Do you think people are so careless in public now / etc because it just feels like the end of the world is coming?
the pandemic making people realize - oh shit they can just grind all this to a halt with the push of a button
the recent election frauds / riots / etc in the US, global warming / severe weather increasing, capitalism getting more and more ruthless, everything sucks more and costs more....
it feels so weird that it's 2023 and we still care about dress codes or professionalism, at the same time. because it sort of feels like we're in the beginning of a movie waiting for the bad thing to happen
Like it or not, this is the curse of modern media and, in particular, social media (including Lemmy). Boring details don’t get clicks or upvotes. Hype does. If you spend much time being exposed to one sensational headline, article or discourse after another, you’re going to have a much different view of the world than those who don’t.
If you don’t believe me, walk away from internet media and cable news networks for two weeks. I guarantee you’ll notice some change in your perspective and, possibly, an even see improvement in your overall mental health.
Block subs that spew poisonous vitriol...but also block subs that mindlessly preach to the choir or are just repeating things you already know or agree with like political memes you already agree with. It's a cheap laugh or endorphin or rage hit but updooting accomplishes fuckall. Once you generally figure out how the news is presented to business interests/the public/labor there isn't a ton to be gained in any particular story other than...where do I file this latest entry of epistemology?
There is an easily avoided line when once you understand how the board is set, to enjoy the comprehension of position rather than to further develop.
I'd say this comes down to people being less involved in their local communities. In an advanced economy, people work specialized jobs and use the money they earn to buy whatever they need. While this is efficient, it's not a great way to get to know your neighbours. Communities don't come together to raise a barn, a farmer just hires a construction company to do that.
There isn't really an incentive to make friends with the people around you, since it's not like being everyone's favourite will pay for your rent or groceries! It seems to me like the more pressure there is to make money, the less incentive there is to make friends.
Old person here: No, people have always been like this. Honestly, there's always some sort of fear about the world ending: Nuclear war, terrorist attacks, active shootings, climate disasters, etc.
The world isn't going to end any time soon, it's just going to change. Though humans may or may not be around for the rest of the ride in the long run, that will be well after you and I are gone.
Also, an old person. I think the difference this time is twofold.
The people in charge are clearly crazy and in some cases unwell. The general enshitification of life. Ordinary every day things are much worse but more expensive.
I agree it won’t end but society as we knew it ten years ago (a hope that the future would be better, the big problems could be tackled) is finished.
If you're truly old (I'm 46 myself) please don't use this word it's so goddamn dumb. It's the worst thing that ever came out of the excessive vitriol of the last few years.
We all get it. Things are getting worse. There was always a far better term to use which better encapsulates everything.
"Race to the bottom"
I’m much older than you and quite like the word which is why I used it.
I also think that sort of gatekeeping of words is another sign of the decay of society. People used to enjoy new words being coming into use but now they are ‘dumb’
It’s not cromulent and doesn’t embiggen the soul.
I'll tell you a secret, it has always felt like the end of the world is coming. It's been a constant throughout history. People will always look around and say "well this whole thing is all going to hell". This will never change and it has more to do with individual human psychology than the state of society.
My parents disagree. When they were my age everything was optimistic, except for some half imagined boogeyman of the cold war, which no one cared about day to day.
Today is worse for more people.
Now we have cops that think they are in a war with society. They steal, lie, murder and kidnap people just to buy more weapons to use against us. We are the new boogeymen.
The world has been ending my entire life LOL, it's a never ending shit show. Always has been, always will be. The only thing that's changed is we carry a device in our pockets enabling us to obsess over it 24/7 now. I'm not saying it's not worth paying attention to issues, just don't let it get to you. We are aware of everything at all times now but our ability to affect things stays the same for most of us and that fosters hopelessness.
I agree with your observations in general. I think everyone's behavior is less tied to the whole end of the world thing and just a demonstration of how late stage capitalism has dissolved so many social structures that general social cohesion is starting to unravel.
It must be a localised thing because I am not seeing any of what you describe where I live.
Things are back to the way they were before covid.
No better but certainly no worse.
