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What you say is true, but I suspect it’s more lack of social connection because we spend so much time with screens. In the old days you at least watched TV tog

by DougN7 8y ago

What you say is true, but I suspect it’s more lack of social connection because we spend so much time with screens. In the old days you at least watched TV together but now we can go in our own rooms and watch Netflix by ourselves. I remember visiting my grandparents and people actually went for walks in the evening and chatted with others sitting on their porches. They were poor by today’s standards, but seemed happier to young me. That life sounds amazing now.

astrodust 8y ago
The trouble isn't screens or social interaction, it's that there's this existential threat to everything that didn't exist outside of nuclear scares in the 1960s. The wild-eyed optimism that tomorrow would bring about something better and brighter lasted until the 1970s, but is completely and utterly dead now. Millenials are the first generation to have worse job prospects than their parents. If you want to know why they spend so much time on social media it's because it's the only thing that matters. Everything else is beyond their control and, honestly, utterly depressing.
- DougN7 8y ago
  I’m not sure. To me the threats you mention seem more cerebral since we have to think about them, but don’t feel them (well, I guess one feels pressure from one’s economic sitation). For example, irreversible global warming is a huge concern, but I don’t walk around thinking about it all day. But feeling lonely and disconnected is something that is hard to escape. Lack of human connection is hugely emotional. And in my experience, depression is emotional. But to be honest, I’m an armchair quarterback here so I’ll see what others have to say :)
  - astrodust 8y ago
    You don't have to be actively thinking about something for it to weigh on you and drag you down. I think people are more connected than you think. Where you used to have to converse with a handful of people in your immediate environment you can now maintain connections with people world-wide. That also introduces additional stress since we share the pain of others.

by DougN7 8y ago

astrodust 8y ago

The trouble isn't screens or social interaction, it's that there's this existential threat to everything that didn't exist outside of nuclear scares in the 1960s. The wild-eyed optimism that tomorrow would bring about something better and brighter lasted until the 1970s, but is completely and utterly dead now. Millenials are the first generation to have worse job prospects than their parents. If you want to know why they spend so much time on social media it's because it's the only thing that matters. Everything else is beyond their control and, honestly, utterly depressing.

DougN7 8y ago
I’m not sure. To me the threats you mention seem more cerebral since we have to think about them, but don’t feel them (well, I guess one feels pressure from one’s economic sitation). For example, irreversible global warming is a huge concern, but I don’t walk around thinking about it all day. But feeling lonely and disconnected is something that is hard to escape. Lack of human connection is hugely emotional. And in my experience, depression is emotional. But to be honest, I’m an armchair quarterback here so I’ll see what others have to say :)
- astrodust 8y ago
  You don't have to be actively thinking about something for it to weigh on you and drag you down. I think people are more connected than you think. Where you used to have to converse with a handful of people in your immediate environment you can now maintain connections with people world-wide. That also introduces additional stress since we share the pain of others.