Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men Paperback – June 28, 2016 by Leonard Sax (Basic Books)

A lot of the factors mentioned in this book are common knowledge now, but it's helpful to read this book and look at all the evidence. Dr. Sax includes several examples in his book from his patients, all which are helpful. I wish that I could've read Chapter 6: Failure to Launch, when I was a girl adrift back in high school. As I went on to college, I did meet several students (boys and girls) who would've been more suited in the trades than in college, trying to find something meaningful to do with their lives. I know too many people--myself included--who've completed graduate school only to work as a barista or in sales, drifting along because they know they should be doing something important, but they don't know what.

The video game chapter seems self-evident now, but my guess is that it's just the tip of the iceberg. Once VR headsets become more mainstream, I think we all (boys, girls, adults established in their careers) will be kissing our motivation good-bye. It'll be hard living in the real world when a multi-sensory virtual world is so appealing. It's hard even now for some people to disengage with their smartphones. I know that I took several more days to finish this book because I was wasting too much time on Facebook in the evenings.

Since I enjoyed and learn so much from this book, I'll be looking forward to reading other books by this author. My kid is 2 now; I'll update my review in 20 years to let you know if the advice in the book worked.