I think the allure of backpacking around Europe or taking a gap year to learn about oneself has decayed with the new economic reality we're in.

Inequality has increased which limits potential participants. College tuition and student debt have ballooned, which increase the opportunity cost of traveling vs. working. Doing it young takes away crucial time for investments to compound later in life. And then there's the likelihood of these ventures proving to be a fruitless way for a person to spend their savings until they come back to reality and have to take the first job that comes their way.

Doing this when you're young has many benefits vs. doing it much older when you might not be able to for health reasons, the biggest benefit being the experience. But people ignore the costs.

I did a version of this. I didn't travel but I took time off to pursue a dream. I failed and the dream died. Then I started working and it sucked for years. Society had me under the thumb, and I made up my mind that I'd never make that mistake again. And through that experience, the dream 2.0 came along, and I gained the money to pursue it and travel as much as I want.

Kids like to run away from their problems. I'm not a kid anymore.