While watching live news feed updates on Facebook the other day, I was suddenly reminded of the time I read “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Veiled concern weighed on one post after another. One friend had a bad job interview; two more discussed moves out West and down South in search of work; another was irritated at living with his parents post-college. These posts are typical lately.

It’s no secret that young people face a bleak job market. By one measure, about one out of every five want a job but cannot get one — not surprising since seven million jobs have been lost in less than two years. It could be a decade until those jobs are replaced, and with a massive pool of experienced professionals also looking for new work, it becomes apparent why the prospects for an inexperienced young person are at an historic low-point.

To many, joblessness may seem like a minor detour. Support from family and friends can extend dependency a few more years. College life can be stretched into grad school — or lived sans college. With a few friends, a minimum-wage job can pay the bills. No need to jump into a career right away.

But the questions recur: When will things change? Is this a permanent condition? If dozens of immaculate cover letters and incessant phones calls never get me an interview, why keep trying?

This should be easy. We have been taught our whole lives how to apply for a job. In elementary school, we operated pretend businesses, counted money and learned to respect authority figures. In high school, we formatted resumes, practiced keyboarding and were taught to write in a summary style perfect for memos and nothing else. In college, we have learned our trades and developed our careers through networking, all while congratulating ourselves for our imminent productivity.

And here we are, moments before our glorious entrance into economic independence, chomping at the bit for the riches of high-income consumerism, and, as if on cue, the whole thing has gone bust.

It would be ironic if so many people were not suffering as a result. Most of the real stuff doesn’t get posted on Facebook, though you can sometimes read it between the lines: friends struggling to make student loan and credit card payments, skimping on important expenses like food, clothes, health insurance and car repairs, anxious not only for themselves but for friends and family also facing tough times.

For many who face health problems, bankruptcy, foreclosure or a lack of any means of support, economic despair is a fact of life.

These struggles will be with us for some time. Our lives, our society and our social networks will reflect them. We will be judged on what we do about them.

And we can do a lot. We have the knowledge and skills to find creative ways of alleviating poverty and reducing joblessness. But success will not come from a monolithic effort; rather, it will germinate out of a diverse coalition of individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, academics and politicians contributing what they can. Research these issues, discuss and debate them, get involved in political movements, make joblessness visible so that there will be an impetus to address it.

As the most well-connected and highly educated demographic in American history, we are more prepared for this job than any group before us. Many of us have nothing else to do and would benefit from change. Get involved — it’s a no-brainer.