Reception 

# Cato Next Gen Reception, NYC 

### Hosted by Zak and Chaya Gelfond 

Date and Time 

September 23, 2026 6:30 - 8:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Pubkey, 85 Washington Pl., New York, NY 10011 

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##### Featuring 

[![Rikki Schlott cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-03/rikki-schlott%20Cropped.jpg?itok=Le-Wt6aA)](/people/rikki-schlott) 

[Rikki Schlott](/people/rikki-schlott)

Media Fellow

[ 

](https://twitter.com/RIKKISCHLOTT) 

[![adam-o-cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-05/adam-o-cropped.jpg?itok=BXOv-92_)](/people/adam-omary) 

[Adam Omary](/people/adam-omary)

Research Fellow, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/AdamOmaryPhD) 

![New York skyline at night](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2025-09/new-york-skyline-at-night.jpg?itok=rCeF4xqA) 

**We have reached capacity for this event, and registration is now closed. Please check our website soon for details about Cato’s Next Gen event on December 2. If you have any questions pertaining to registration, you may email** [**events@​cato.​org**](mailto:events@cato.org)**.**

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In 1975, nearly half of 25 to 34 year olds had moved out, married, had kids, and were working. Today, less than a quarter can say the same. It’s not that young people don’t want to grow up. It’s that growing up has become a lot harder.

Student debt, high inflation, and childcare costs have outpaced everything else in the economy. And even when the hurdles aren’t written into law, they’re wired into a phone—social media has reshaped how young people see themselves, each other, and their own futures. Media Fellow [Rikki Schlott](https://www.cato.org/people/rikki-schlott) outlines this phenomenon in her latest article for *Free Society*, which just dropped its latest issue ([take a look](https://www.cato.org/free-society/spring/summer-2026/peter-pan-state-how-bad-policy-delays-adulthood)).

Mental illness rates are rising, but does that mean well-being is declining? Is this directly linked to social media and phone usage? [In a recent article](https://www.cato.org/commentary/mental-health-crisis-or-crisis-overdiagnosis), Research Fellow [Adam Omary](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-omary) considers whether the mental health crisis may be a crisis of overdiagnosis.

Please join Rikki, Adam, and Josh Ferencik at PubKey on **Wednesday, September 23, at 6:30 PM** for drinks and a conversation. Don’t hesitate to share this invitation with anyone you think would be interested in joining us.

If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to Serena Home at [shome@​cato.​org](mailto:shome@cato.org).