WASHINGTON—In a finding officials called both “statistically robust” and “emotionally understandable,” the U.S. Census Bureau confirmed Thursday that 38 million Americans identified as “Tired of This Shit” on recent federal forms, making it the nation’s fastest-growing self-reported category since “Unclear If Roommates Or Dating” in 2012.
The designation emerged organically in write-in fields across the American Community Survey and several pilot questionnaires, appearing not only under Race and Ethnicity but also Occupation, Marital Status, Housing Situation, and an optional line asking respondents to “describe your daily commute in one word.” Analysts say the phrase showed unusual consistency in spelling, capitalization, and sigh-to-letter ratio.
“We’re trained to be neutral about categories, but the cross-tabs here just… look, they speak for themselves,” said Acting Census Director Valerie Montrose, who gestured to a slide that was mostly a large exhale. “We’re seeing clustering across regions, education levels, and income brackets. It’s not just a coastal elite thing or a rural thing. It’s more of a ‘people have been reading the news with their phone at 1% battery’ thing.”
The 38 million figure represents approximately 11.4% of the population—comparable to the populations of California and “that feeling when the microwave beeps at 0:01 because you were standing there the whole time,” analysts said. In some metro areas, including Philadelphia, Phoenix, and “the part of Atlanta that keeps getting described as ‘up-and-coming’ for the ninth consecutive year,” the share was as high as 18%.
Census field staff reported that in follow-up interviews, respondents provided a broad interpretation of what, precisely, they were tired of. “We attempted to clarify whether they meant work, politics, rent, traffic, their phone updating during a presentation, or the inexorable heat death of the universe,” said senior survey methodologist Priya Sethi. “Most answered, ‘Yes.’”
According to the Bureau, the “Tired of This Shit” category—abbreviated internally as TOTS, much to the regret of the cafeteria—saw rapid growth over the past decade. Only 3% of Americans used the phrase in 2010 during a limited pilot that offered “Other (please specify),” with common alternatives including “meh” and “nunya.” By 2020, that figure had climbed to 8%, often accompanied by a tiny drawing of a coffee cup on fire. In 2024, the month of August alone saw a surge to 13%, which one analyst attributed to “the heat and that one election poll that keeps getting re-posted with a new headline every day.”
“Demographically, TOTS skews 25 to 54, but we saw notable adoption among teens, especially those who sized it down to ‘tired of this’ to appease parental oversight filters,” said Sethi. “There are also 1.9 million older adults who wrote ‘so tired of this’ and then added, in parentheses, ‘you have no idea.’”
As the category emerged, agencies wrestled with classification. An internal Census memo suggested hyphenating it to “tired-of-this-shit” for consistency across data systems; respondents largely opposed that, describing hyphenation as “a bridge too far.”
Economists warned against dismissing the finding as mere fatigue. “TOTS is not just a mood; it’s an identity with policy implications,” said Dr. Lionel Tisby of the Brookings Institute For Whatever This Is Now. “Our models show TOTS membership correlates with a 19% increase in snack consumption between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., a 27% decrease in voluntary participation in group icebreakers, and a statistically significant preference for sitting in the chair nearest the exit at any gathering.”
The Bureau emphasized that TOTS is not mutually exclusive with other categories. “People can be both ‘Homeowner’ and ‘Tired of This Shit,’” said Montrose. “In fact, the Venn diagram is largely a circle, according to a graphic we abandoned after the designer labeled everything ‘ugh.’”
Political strategists immediately sought to court the group, which several campaigns described as “the largest persuadable bloc since ‘Americans Who Haven’t Gotten Around To Looking Up The Ballot.’” A Democratic National Committee spokesperson pledged “actionable empathy in a forward-looking tone,” while a Republican National Committee memo promised to “cut regulations that make things a hassle, specifically the ones that made what just happened happen.” A third-party candidate issued a statement reading, “I hear you,” followed by exactly 11 lines of silence.
Corporate America has already pivoted. A coffee chain announced a limited-edition “Same” blend, billed as “smooth, resigned, and available in a cup that says ‘sigh’ in a tasteful font.” A fitness app rolled out TOTS Mode, which tracks the number of times a user opens the app, stares at it, and closes it again; early adopters averaged 14.2 glances per day and 0.3 lunges. Human resources departments in at least nine states have piloted “TOTS days,” in which employees are encouraged to “do the thing tomorrow, unless tomorrow is doing the thing to you.”
“At this point, providing benefits that acknowledge the ambient hum of existence is a retention tool,” said Marla Dwyer, vice president of employee experience at a mid-size software firm called Forsythe & Daughters, which does something with APIs or maybe feelings. “We tried a mindfulness seminar, but participants nodded so vigorously it felt confrontational.”
Not everyone is pleased. A coalition of think tanks urged the Bureau to disaggregate “Tired of This Shit” into more granular subcategories such as “Tired of Your Shit,” “Tired of My Own Shit,” and “Tired of The Situation, Which Is A Vibe.” But language experts cautioned against overreach. “Words are doing heavy lifting here,” said Dr. Joanna Lai, a sociolinguist at the University of Minnesota. “We tamper with the syntax of a beloved phrase at our peril. People have so little; let them have the cadence.”
In a methodological appendix that is already the most downloaded federal PDF of the year, the Census noted that 22% of TOTS respondents conveyed their response via a box filled entirely with hash marks, 9% by writing “same” in lowercase across all pages, and 3% by sending back the envelope stuffed with loose glitter and a post-it that read “respectfully, no.” The margin of error ranges from plus or minus 2.3 percentage points to “look, today is not the day.”
Geographic dispersion revealed predictably high concentrations near major road construction projects, any place where a cable news program plays at an airport, and the entire length of I-95, which the Bureau temporarily designated as a “feelings corridor.” Rural areas saw pockets of intensity around school board meetings and “that one place where there’s always a line for some reason.” Seasonal fluctuations were noted, with spikes on Tuesdays and whenever a push notification uses the word “another.”
Potential policy responses include adding a dedicated checkbox in the 2030 Census (“Are you Tired of This Shit?” Yes/Already Was), updating federal occupational codes to include “Manager, Middle, Tired of This Shit,” and issuing a commemorative stamp featuring a raccoon in business-casual treadmilling in place. The Department of Transportation is also exploring signage alternatives, such as replacing “Merge” with “We’re All Doing Our Best.”
Despite the ubiquity of the sentiment, a small but vocal group insists they are “Not Tired of This Shit.” Statisticians flagged this as a potential data-quality problem, noting that 61% of those self-identified as “Not Tired” also reported consuming three energy drinks before noon and writing “rise and grind” in cursive on a dry-erase board every Monday. “We have to consider stimulant confounds,” said Tisby. “Or maybe they know something we don’t, like how to leave a conversation.”
Concluding the press conference, Montrose asked reporters to speak up, not because of any technical issue, but because her soul was “on low power mode.” She promised further updates after the Bureau reconvenes the National Advisory Committee on It. “We’re committed to rigorous measurement,” she said. “We just need a minute.”
The Census website briefly crashed when too many users attempted to use the new “Auto-Fill With Deepest Truth” option. It has since been restored, although visitors are still encountering a pop-up asking if they want to “save their progress and come back when the world calms down.” As of press time, 38 million Americans had clicked “Remind me tomorrow” and closed the tab with a small, dignified groan.
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