbeing cannot always come from ignoring problems that genuinely exist.
Concerns about unstable work, unaffordable housing and environmental decline are not simply private emotional issues, she suggested, but realities shaping everyday life for an entire generation.
Her response warned against confusing avoidance with healing. Temporary distraction may offer comfort, but it does little to address the deeper sense of uncertainty many people carry.
The column also explored the pressure young adults face when trying to imagine long-term goals in a world that feels increasingly unpredictable.
Connection matters
Instead of retreating inward, Gordon-Smith encouraged the reader to look outward and connect with others facing similar concerns.
Questions about insecure work, housing costs and environmental anxiety become easier to process when discussed collectively rather than privately, she suggested:
“I promise you – I promise you – there is a really special kind of relief available when you find other people to fight and think about these things with.”
The argument was not that activism or social engagement automatically solves fear. Rather, it was that isolation can intensify anxiety, while shared experience can make uncertainty feel more manageable.
The professor also suggested that creative ambitions such as writing and art may become stronger when grounded in real social concerns instead of detached from them.
Looking away has a cost
The column ultimately rejected the idea that self-care requires complete withdrawal from difficult realities.
Gordon-Smith argued that a person can still rest, protect their mental health and pursue meaningful goals without pretending major problems do not exist.
For many younger readers, the advice may resonate because it avoids offering easy reassurance.
The future may remain uncertain, but refusing to acknowledge that uncertainty does not make it disappear.
Instead, the column suggested that honesty, participation and connection with others may offer a steadier path forward than isolation ever could.
Source: The Guardian
