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Actually, this was tangentially addressed. It specifically mentions the fact that we are getting less bright light exposure today due to our increasingly indoor
by ljoshua 8y ago
Actually, this was tangentially addressed. It specifically mentions the fact that we are getting less bright light exposure today due to our increasingly indoor habits (versus historical contexts where humans typically worked outside more), as well as the decrease in physical activity due to the changing nature of work as well. Furthermore, it specifically highlighted the disconnect between physical labor and reward (it called it "effort-based rewards"), or in very crude terms, we run to run these days, instead of running to catch our meal.
There's certainly a good deal more to the topic you brought up as a whole, but those were a couple of interesting points from the article that I thought it addressed.
- peterwwillis 8y agoThose are reasons to want a serotonin hit, but they don't explain the huge cultural trend towards depression. Just look at 50 years ago. We were working in about the same way that we work today, in basically the same environments. Same amount of light, same lack of physical labor. How did we get more depressed in the same environment over such a short period of time?
- poushkar 8y agoIt is believed that 50 years ago depression was less researched and therefore less diagnosed/recognised. Also, social stigma of mental disorders was stronger and people generally kept quiet about it. The bottom line is: it was always there, it's just that we talk about it more nowadays.
- mdorazio 8y agoI thought the same thing, but the data does not support this view. See my other comment in this thread - if you look at the symptoms of depression/anxiety rather than specific diagnoses of it, the trends are pretty clear.
- copperx 8y agoIf there were no data, how can you say that the data do not support this view?
- ComputerGuru 8y agoWho says there is no data? http://www.csun.edu/~dma/Twenge,%20Gentile,%20DeWall,%20Ma,%20Lacefield,%20&%20Schurtz%20(2010).pdf http://www.csun.edu/~dma/Twenge,%20Gentile,%20DeWall,%20Ma,%...
- mdorazio 8y agoThere is data. See my other comment...
- mdorazio 8y agoFor those who want more data on this [1]. [1] https://www.thecut.com/2016/03/for-80-years-young-americans-have-been-getting-more-anxious-and-depressed.html https://www.thecut.com/2016/03/for-80-years-young-americans-...
- ComputerGuru 8y agoI really wanted to like that article but it does not exhibit sufficient scientific rigor. It's a little too dumbed down to be of value here, which is a shake since I think the underlying issue is quite real.