Silicon Valley, the home of Facebook, Apple, Google and Twitter, is the embodiment of the hustle culture. It’s a place filled with Type-A professionals all desperately competing to start the next big unicorn company that will go public and earn the founders and early employees millions—or billions—of dollars. They also desire to advance their careers against some of the smartest and most talented people in the world.
Professionals in and around Silicon Valley, particularly those 35 years and older, are trying everything—including questionable fads—to appear younger than they are, and which may offer an edge for their career. Just because we are in a hot job market and strong economy, it doesn’t mean that it’s easy for white-collar professionals to succeed in their careers. There is still pressure, anxiety, fear of failure and the need to stay competitive. To improve themselves, we’ve witnessed the phases of intermittent fasting, cryotherapy, long-term meditation retreats in far off exotic locations, Botox and facelifts for men.
The work world is obsessed with youth for a number of reasons. Older workers earn more money and are deemed too expensive. Management believes they could easily be replaced by younger employees who will cost significantly less. With a hyperfocus on social media and concerns of staying relevant for their customers, those with grey hair seem outdated and don’t fit in with the corporate culture, according to some senior management.
The push to stay young and relevant is reaching a frightening level with a new emerging trend. It’s reported in the BBC that people in Silicon Valley are taking “magic mushrooms,” which is really a dose of psilocybin, an LSD-type of drug. For example, $2,000 per month will get you your own psychedelic-trip coach guru. He’ll guide you through your mind-altering journey.