There is tonnes of doom and gloom online but I see little to none of it talking to the people in the community around me.
the slow boiled frog doesn't hop out of the pot. I think there's a tremendous amount of dismay in the scientific community that's not coming across in the media. The main outlet I don't see downplaying the issue is the Guardian, here are some examples of their reporting on the actual climate researcher's reactions:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/05/gobsmackingly-bananas-scientists-stunned-by-planets-record-september-heat
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/27/arctic-warming-scientists-alarmed-by-crazy-temperature-rises
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/07/why-scientists-are-using-the-word-scary-over-the-climate-crisis
I'm a buyer for a large food distributor, so my job is importing food from around the world. There is definitely a lot of worrying conversation at work everyday. So many crop failures and shortages. I think a lot of people are oblivious to these things, they just see the price of tomatoes go up and think we're being greedy when actually it's because whole crops have failed.
I mean, it doesn't help that grocers are facing the pinch from supply, while also simultaneously jacking up prices internationally on all kinds of commodities that aren't threatened. Prices have risen, but so has profit taking by billionaire assholes.
https://www.vox.com/money/23641875/food-grocery-inflation-prices-billionaires
yes, it does. That is the worst smart sounding metaphor that gets used again and again. While being complete bullshit.
Yep. Human civ is basically fucked.
The three choices you have are:
euthanasia
Complain about it every waking minute.
Or try to find some happiness in the meantime.
fuck that. fuck everything about crying, killing yourself or ignoring the issue.
what an example for your kids. we should be tearing the doors off of the petroleum companies, forcing them to stop the disinformation, tearing down the super pacs that they fund and basically anything would be better than your proposals.
fuck everything about that defeatist bullshit.
I chose not to have kids to lessen my climate impact 25+ years ago. That way my climate impact dies with me. It is the biggest emissions reduction any person can make.
You do what ever you want, though you seem to be complaining quite a lot about my choices and that others may complain or chose to end their climate impact on their own terms.
I live simply, no car, public transport only. My phone is 7 years old, my pc is 10.
etc etc etc
Don't look up. Or down. Or anywhere really.
Proceeds to put out own eyes
It worked for Oedipus.
We're a few years into the 6th mass extinction event in this planets multi-billion year history.
I'm surprised the roads are still drivable and I still have to work lol. Waiting for the big Cracks to show.
It feels more like Idiocracy is the new reality, more than it feels like the end of the world. Though I suppose the end of the world would be pretty nigh if everyone was a drooling idiot and still had access to nukes and was still polluting the planet. 🤔
Think about this:
Regarding the group of people having access to the buttons that start the nukes, I can't help the feeling that the percentage of idiots is much higher there than it is among average people.
You need a different way of thinking.
You are leaning towards something like fatalism or cynicism, but these attitudes are never helpful (only for your feeling, if you like to feel superior even if you are not).
Problems getting worse indicate that mankind is getting worse. Technology cannot fix it. Man needs to get fixed.
Anyone who thinks those things are getting worse doesn't have a true grasp of history. I'm old, and I get amazed at how many young people tell me I'm wrong about what it was like when I was younger. I was there. I remember.
When is the last time there has been a political landscape like this in the US?
Climate change is clearly getting worse.
Just because you're old doesn't mean you're right about everything.
Global warming was a big deal around 1915. Then there was a huge deal made of global cooling in the 1930s. Then the global warming issue came back up in the 1950s. Then "A New Iceage" was all the rage in the 70s. The roaring 80s brought us global warming again. This has been going on a long time. Just because you are easily swayed by propaganda doesn't make you right.
Lol
You mean the guy who almost crashed into my car because he wouldn't yield the priority yesterday on my way to work?
Nah, he's just an asshole
I don't think it has anything to do with the end of the world.
(This is going to sound bad. Worse than i really mean it to) I think it comes from society's increasingly inability to enforce social etequite. Faux pas are not "punished" resulting worse faux pas.
The tricky part is where do we draw the line and who defines it?
Nah, there is no lack of punishment anywhere
People act up because today we are now a secular society and because toxic individualism and moral relativism are at an all time high. It has become taboo to call people out for their bullshit. It has become taboo to hold your neighbor to a moral standard. It’s as if the Assassin’s Creed (nothing is true, everything is permitted) became law and that IS NOT a good thing