“奥德赛时期”原本是 David Brooks 在2007年提出的概念，指青春与成年之间至少5年的漂泊期，传统成年标志包括搬离父母家、结婚、成家与经济独立；而如今这些成就达成得越来越晚，‘三十而立’的比例也在下降。本文认为，2026年的中国把这一概念重新炒热，但含义已从探索浪漫转为被迫无奈，映射经济下行、就业压力、内卷与35岁危机。
数据上，16—24岁劳动力失业率长期居高不下，约等于每6个年轻人就有1个失业；灵活就业人数已突破2亿，其中中青年占60%，本科及以上学历占六成。大量受过高等教育的年轻人被推入外卖骑手、网约车司机、自由撰稿人和短期项目工等不稳定岗位，缺乏五险一金、职业前景与清晰身份，所谓‘上岸’也越来越像一种外表安稳、但并不真正自主的生活。
作者强调，奥德赛神话的核心是主动选择、明确归途和英雄使命：奥德赛知道自己是谁、要去哪里，也能在试炼后带着智慧归来；而现实中的普通人多半只是被动漂泊，甚至因失业或gap year难以回到职场。与其把漂泊浪漫化，不如承认结构性困境，并转向‘心理富足’——把经历视为生命厚度；多数人不是奥德赛，但仍可以成为自己。
The term “Odyssey period,” coined by David Brooks in 2007, referred to at least five years of drifting between youth and adulthood. Traditional markers of adulthood—moving out, marriage, forming a family, and financial independence—are being reached later and later, and the share of people who truly ‘come of age’ by thirty is shrinking. The article argues that its 2026 revival in China no longer signals romantic exploration but forced helplessness, reflecting economic slowdown, job pressure, intensifying competition, and the 35-year-old crisis.
On the numbers, the unemployment rate for labor aged 16–24 has remained high, roughly one in six young people; flexible employment has surpassed 200 million, with 60% middle-aged and young adults and 60% holding a bachelor’s degree or above. Many highly educated young people are pushed into unstable work such as food delivery, ride-hailing, freelance writing, and short-term project jobs, with no social insurance, no clear career path, and no stable identity. ‘Landing safely’ increasingly means only an outwardly calm life, not genuine autonomy.
The author stresses that the Odyssey myth is built on active choice, a defined homeward route, and heroic mission: Odysseus knew who he was, where he was going, and returned with wisdom after trials. By contrast, ordinary people are mostly passively adrift, and even unemployment or a gap year can block reentry into the workforce. Rather than romanticizing drift, the article urges recognition of structural constraints and a turn to ‘psychological abundance’—treating experience as life depth; most people are not Odysseus, but they can still become themselves.