Sherwood News

Is hustle culture causing US teens to burn out?

Maintaining a “#grindset” is a major point of stress for some young Americans

10/21/24 11:52AM

Since its inception, social media has been a hub for self-reflection, self-promotion, and, increasingly, self-improvement. Spend more than a few minutes on TikTok or Instagram, and content promoting everything from self-care mantras to beauty regimens can quickly overwhelm your feed. But one personal growth trend that’s gaining particular traction in the digital realm is “hustle culture” — or, as it's perhaps better known online, the #grindset.

Teenage burnout

Stemming from all-consuming attitudes to working, having a “grindset” effectively means subscribing to an ethos of ceaseless productivity, where always hustling harder equates to progress, in work and therefore in life.

While this culture of self-initiated productivity helps some users to stay motivated, the expectation of stellar results set by this constant comparison has now become a point of stress for young people, as posts related to a #NoDaysOff lifestyle continue to seep into the ~4.8 hours that the average US teen spends per day on social media apps.

Indeed, a study from Common Sense Media published earlier this month, which examined major causes of burnout among American teens aged 13-17, found that 81% of those surveyed reported experiencing pressure that made them feel bad in at least one of the 6 categories examined, with 41% feeling the pressure “very much” in one or more areas. Of these, the point that teens felt most pressured about was simply having a “game plan” — 56% said they were at least somewhat stressed about having their future figured out (including college and career choices).

The same report found that more than one-quarter of teens (27%) reported actively struggling with burnout, with a majority of teens finding that social media at least sometimes worsened every single pressure they felt. Still, a significant proportion of teens surveyed said they found social media to at least sometimes decrease each of these pressures (38% to 51%, depending on the pressure)… so, for every stress-inducing #RiseandGrind post, let’s hope there’s an equal and opposite stress-relieving cat video to help keep some sort of balance.

Tom Jones

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The BBC has become the world’s top news website... by collapsing a little less than its competition

Press Gazette just published its annual look at the biggest news sites in the world across all languages; for the most part, it doesn’t make for particularly pretty reading.

The journalism industry publication’s latest update, which is based on estimates provided by Similarweb for May, found that 37 of the world’s 50 most visited news sites saw their reach shrink. Press Gazette highlighted that American outlets have been hit particularly hard by declining Google traffic compared to European counterparts, owing to the platform’s AI features rolling out earlier in the US.

Even the BBC, having climbed the rankings from last year to top the 2026 chart — reportedly in part thanks to Similarweb’s decision to combine the “.co.uk” and “.com” versions of the URL, given that the sites redirect to each other depending on the user’s location — showed a 1.9% decline from last year.

Millie Giles

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Last night’s Tony Awards were a curtain call for a record-smashing season on Broadway

This year’s star-studded theater awards wrapped up the highest-grossing season Broadway’s ever seen.

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Kids these days are listening to more songs from the good old days

Music nostalgia is in full swing, and the younger listeners of today appear to be partying like it’s pre-1999.

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Drake whiffs on an expected No. 1 on Spotify

Drake started at the bottom and he’s here, but not quite at the top... of Spotify, at least.

It’s been nearly three weeks since Drake dropped his three surprise albums — “Iceman,” “Habibti,” and “Maid of Honour.” Heading into the month, prediction markets were rating it a near certainty, a 98% chance, that Drake’s sonic onslaught was enough to snag the No. 1 slot on Spotify at least once in June.

But, while he surpassed the late Michael Jackson and took up three slots on the Billboard album chart at once, his newly released songs haven’t quite cracked the popular music-streaming platform’s top charts, and market seem to think the moment has passed.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Spotify’s “Top Songs - Global” chart currently show that Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” which is more than four decades old, Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat,” which climbed back to the top of Spotify charts following his Coachella set in the spring, Olivia Rodrigo’s new angsty love song “The Cure,” and BTS’s “Swim” are all ahead of Drake’s “STFU Janice” from his “Iceman” album.

While Spotify previously reported last month that Drake’s “Make Them Cry” was the most streamed album in a single day this year, that was later revealed to be a data error.

Prediction markets currently show traders are betting there’s only a 15% chance Drake will have a No. 1 song on Spotify in June.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift is in the lead at 98% — a day before the release of her new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which she wrote and performed for Disney and Pixar’s upcoming “Toy Story 5” — followed by Olivia Rodrigo, whose highly anticipated album “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” comes out next Friday.