Mishaal Adeel Ajaz
Youth—built on ambition yet bound by exhaustion—stands today at the brink of a quiet collapse. A generation raised to aim high now finds itself overworked, underheard and slowly fading behind screens, degrees and relentless expectations. The stillness surrounding Pakistan’s young people is not peace; it is a numbness created by constant striving, emotional deprivation and the pressure to keep achieving. Beneath their ambition lies a profound exhaustion powerful enough to dim dreams once held dearly.
Across digital spaces, a silent pattern emerges: young people feel detached, drained by academic pressure, financial uncertainty and the constant need to “keep going.” In brief Instagram reflections, I asked: What does exhaustion mean to a generation taught to dream big but living in constant burnout? Responses were raw and familiar. “I’m just going through the motions,” one student said. “Even resting feels like letting everyone down.” Another admitted enrolling in a degree she didn’t care about just to stay busy, reflecting the struggle of countless youth who feel they are running out of breath.
This burnout is not personal—it is structural. Pakistan’s youth, 64% of the population (UNDP 2023), is navigating an era of instability. The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) reports that nearly 31% of educated youth is unemployed—one of the highest rates in South Asia. Education, once a promise of opportunity, now often leads to disappointment. Joblessness, unpaid internships, temporary roles and underpaid jobs that barely cover basic needs have created a system that celebrates endurance instead of innovation and views rest as laziness.
Anthropologically, this reflects a shift in how young people understand work, identity and self-worth. The neoliberal belief that hard work guarantees success has weakened in the face of economic insecurity and social stagnation. Many wake up tired, scroll through lives they wish they had and chase goals that no longer feel meaningful. Achievements feel smaller; failures feel heavier. Digital spaces, once an escape, now amplify comparison and the culture of constant productivity. In such a world, rest feels rebellious and silence becomes a survival tool.
Unlike past generations taught to suppress discomfort and equate endurance with strength, today’s youth cannot be molded the same way. With sharper emotional intelligence, they recognize their burnout yet struggle to find safe spaces to express it. Attempts to numb the feeling fail as awareness lingers, shaping their emotional landscape. Behind the appearance of progress lies deep fatigue—friendships fade from shared overwhelm and even small acts of rest trigger guilt. Amid this exhaustion, over 900,000 Pakistanis left the country in 2023, reflecting not only migration but national fatigue, declining trust and a generation running on frayed resilience.
What we see is not simple tiredness but a generational burnout rooted in uncertainty. It hides behind cheerful posts, long study sessions and polite smiles. These young people are not apathetic—they are exhausted from running a race whose finish line keeps shifting. Awareness becomes an act of resistance. Addressing this crisis requires more than employment; it demands environments that value rest, purpose and emotional well-being. Until then, Pakistan’s youth will continue striving—not out of boundless hope, but because stopping feels like a luxury they cannot afford.
—The writer is associated with the Bahria University, Islamabad.
