Spotted: A certain someone posting an iced vanilla latte on their story with the caption ‘Quiet Mondays’. Meanwhile, ten unread work emails sit ignored. In this fast-growing republic of young, productivity is out, effortless detachment is in.
No, but seriously, when did we all collectively decide that effort is embarrassing?
Somewhere along the way, putting in too much effort became cringe. We didn’t fully cancel hustle culture, we just rebranded burnout and slapped a Pinterest board on it.
And ambition? Only if it looks effortless and comes with golden-hour lighting. Now, we’re all about the soft life, trading ‘rise and grind’ for romanticising a half-finished to-do list and letting healing crystals handle the rest. And while we dress it up as a self-care revolution, let’s be real, it’s giving aesthetic escapism.
Maybe this shift isn’t just laziness, it’s a way to opt out. ‘Main character energy’ didn’t just fade away; it ran out of fuel. Being the protagonist means standing out, and in an era of hyper-visibility, that’s a risk we’re no longer willing to take. So instead, we’ve mastered the art of blending in, calibrating just the right amount of effort to be noticed but never too much to seem like we care. A friend told me just last week, “You’re such a Type A. You need to chill.” As if actually trying is a personality flaw.
The exhaustion is real: a Deloitte survey found that nearly half of Gen Z workers cite burnout as their biggest struggle. Fair. But instead of fixing the system, we’ve settled for something more Instagrammable, a productivity playlist that’s mostly used for zoning out on the metro, an overpriced planner that’s mostly blank, and a weekly reset vlog—and called it ‘alignment.’ We don’t need to go full-on corporate drone, but let’s at least aim for something between “work until you collapse” and “pretending commitments don’t exist.”
Safe to say, Delulu is not the Solulu (anymore).
The Bare Minimum era
If we remember the Tumblr era correctly, every ounce of effort was broadcast with a sepia-toned filter. The ‘It’ girls of today, however, are setting the trend of just a blurry sunset and a cryptic “good things coming” that implies achievement without ever stating it. Because if you’re trying too hard, you’ve already lost. If you’re still showing up on time, meeting deadlines, and (god forbid) answering calls outside of work hours? Congrats, you’re officially the office ‘pick me’.
Meanwhile, TikTok and Reels are busy glorifying the homebody aesthetic, romanticising the Pinterest-ification of apathy. The frantic Monday grind is swapped for an eight-minute-long snooze, and barely-there effort is rebranded as a self-care day off. And in the comments: ‘Girl, drop the link to that mindset.’
But it’s not just work, it’s an entire identity shift. Fashion now revolves around quiet luxury and endless versions of ‘Oh this? I just threw it on’ minimalism. Music is filled with indie artists whispering over lo-fi beats, meant to be background noise rather than the main event. Even relationships have morphed into a passive game of ‘seeing where things go’ because nothing’s more uncool than caring too much.
‘We don’t chase, we attract,’ or at least that’s what we tell ourselves while waiting for a text that never comes.
So, if everyone’s coasting, who’s actually moving the plot forward? Maybe we’re just done with the pressure of being someone. Or maybe we’ve just put an Ennui-Core label on it, set it to a Phoebe Bridgers track, and called it a lifestyle.
Either way, the age of the Main Character is over. Welcome to the Bare Minimum era.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)
We are but a disillusioned generation. We were born into a time when our sole bargaining power of workplace unionisation is out, contract work with no securities is in, inequality is at a record high, climate change is wreaking havoc, and AI is expected to take over most jobs. How could we fix the system when our ability to fix it has been systematically destroyed? In such conditions, detachment and meaningless autopilot trends are the result of a meaningless autopilot life.
Productivity can go right out the window, most of us are waiting for the world to collapse.
Highly insightful. I think we have socially glorified the ‘laidback’ or ‘chill’ life way too much. Appearing effortless has become an odd obsession of GenZ.
One of the best articles of the print, really happy reading it, sumedha manhas has really outdone herself with this article. Would Love to see more of her work.
one of the best and most accurate articles ive ever read, really happy with the author sumedha manhas ?
Loved the insights on cultural shifts and it’s likely impact on consumption preferences, work culture and overall productivity of the economy
OUTSTANDING
Proud proud prouuuuud!