4 ms·

> but I have to wonder if there is some chemical we are exposed to more that might be causing mental disorders in addition to early onset cancers. It's always

by gnrlst 4y ago

> but I have to wonder if there is some chemical we are exposed to more that might be causing mental disorders in addition to early onset cancers. It's always easy to point the finger at a single cause, but the reality is that it's a series of factors that together act like a sophisticated, compound "attack" to the psyche: - Social media weakens your self-confidence and makes you feel in a constant state of inferiority, i.e. your present self. - The "post 9/11 world" you mention, is simply a result of a general worsening of Western political relations over time, which are becoming especially evident recently. That state of turmoil weakens your sense of stability and security, making the future look bleak - i.e. your future self. - Further blows for the knockout: climate change, pollution / micro-plastics / rising costs of living, etc. I'm actually surprised depression, anxiety and other mental disorders aren't more common...but perhaps they will be.

whimsicalism 4y ago
Excluding the microplastics thing, I think that your two latter points are actually both derived from the social media changes. Life today for almost everyone in the West is better than ever before, but people are exposed to a lot of thought on social media that 1. life is worse now, 2. in your lifetime there will be terrible destruction happening, which contributes to a sense of fatalism and doom. It is super appealing to the human psyche to think things are worse in [current-time period] than in the past. This is why there is an intuitive appeal to things like "Make America Great Again." Social media only amplifies this effect because people are exposed to things that are maximally appealing to their psyche.
- TomSwirly 4y ago
  > Life today for almost everyone in the West is better than ever before, I'm 60. You've just got to be joking. When minimum wage was $3.30, a one-bedroom apartment cost $285. Now the same apartment is well over $2000. My university tuition averaged about $1200 a year - that was about 10 35-hour weeks at minimum wage. But I got small scholarships that paid for it. My girlfriend worked in a sub shop two nights a week and had a summer job. No one went into debt. One working parent could support a stay-at-home parent and pay off a mortgage. Or you could work part-time and have a modest life and pursue your dream. People just walked into career jobs right out of university. Listening to young people today, unless they're in one of a small number of very much in demand fields, the idea of stability, steady advancement, or buying a home seem impossible.
- brankoB 4y ago
  Life today is better if you're already established, i.e. have a well paying job, own a home, etc. Being young in todays world is exponentially harder than it was, say, 40 years ago. Many young people have given up on the idea of home ownership. I'm 26 and I've had friends laugh in my face when I suggested owning instead of renting. It's simply unattainable unless you're in a lucrative field. I'm in Canada for reference (our home price to income ratio is one of the worst in the world).
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    I think you are just falling to this same nostalgia bias. In terms of the material abundance that one experiences today, it is just on a different level from 40 years ago. Housing ownership is also not the be all end all. And while the prices are higher, the rates are lower so that you will not be paying a greater proportion of your income on housing. Compare to 40 years ago: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP To look at housing and say that the high price of homes negates all quality of life improvements in the last 40 years seems wrong to me.
soundnote 4y ago
> - The "post 9/11 world" you mention, is simply a result of a general worsening of Western political relations over time, which are becoming especially evident recently. That state of turmoil weakens your sense of stability and security, making the future look bleak - i.e. your future self. The relations have not simply become worse, they have been very deliberately driven to be worse: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/media-great-racial-awakening https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/media-great... Just look at these hockey sticks. People talk about divisive rhetoric, but hot damn.

by gnrlst 4y ago

whimsicalism 4y ago

Excluding the microplastics thing, I think that your two latter points are actually both derived from the social media changes. Life today for almost everyone in the West is better than ever before, but people are exposed to a lot of thought on social media that 1. life is worse now, 2. in your lifetime there will be terrible destruction happening, which contributes to a sense of fatalism and doom. It is super appealing to the human psyche to think things are worse in [current-time period] than in the past. This is why there is an intuitive appeal to things like "Make America Great Again." Social media only amplifies this effect because people are exposed to things that are maximally appealing to their psyche.

TomSwirly 4y ago
> Life today for almost everyone in the West is better than ever before, I'm 60. You've just got to be joking. When minimum wage was $3.30, a one-bedroom apartment cost $285. Now the same apartment is well over $2000. My university tuition averaged about $1200 a year - that was about 10 35-hour weeks at minimum wage. But I got small scholarships that paid for it. My girlfriend worked in a sub shop two nights a week and had a summer job. No one went into debt. One working parent could support a stay-at-home parent and pay off a mortgage. Or you could work part-time and have a modest life and pursue your dream. People just walked into career jobs right out of university. Listening to young people today, unless they're in one of a small number of very much in demand fields, the idea of stability, steady advancement, or buying a home seem impossible.
brankoB 4y ago
Life today is better if you're already established, i.e. have a well paying job, own a home, etc. Being young in todays world is exponentially harder than it was, say, 40 years ago. Many young people have given up on the idea of home ownership. I'm 26 and I've had friends laugh in my face when I suggested owning instead of renting. It's simply unattainable unless you're in a lucrative field. I'm in Canada for reference (our home price to income ratio is one of the worst in the world).
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  I think you are just falling to this same nostalgia bias. In terms of the material abundance that one experiences today, it is just on a different level from 40 years ago. Housing ownership is also not the be all end all. And while the prices are higher, the rates are lower so that you will not be paying a greater proportion of your income on housing. Compare to 40 years ago: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MDSP To look at housing and say that the high price of homes negates all quality of life improvements in the last 40 years seems wrong to me.

soundnote 4y ago

> - The "post 9/11 world" you mention, is simply a result of a general worsening of Western political relations over time, which are becoming especially evident recently. That state of turmoil weakens your sense of stability and security, making the future look bleak - i.e. your future self. The relations have not simply become worse, they have been very deliberately driven to be worse: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/media-great-racial-awakening https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/media-great... Just look at these hockey sticks. People talk about divisive rhetoric, but hot damn.