I’m 43, almost 44, years old and went through a bought of alcoholism during the early part of the pandemic. I went through treatment and have been fine since. However, I can’t help but feel that all the news in the last few months is just the worst. Between the AI bullshit, the wars, the effects of capitalism, and the political situation in general it’s just the worst. Is it just me or have other folks noticed the same trend?
Edit: I should have also mentioned the enshitification of everything tech related.
Edit 2: Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. For some more context, yes I’m American and live in a state that’s about to ban the wearing of masks in public. I haven’t had a drink in over year and have been in therapy for 3 years. I don’t watch any news sources and rarely read media websites. But yet, that information seeps into my life somehow. I donate blood, I make charitable donations, and try to live a good life. I have 2 amazing kids and a great wife. It’s just hard to not end up in a doomer mindset at times. A Bitcoin company bought a power plant up here that has an existing lease to use a lake as cooling water, and it’s heated up the lake to the point that it’s killing fish.
Remember that there are biases at play here. There’s the negativity bias (we worry more about bad things happening, than we are uplifted about geed things happening), and media bias to report the worst. As Pinker wrote:
News is about things that happen, not things that don’t happen. We never see a journalist saying to the camera, “I’m reporting live from a country where a war has not broken out”. (…) As long as bad things have not vanished from the face of the earth, there will always be enough incidents to fill the news, especially when billion of smartphones turn most of the world’s population into crime reporters and war correspondents.
Combine the two, and you will naturally have all media preferentially report (and often blow out of proportion for the views and clicks) bad news over good news.
Pinker is a neoliberal hack.
Is the statement they’re quoting incorrect?
It’s not worse today IMO, I mean the news, it’s just we’re constantly seing them, because of our smartphones & cetera.
In the nineties the toral nuclear war was also imminent and we’d not be able to live outside because of pollution @ year 2000.
To combat all that I’m getting my information myself, so I go to trusted sources and check out the state of the world in that specific matter (I have decided to follow certain topics, because I just can’t take in everything) instead of being bombarded by random clickbait horror stories (remember, news outlets needs to capture your attention Every day even if nothing happens and also gore and hate sells more).
Cheers and good luck!
While you have a point, if you’re scared you keep watching/reading and that benefits the companies behind pumping the fear, there is also a pretty goddamn dire situation with climate change. Things are happening much faster than they seemed to expect. Remember it used to be “we won’t have an habitable world in a few hundred years at this rate” and then it was “our children’s children are going to have a tough time,” and then it was “ what kind of world are we leaving for the next generation” and now it’s “um…this is happening.”
Scientists aren’t interested in scaring you. They’re interested in what the data suggests. And the scientists are freaking the fuck out. This is bad. And we’re not moving at 1% of the speed we should be. That really can’t be downplayed. Is this the end of life as we were promised/told it would be? I don’t mean we’re nose to nose with a mad max reality, more that we are going to start feeling pretty intense effects weather-wise, seeing the global south start to emigrate, feel the effects of a capitalism squeezing the last of our money and labor out of us because even their predictions will see profits dip when people start rioting, dying off, etc. (what they plan on doing with those profits in a dead world, I don’t know. But that’s capitalist brain for you.)
I’m just saying. We need to really consider if what we’re doing with our time is how we’d want to spend it if it were our last chance in this structure. OP, that doesn’t mean you should dive down a bottle, though. I kinda got that from the subtext of this post.
Living in the US, I see on a daily basis the indifference to climate. It’s been heavily politicized. One side cares a little, the other side does not care one bit. It’s very sad to see.
I also lived in Europe for many years where climate is less politicized and more mainstream. Most people try to do their best to contribute regardless of their political preferences. It’s a big difference to what I see in the US.
It doesn’t help that news corps have found that we generally respond to the negative news much more than we do positive news.
That doesn’t invalidate the negative news, though. I mean, what good news do you think they’re not reporting that makes up for the actual shit going on in the world that has a real, tangible effect on people’s lives?
"Your future is completely fucked, from finances, to freedoms, to democracy, to the damn climate itself.
But, hey, the bees are coming back. For now, at least."
its the fight/flight response. negative news gets people afraid… literally gets their juices flowin. some people who have stopped watching faux news specifically mention the exhausting nature of the constant fear put forth by the ‘network’.
Short answer. Yes.
Long answer: I’m 48. And while some of what we are feeling is certainly a sense of “back in my day” nostalgia, its certainly not the only cause.
We are from a strange generation who were old enough to remember a world before all of this, and young enough to adapt to all of it with relative ease. ( “this” being a transition to an online existence)
Even one generation before us just simply struggles with it. And just one generation after us, while still “born” before this all became a thing, were to young to truly experience it.
So we have a very unique and valuable perspective to offer; one that says "yes, things seemed better back then, and that is likely most certainly true for many things. But some things were likely just as fucked up back then and we simply didn’t have the internet screaming it at us 24-7. And perhaps right and left were not quite as polarized as they are today because of it.
Just my Gen-x take on it.
