Particularly in the United States, the current generation of young men have been struggling; with finding meaningful relationships, completing higher education, and just generally gaining autonomy. But why are they struggling? What are the longer-term societal consequences if they continue to struggle? And how can we get them back up to speed with their female counterparts and previous generations of men?

Whether or not you think guns are a problem in this country, there is an undeniable reality; more people are killed here by them than any other First World country. So why is it that we can't enact any practical solutions to this problem? Discussions of gun regulations often turn to "they're coming to take your guns away!" But is that really the case? Or are there basic checks and balances that could be put into place that would have an impact, yet still allow people to maintain their second amendment right? And is there any hope in having a civil conversation about this in a country so divided on the subject?

Everyone likes being agreed with. It makes us feel good to have our beliefs validated. And this definitely extends to the news. But with the world becoming more and more polarized, especially as it pertains to politics, our media has become fragmented in kind. Stories often only cover topics from a single perspective. There's far too much subjectivity in journalism now, and it doesn't seem to be letting up. But what if we could change this? What if people are open to change? It's a cyclical problem that's self-perpetuating, but the sooner we can re-evaluate what we expect from media, the sooner we can free ourselves from the pre-canned opinions and move back to critical thinking.

The relationship between politics and money is no secret; but lately it seems like less like a relationship and more like a symbiosis. Campaign costs continue to skyrocket and our voices have become a reflection of the amount of money backing them than the ideas themselves. We’re so deep in this model thats it’s causing our elected officials to focus more on how they're going to finance their next campaign, rather than making good on the promises they made for their current term. The consequences of this seems obvious, but the solutions do not. So how do we break the campaign finance cycle? 

They've come to saturate every media platform we interact with and it's become increasingly difficult to separate individuals' personal media accounts from an ad campaign. But what are social media influencers really marketing through their carefully constructed social media presences? Have they come up with a clever way to sell weight loss supplements? Or are they just giving us a glimpse into the narcissistic dystopia that we are inevitably headed toward? Why have they become so omnipresent and why can't we stop following them?

As many of our children are now attending school remotely as a result of the pandemic, teachers are scrambling to put digital curriculums together and parents are panicking as they have to act as the proxy for educators at home. In time, things will obviously get better; but online learning has some pretty distinct advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional schooling. What are they, and how might they affect kids in the short- and long-term?

The internet gives us unlimited access to the world’s knowledge; but is it actually helpful to have all of that information? Perhaps having such a free flow of data has diluted the importance of authorities and subject matter experts. And are we really getting a fundamental understanding of what we are consuming from the Internet? Or are we just parroting what we read from unreliable sources?

Want to be taller? Faster? Smarter? Want to eradicate all disease? All physical and mental disabilities? Want to play God? Gene editing, while only in its early stages now, proposes to do just that. And while we obviously want the best for our children, and most would go to any length to ensure our babies are born healthy; where should we draw the line?

Before our kids even begin high school, we’re overwhelming them with decisions for college education. But are we emphasizing the looming student loan debt with the same diligence? While college costs have continued to rise, the academic experience has become diluted. Are we really advocating for a brighter future for our children? Or are we setting up for a future economic disaster as student loan debt inevitably becomes unmanageable? And cost aside, are the skills taught in a traditional university setting really preparing our children for the workforce?

iMessage, Slack, email, etc. Our busy lives, along with the proliferation of technology, have massively changed our communications. Rather than the in-person conversations of yore, we’re increasingly relying on small snippets of text and longer timeframes to communicate with colleagues, friends, and loved ones alike. Is missing context causing confusion? Is our cognitive development changing as a result of this medium change? How will humans cope with the fragmentation of interpersonal communication in the future?