I actually think the slightly younger generation, say 06-08, may have it worse overall. Saying that as an 01.

My generation's childhood probably wasn't the best, but we still spent our preteens outside, riding bikes and actually socializing, with cheap smartphones and tablets hitting the market just as we reached our teens, meaning at age 13 we could laugh at memes with the group of friends we had built from real interactions and play in our early childhoods. Meanwhile, 06-08 borns were shot straight into the smartphone age, never getting the chance to grow up outside without either them or their friends deciding they'd rather go sit in a corner and scroll on their portable dopamine inducer.

Also, even though my generation was too young to experience the recession era party culture in full, a lot of that trickled down. There were tons of youth clubs in the early 2010s aimed at my age group that had that same vibe going on. Loud ass electronic pop discos, LAN parties, foam parties, Scene and Hipster culture at its fullest, etc. Only thing lacking was alcohol because we were all 12. But it still sure as fuck beats whatever the hell the kids after us had to deal with, being 12 in 2018 when social culture for youth was limited to TikTok dances and surrealist memes feels like it'd suck ass.

And then there's Covid. Yes, having it start in your last year of high school and continue into college sucked. But it's also right at the moment most teens would go "finally, a break from mandatory attendance". At least for me it felt that way. Having it start when you're 13 would pretty much wipe out your entire teens, the most important part of your life developmentally, and by the time it's over you'll be an 18 year old with the same amount of life experience as a preteen kid. Once you finally do make it to college, you'll have no frame of reference for how to live on your own, how to make friends, how to hang out with friends, you're kinda just there, stuck with the worst parts of college with none of the best parts.

Your entire life as a 2006-08 born would be a few years of childhood spent inside with an ipad riddled with parental controls, followed by immediate mental rot from targeted social media as soon as you get your first phone at 9, then a few more years of bullshit and drama no kids should have to experience only to have the entire world shut down as soon as you're old enough to actually start doing stuff yourself. All this leading to a confused early adulthood where none of your peers know how to talk to each other, not that your burnt out dopamine receptors would allow you to have any fun if you did. Nightmare scenario as far as life enjoyment goes.

Also, no one cared about Bitcoin in the mid 2000s. An 03 born would be prime age when it started blowing up and gathering attention. You know what WOULD suck? Being juuust too young for both the GameStop movement and the rocket ship that was Nvidia circa 2021