I'm about to be 46, so "Generation X" here.
I agree with someone above that my "Generation" started the exodus. By my estimates, 90% PLUS of the JW's I grew up with and around my age LEFT the cult, never to return. Most did this before age 20, and rest before age 25. We were all fed up with this before we were age 18 and headed for the doors. The ones that stayed? I can honestly say there were isolated via homeschooling (knew nothing else, exposed to nothing else) or were children of Elders and Pioneer wives, so heavily brainwashed, isolated, and kept on the WT hamster wheel.
So think about this....I was 21 in the year 2000. I have a child who's 21, and has NEVER stepped foot into a Kingdum Hell. I have friends who are grandparents, SEVERAL TIMES OVER, who's children and grandchildren have never set foot into a Kingdum Hell, and they never will after hearing how we grew up in this dumbass cult.
So what is left? Our quickly aging parents (if even alive, mine aren't!) and really converts of the 3rd world and impoverished countries, and a those highly indoctrinated "Legacy Families" that all own businesses, are intermarried, and because of that can't really leave because they'd not only loose family, but also income, so they many times just "play along" as PIMO for the long haul.
So that was just my "Generation X." That was before the internet really took off. Today? People (and especially kids) don't do, buy, or consider anything without researching it first. And now, they just ask ChatGP or similar to summarize an item, concept, or question they have. Can you imagine what the AI returns to them? LOL!!!! Their attention spans are also waaaay shorter than ours. They aren't going to sit thru these long-ass conventions, not going to Zoom them either. Hahahahahaha! Not happening. Hell, my generation hated them. Sitting in July at The Vet in Philadelphia, or a long weekend at Grantville. I couldn't wait for it to be over! I perfected day-dreaming, etc. Today? lol!! Like I said, not happening, and no amount of stupid cartoons, sappy weirdo pseudo-Christian music videos, or literature releases at a 1st grade reading level are gonna win them over or stop the hemorrhaging.
The dumbing down of this cult is REAL.
The mass exodus is REAL.
The loosening of petty "rules" in order to be more appealing is REAL.
The tightening of the grip of the GB in order to retain what little they have left, is REAL.
The money-grab is complete, and it is definitely REAL.
The transformation of this cult is still occurring, and it is REAL.
What remains to be seen, is just how far down this cult is willing to go in order to remain relevant. We are 25 years past the year 2000. 24 years past 9/11. We should all be petting pandas by our lakeside Chalet's right now and catching up with our resurrected relatives. Instead, we're treated to the Gluttonous Bozo's fat faces and Rolex watches, begging for money and demanding OBEDIENCE.
As usual, their motto's remain the same:
"The beatings will continue, until morale improves."
And,
"Give until it hurts, then give some more!"
