From 90s sitcom drama to real-time estrangement, the holiday table is revealing a quiet generational shift in how we show up and why some don’t.
- The Family Estrangement Phenomenon
- Familycentrism - A Slide in the Importance of Family
- Family, Redefined
- Generational Approaches to Family
- Looking Through the Generational Prism
- And that brings us to Thanksgiving.
Full show notes
Thanksgiving used to be about turkey, travel, and tradition. Today, it’s becoming a litmus test for where families stand and in many cases, why they’re falling apart.
In this episode, Ryan Vet breaks down the quiet generational rebellion happening around the holiday table. Drawing from his widely read COLLIDE article and insights shared at ThinQ, Ryan explores why family estrangement is rising, why Gen Z is more likely to skip family gatherings, and how psychological safety, boundaries, and “toxic family” language are redefining what it means to belong.
You’ll hear the stat from psychotherapist Matthias Barker that stunned the ThinQ audience:
26% of U.S. adults have cut off communication with a parent.
From Chandler Bing’s Thanksgiving dread to Gen Z’s emotional safety checklist, this episode explains the cultural forces reshaping family, identity, and holiday traditions. It’s not about blaming any generation; it’s about understanding why the family structure is shifting and what that means for all of us this holiday season.
If you’ve ever felt tension walking into a family gathering, wondered why someone stopped showing up, or sensed that Thanksgiving “doesn’t feel the same anymore,” this conversation will connect the dots.
🔥 What You’ll Learn
• Why family estrangement is becoming mainstream • The Generational Prism and how each generation interprets conflict • Why Gen Z prioritizes psychological safety over tradition • How social media therapy normalizes going “no contact” • Why Millennials often feel caught between duty and boundaries • The shift from “family first” to “identity first” • How the holiday table reveals the future of the American family
📰 Want more conversations like this?
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About Ryan VetRyan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.
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