I have a Z flip and while it’s far from perfect, foldable flip phones are great and I’d choose them over a same-spec regular phone every day. Much more convenient to carry in my pocket compared to a slab and basically having an included tripod for photos is pretty nice as well.
Hearing from my parents about the shitty, uncertain times they’ve already been through. Like the threat of nuclear annihilation during the Cold war, the division of Germany, various economic crises… everything was eventually followed by better times. Will everything work out in the long run? Who knows. But I don’t think we’re on some kind of linear path where everything will just get worse, forever.