*By Carlo Versano*
A few weeks ago, a Buzzfeed [article](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work) that coined the term "millennial burnout" went viral, with readers taking to social media to discuss the very particular sense of exhaustion felt by this generation, and how it's different from the universal stresses of daily life.
As Joni Rayos-Samilin, a "transformational" coach, explained to Cheddar, the source of millennial burnout can be traced to ー what else? ー the internet.
"Everyone knows what everyone's doing," Rayos-Samilin said, and social media has amplified that familiar feeling of FOMO to make people, particularly millennials, question their own self-worth.
Is my job good enough? Is my relationship good enough? Am I traveling enough?
It's exhausting.
That 24/7 feeling of being connected extends to work, where employees feel like they're never "off the clock." Even if companies tell their workers they don't need to respond to emails and Slack messages at all hours of the day, many still do out of a sense of responsibility or fear that if they don't, someone else will.
Burnout, of course, is a universal problem that has been exacerbated by the digital age. But the millennial generation is the first to fully deal with it as adults. In order to cope, Rayos-Samilin said she recommends to her clients that they create boundaries and set priorities, like scheduling time for the "real world" things that they value: conversations with friends, exercise, and even limited amounts of social media.
"Do what you need to do for self care," she said. Otherwise, it becomes too easy to give into the outside pressures of the connected world.
Rayos-Samilin said she's already seeing a backlash against constant social media use in some of her millennial clients, and [anecdotal data](https://sciencetrends.com/much-of-generation-z-might-be-leaving-facebook-and-other-social-media-platforms-behind/) shows that has spread to the next generation, known as Gen Z.
If there's a single way to fight burnout it's this: stop comparing yourself to others. That's a skill that goes back to the Buddhists, who use mindfulness meditation techniques to remind themselves to stay grounded in the present moment. Most of what you see online is a construct anyway, Rayos-Samilin said. It takes time, patience, and energy to fight the desire to wonder whether what you're doing is good enough ー especially now that everyone has a constant reminder in their pocket that someone, somewhere, is doing it better.
Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at the Center for American Progress, joins Cheddar News to discuss how schools are navigating the Omicron variant.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the advocacy group GLAAD, joined Cheddar to discuss the organization's Accelerating Acceptance report that examines how welcoming the general public is toward members of the LGBTQ+ community. Ellis noted that while visibility and representation is up in media, video games, and on social media, it has conversely opened the door for increased targeted harassment on the street, particularly for transgender and gender non-conforming people. "I go to the school board meetings, I hear the homophobia and the transphobia in-person, in real-time, and so, we're seeing that more and more at the local level across the country," Ellis said. "And we're going to see that play out in the midterm elections, especially the local elections."
Steve Patton, EY Americas Mobility Sector Leader, joins Cheddar News to discuss what can be done to speed up the adoption of EVs, and how infrastructure can be scaled up to support this transition.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is ramping up a civil investigation into The Trump Organization. The AG's office has subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. They have refused to comply with the subpoenas. Bradley Moss, national security attorney, joins Cheddar News to discuss the next steps in this investigation.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has officially reduced the 110-year prison sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos to 10 years, calling the initial lengthy sentence “unjust.” Dan Gilleon, constitutional attorney at Gilleon Law Firm APC, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
LG announced its latest cooking appliances including its ThinQ Recipe service. The app allows people to choose from up to 10,000 recipes and have the ingredients delivered to their doorstep. LG Electronics executive Brandt Varner joins Cheddar News to talk about the products.
Former Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was sworn in as the newest Mayor of New York City. Adams is now expected to work on a number of issues such as crime and coronavirus. Erin Durkin,, reporter at PoliticoNY, joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
The six-month trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has come to an end with the former tech startup star found guilty of four out of 11 counts of fraud. Michael S. Weinstein, Esq, chair of the white collar criminal defense practice at Cole Schotz, and former Department of Justice trial attorney, joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss what happens next for the former mogul. "Do I think it's going to be more than five or seven years? Probably yes. I think that's probably a fair range at this point," he said about her potential prison sentence.
We are just one day away from what has been called the most influential tech event in the world. CES 2022 will officially kick off on Wednesday in Las Vegas, but the annual tech summit is being impacted by COVID-19, like so many other recent events. The Consumer Technology Association originally planned for a hybrid event to take place from January 5-8, with some in-person events and some virtual; however, a few big-name companies announced they will not be attending in-person, so the CTA decided to shorten the event by one day, with it now ending on Friday. Consumer electronics senior analyst Will Greenwald joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
