I give them credit for having the sheer gonads to openly proclaim themselves as NEET, in a culture that still emphasizes work ethic.
this reminds me of a culture I read about in Ancient Greek myths, the Lotus Eaters. they were a tribe who lived on a tropical island, and just relaxed and got high all day (some scholars believe the 'lotus' was a reference to the opium poppy). the Greeks who encountered them were tempted by the lifestyle, and had to pull themselves away from it. as pleasant as it might be to let time pass in leisure, nothing gets done that way. the Lotus Eaters didn't build, write, create, or discover. the only reason they have a legacy at all is because the Greeks wrote about them, otherwise they'd be forgotten.
I think modern life enables the NEET lifestyle. of course, there are a number of factors: economy, virus, mental health, etc. but simply put, it's easier than ever to indulge in escapism. You can live fairly comfortably for years as a shut-in, with the internet as a 24/7 source of stimulation. while leisure has its benefits, ultimately doing creative/productive things with your life is far more rewarding. for example, I've done nerdy things for my favorite hobby , vidya, such as documenting/mapping stuff, writing up content in wikis, etc. it's not much, but it's something of value that exists, and without me it wouldn't.
and of course, society needs work in order to function. whether it's a proper job with a W4, or doing useful tasks, work will exist in some capacity. even if we built machines to do everything for us, someone would still have to maintain those machines. and getting too dependent on automation comes with its own dangers, the background of the Dune novels really gets into this with the Butlerian Jihad.
overall, while there are things to criticize about work culture and socio-economic structures, many NEETs fall into a trap of entitlement, gibs, and a delusional understanding of how societies function.
