The journey to adulthood for Gen Z hasn't been straightforward at all. Pandemic-era school disruption, the rise of social media, and heightened political tension have all converged during their crucial developmental stages, resulting in numerous individuals grappling with concentration issues, anxiety, and mental health challenges.
TL;DR
- Gen Z faces adulthood challenges from pandemic, social media, and political tension, leading to mental health issues.
- University students increasingly seek ADHD, anxiety, and depression diagnoses and accommodations.
- Investor Joe Lonsdale criticizes universities, calling disability claims a "hack" for housing and advantage.
- Lonsdale believes universities fail to equip or assess students relevantly for the real world.
This situation is becoming evident on college grounds. An increasing proportion of university attendees are pursuing medical assessments for ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and are requesting educational adjustments like additional time for tests and assignments. At certain highly competitive institutions nationwide, the figures are notable: Over one-fifth of undergraduate students at Brown and Harvard are officially recognized as having disabilities. Data examined by The Atlantic indicates that this figure reaches 34% at UMass Amherst and 38% at Stanford.
Although it's evident that a significant number of students seeking accommodations have valid medical grounds and that rising diagnoses might indicate heightened mental-health consciousness, certain specialists have voiced apprehensions regarding overdiagnosis and the potential for institutions of higher learning to simplify the qualification process. This discussion has ignited a widespread reaction on social platforms recently, drawing the notice of prominent figures in the business world, such as Joe Lonsdale, the wealthy investor and co-founder of Palantir.
Lonsdale's reply conveyed no compassion. “Loser generation,” he wrote after observing a chart illustrating the increasing count of university students who disclosed having disabilities.
“At Stanford it’s a hack for housing though, and at some point I get it, even if it’s not my personal ethics. Terrible leadership from the university.”
He contended that households have gradually employed disability provisions to grant their offspring an educational edge—when these might not truly be necessary.
“Claiming your child has a disability to give them a leg up became an obvious dominant game theoretic strategy for parents without honor in the 2010’s,” Lonsdale wrote earlier this month on X. “Great signal to avoid a family / not do business with parents who act this way.”
While it remains uncertain if any students are attempting to exploit the system, Lonsdale has plainly stated his overarching perspective: He believes educational institutions aren't equipping young individuals, nor assessing them, in relevant capacities.
“No great companies are interested in the BS games played by universities,” he added.
Coins2Day reached out to Lonsdale for further comment.
Lonsdale's complex background concerning universities
Despite being a graduate of Stanford, Lonsdale has a complex relationship with the university and the academic world in general.
In the early 2010s, while serving as a mentor in a Stanford tech entrepreneurship course, Lonsdale was accused of sexual assault by a student—and banned from mentoring undergraduates for 10 years and from campus entirely. The assault charges were later dropped, but Lonsdale acknowledged violating a rule prohibiting consensual relationships between mentors and students.
Less than a decade later, in 2021, Lonsdale cofounded his own school—the University of Austin—with Niall Ferguson, Bari Weiss, and others. The institution prides itself on freedom of speech and overcoming the “mediocrity” of traditional higher education. It welcomed its first group of undergraduates last fall and remains unaccredited.
Lonsdale's fellow Palantir cofounder and Stanford alum Alex Karp has also voiced criticism of the college system and has offered backing to the school.
“Everything you learned at your school and college about how the world works is intellectually incorrect,” Karp, Palantir’s CEO, told CNBC earlier this year.
Rather, the 58-year-old stated that Palantir is developing a novel credential “separate from class or background,” which is the “best credential in tech.”
“If you did not go to school, or you went to a school that’s not that great, or you went to Harvard or Princeton or Yale, once you come to Palantir, you’re a Palantirian,” Karp said during an earnings call earlier this year. “No one cares about the other stuff.”