I recommend not watching or reading the news. Spend your free time learning about hobbies or finding new ones, getting involved in local politics instead of national/global politics, improving yourself, and finding friends in communities around your hobby.
If you want some PC gaming friends that don’t talk about politics all the time, DM me. We’re in our late 20’s through 40’s.
i’m convinced that creating echo chamber cocoons are the reason why things are so fucked rn.
I’m not saying create an echo chamber, my advice excludes engaging with people who agree and disagree, at least when it comes to large scale politics. If someone wants to get involved in politics, I think they should avoid echo chambers and engage in good discussion. But for people who just want to or need to get away from it, disengaging entirely I think is the way to go. You can still get involved in local polics without engaging in larger politics. They often have direct impacts on your community and it varies wildly between different communities.
Only one thing can be the worst. Grammatically everything else is just bad.
I find it easy to have this mindset too. Sometimes it’s outright depressing.
But I think a lot of this is a result of the media having given up on reporting good news.
Try ignoring the news for a while and you may feel better.
I have to agree. It seems like media in general is trying to get as many views/ clicks as possible and sadly negative information tends to garner more attention.
In addition to ignoring the news, it also helps to sift through what type of content we consume.
But personally, I found that a key factor is balance - being physically active, while constraining media time down to an hour or less. I don’t just mean exercise here, but rather anything physical, like doing the dishes or doing a puzzle as a hobby.
Anything analogue can clear your mind and improve your general mood.
I think a lot of the comments have really hit the nail on the head. Never hurts to take a step back and try to detox from the climate of negativity that inundates social media. Go out for a walk, go cycling, touch grass
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I don’t think anyone would claim that literally going outside is gonna fix anyone’s life, or cure this broken-ass world we live in.
But the sentiment isn’t wrong.
It means: Take some time for yourself. Enjoy the small things. Exercise. Feel the sun on your face. Leave your phone in your pocket, and stop doomscrolling. See the world in your own terms, not the terms others want to force upon you.
It helps. You can’t change the whole world, but you can change yourself.
I live in Scotland, I haven’t seen the sun since I went on vacation over a year ago!
Hooray! 🙌🏻
There have been many times in history when things have been far worse, so no, it’s not the worst. But many things are in decline right now. Democracy, digital privacy, trustworthiness of information, global peace, climate, the environment… humanity has to get back on track soon or the future looks pretty grim.
Only thing that is worse in my mind is the “media” no longer news and “social media” both are largely negative and both are full of misinformation these days.
Housing costs may also be a negative…
Other than that MOST things seem better, we just can’t enjoy anything since the media/social media keeps telling us what we should fear and hate.
Other than that MOST things seem better
This is obviously going to be a discussion that’s going to vary greatly from place to place and region to region, but I honestly what to know what you think this.
This is going to be pretty American-centric, and even then pretty specific to my region, but that’s certainly not the case here. Cost of living has skyrocketed, wages have hardly budged, and people are really, really struggling.
Now, we’ve obviously made some amazing progress in recent history. As fucked as it still is and as far as we still have to go, I think gay rights is probably one of the best examples of this. Even with all the bullshit we continue to see, we’re miles ahead of 20 years ago.
But the overall trend, even internationally, is incredibly worrying. People’s standards of living are decreasing, far right nationalistic populist movements are gaining momentum nearly everywhere you look, and we’re actively watching multiple genocides happen in front of our eyes. Famines are already being massively exacerbated by climate change, you just don’t hear about them because they’re happening in poor countries. Everything points to all our previous warnings about climate change being incredibly conservative. I personally have next to zero hope in the world’s government’s to do a damn thing about it.
Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely still the possibility for a good ending. These are all problems than can be solved. We even know how to solve a good chunk of them. Just have to actually find the political to force it.
Cost of living has skyrocketed, wages have hardly budged, and people are really, really struggling.
True… However it does appear to be slowing a bit for both the US and Canada
People’s standards of living are decreasing
Famines are already being massively exacerbated by climate change, you just don’t hear about them because they’re happening in poor countries.
https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions
There is far less poverty in the world today than in the past.
Everything points to all our previous warnings about climate change being incredibly conservative.
Probably true, but we also appear to be on the edge of a massive move away from fossil fuels to renewables with the cost of solar dropping, grid level battery systems replacing old coal / natural gas peaker plants etc and the move is no longer just about the “environment” these technologies are in some ways superior or cheaper as well which will accelerate adoption
True… However it does appear to be slowing a bit for both the US and Canada
And until the relationship between cost of living and wages reverses, not just slows down, we’re simply talking about things getting worse less quickly, not getting better
There is far less poverty in the world today than in the past.
Generally true, and this is largely from developing nations starting to have a growing middle class. Unfortunately, all signs point towards that middle class inevitably being consumed by the owner class, as we have watched and are watching the tail end of in the west.
Not sure what that has to do with the famines being caused by climate change though, especially as they are rapidly getting worse. Look at what’s happening currently in Madagascar. This is at a global temperature increase well below where we thought these things would start happening. That’s not even considering that all this is happening while Europe’s biggest breadbasket is currently the home of the 2nd worst war since WW2.
