Adult gap years are having a moment.
Last month, the Associated Press published a story about so-called mini sabbaticals, wherein people are leaving a job or making the most out of long-term unemployment. Doing so can greatly improve one’s mental health, according to the AP story, and can help reorient priorities.
“I wish we could have done it sooner,” one sabbatical-taker told the AP.
The story was quickly pilloried on X (formerly Twitter), where users said that the very concept of an “adult gap year” was loaded with privilege. “Those that can afford to do this are already plenty rejuvenated I promise,” one person noted. Many more snarked that the AP story was trying to put a positive spin on the trauma of losing one’s source of income. (The writer of the AP piece, Colleen Tebeau, tells Fast Company that she was trying to report on those for whom a yearlong break was “more of an intentional choice,” and acknowledges not everyone can afford to do so.)
But at the heart of the minor media drama isn’t just a question of privilege; it’s also one of connectedness. That is, meager finances combined with a propensity to be online (as it is a low-to-no-cost activity) can be a recipe for disaster.
“It is nearly impossible to have a restorative break when one needs to worry about affording their basic needs—watching a paltry savings account dwindle is rarely rejuvenating,” says Renée Zavislak, a licensed therapist based in California. “After more than a decade in private practice, I can tell you there are only two things that cause suffering: trauma and capitalism.”
Zavislak says while separating from a toxic job can greatly improve one’s mental health, the long haul of unemployment can have grave detrimental effects on it, too. For the chronically online, it can be a dangerous trap and an especially challenging time.