Probably true, but we also appear to be on the edge of a massive move away from fossil fuels to renewables with the cost of solar dropping, grid level battery systems replacing old coal / natural gas peaker plants etc and the move is no longer just about the “environment” these technologies are in some ways superior or cheaper as well which will accelerate adoption
While true, we are still accelerating our carbon production. Like the CoL/Wage thing, unless we see an outright drastic reversal, we are simply talking about things getting worse less quickly, not getting better. This isn’t an issue we can simply continue saying “oh science will just figure it out” on. We’ve been saying that since at least the 60s. Unless we get sweeping, drastic action from multiple large governments, and we get it very soon, nothing is going to change.
That’s also assuming we are actually “on the edge of a massive move away from fossil fuels to renewables”. We’ve been “on the edge” of that for seemingly forever now.
None of this even touches on the overt slide towards far right authoritarianism half the world seems to have taken.
Look, I legitimately try my best to stay optimistic about the future, but it is ridiculously naive to say the future looks brighter today than at the turn of the millennium.
Negativity and wedge issues sell. Keep your head up and don’t let them play you out. It’s all for money or power …or both.
agreed, life is tough, but remember: we didn’t start the fire!
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Every time I see people try to blame the media on this, I look at my medical bills, I look at my bank account, I look at the temperature, I look at the cost of housing, I look at the vacant seats where my coworkers sat before they were let go, I look at the election results, I look at my sister who had her right to an abortion stolen, I look at the hateful people that vandalized my trans partner’s car…
And I think, damn…the media sure has some real reach, don’t they? They’re really going all out to make me miserable. I mean, this is some impressive commitment to a narrative. One day I’m gonna break free and live in this reality where “Everything is fine, actually” with the rest of you but first I gotta figure out how the media has me in the Truman Show situation.
the media sure has some real reach, don’t they?
I mean, yeah pretty much. It’s been a few decades of sensationalism, anti-intellectualism, and capitalism-is-patriotism rhetoric, but we got here. It’s not entirely the media, but the media definitely has a huge impact.
Yeah, I can’t really put down all the bullshit in one post. When I say media that means the marketing companies that use it as tool as well. There’s a lot more to everything. Everything is so intertwined and deeply engrained. There is no good sides. All sides have good and bad. Etc… idk it’s paradox that can be investigated and thought over infinitely. …it’s life.
It’s pretty bad right now, but it’s not hopeless everywhere! There are some parts of the world that are getting developed for the first time though it’s probably approaching the end for America
It’s the end of things being easy, that’s for sure. But maybe that’s okay.
Humanity is in for a wild ride with climate change coming. It will upend entire food chains, let alone nations.
Sure, there’s definitely been worse and more unstable periods in history before, but what’s coming is very likely going to make those look tame in comparison.
I fully expect Eco-Fascism to take hold at some and the very people who denied the existence of climate change will demand full control of the last vestiges of the planets resources because in their minds only they are smart and capable enough to dole out what’s left to the plebeians.
In other words, things have been a hell of a lot worse and could get a hell of a lot worse. Instead of waiting in anticipation for the worst that may inevitably happen, do your best to lead a good, kind, and loving life with the people close to you. Things feel like they’re getting worse all the time, and hell, maybe they really are…
But well better to count your blessings now than to waste your life acting like it’s all already as bad as it can be or that the badness is just around the corner. Maybe it is just around the corner. Even more reason to savor the little joys of life while you still have them and to build connections in your community while there’s still time to build Mutual Aid networks. Those things alone can make a dark future easier to suffer, community and fond memories.
As mentioned by other commentators, negative, emotional news sell the best and the news nearly perfected this method during the last couple of years. Yes, it isn’t as good as pre pandemic times, but it’s not the worst. For me it really helped to limit my news time to max. once a day (like in the past with the newspaper in the morning or a news show in the evening) and watching things called “good news”. In Germany some TV shows have this category so I never searched it on social media or YouTube, but I bet there are some channels/pages dedicated to good news (like there is a new treatment for disease XY or here is a good step in the fight against climate change, but sometimes just news like “the big panda isn’t as endangered as it was”.
Hello fellow 1980 baby. Have you ever seen a chicken hatch? It’s a pretty destructive process. The chick is immediately exposed to a myriad of microorganisms, a sharp shell, embryonic fluid, and plenty of other potential hazards that it can easily kill itself on in the first 20 minutes of its life. However, if it can manage to make it through the hazards you end up with a cute fluffy yellow chick, for another day. They turn brown and dull way too quick for me, at least when I was 10. My point here is that humanity is also going through a transitory period currently. We have already technically reached post scarcity levels, and the proletariat is noticing that. There is bound to be a fair bit of bloodshed over the next couple decades as we strip the power from the ultra wealthy sociopaths that currently run the ship, but the upside is that fucktons of really smart people understand that the roadmap to world peace includes universal education for all, and the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth.
