Society Today versus 5 years ago

Wyote said:
As far as how it relates to me, it's not that I have become disconnected (at least not by choice) but that I have found myself having a more difficult time in my attempts to connect in genuine ways. People have become less willing and less able to have "reasonable" discussion. Things have moved into a high alert and panic narrative. Everything is a catastrophe. If it's not a catastrophe then it is uninteresting and unworthy of discussion. That's not to say there aren't plenty of reasonable people out there still, there are. It's just that the grip of this emotionally escalated narrative has taken hold of a larger and larger number of people over my lifetime.

The internet has created a large mirror in effect, wherein people are constantly scrutinizing their own behavior, leaving less time for the openness of others as well as causing that smaller amount of time to be filled with a greater amount of judgment (often negative). People see the best and worst of humanity on a more regular basis and then compare peers on those extremes more than the reality, which is more comfortably somewhere in the middle for most people.

Overstimulation creates anxiety which leads to apathy. Apathy creates disconnection.
We aren't meant to live lives with so much sensory input and cognitive demand.
We are in the infancy of learning to live with the massive amount of technology that we have created.
There are other things as well, but this is a piece of it.

http://reset.me/story/overstimulation-taming-a-modern-problem-that-leads-to-anxiety/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_processing_disorder
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thank you for sharing that
 
Wyote said:
Overstimulation creates anxiety which leads to apathy. Apathy creates disconnection.
We aren't meant to live lives with so much sensory input and cognitive demand.
We are in the infancy of learning to live with the massive amount of technology that we have created.
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^This.

Also there has been a lot of fear put out, but that began more than 5 years ago, seems to be a growing entity though.
 
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Agree with @Wyote that we are experiencing a huge amount of sensory overload from the world and media, so it makes us a bit "neurotic" (;)) and constantly worried or fearful @LittleLissa pointed out. We feel out of control, so go into self protect mode, and distance ourselves from the things we feel are threatening our safety and security.
 
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Some other questions that I'm pondering about Society have to do with Pollution and Climate change. I think about the amount of Cars there are out there burning fossil fuels. It seems striking to me that with all the discussion about Climate change, there are still millions of cars on crowded highways and roads, many of them with one person in them. They are on some personal mission. It could be commuting to work or going out to buy groceries or visiting a sick relative at the hospital, or picking up their children from school. Some of the reasons are necessary and maybe even noble in their purpose, but the whole thing seems flawed to me. I am hopeful that We are moving towards electric or hybrid cars and to alternative energy. I feel like we should be changing faster on this. I also feel like people could take a step back and ask themselves if there are better ways to set up their lives so their environmental footprint was smaller. I am acutely aware that I need to reduce my footprint as well. The single use plastic bag thing. Ugghhh. Did you read the article about thousands and thousands of pieces of plastic washing up on the shores of an Island near Pitcairn Island? The omnipresence of plastic has been alarming me for years. As consumers it is so challenging to reduce our consumption of plastic. Straws, toothbrushes, disposable razors, packaging. The list goes on and on. I really must find alternatives and boycott plastic as much as I can. Do you think about this too?
 
CosmicINFJ said:
Some other questions that I'm pondering about Society have to do with Pollution and Climate change. I think about the amount of Cars there are out there burning fossil fuels. It seems striking to me that with all the discussion about Climate change, there are still millions of cars on crowded highways and roads, many of them with one person in them. They are on some personal mission. It could be commuting to work or going out to buy groceries or visiting a sick relative at the hospital, or picking up their children from school. Some of the reasons are necessary and maybe even noble in their purpose, but the whole thing seems flawed to me. I am hopeful that We are moving towards electric or hybrid cars and to alternative energy. I feel like we should be changing faster on this. I also feel like people could take a step back and ask themselves if there are better ways to set up their lives so their environmental footprint was smaller. I am acutely aware that I need to reduce my footprint as well. The single use plastic bag thing. Ugghhh. Did you read the article about thousands and thousands of pieces of plastic washing up on the shores of an Island near Pitcairn Island? The omnipresence of plastic has been alarming me for years. As consumers it is so challenging to reduce our consumption of plastic. Straws, toothbrushes, disposable razors, packaging. The list goes on and on. I really must find alternatives and boycott plastic as much as I can. Do you think about this too?
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I do... all of the time, to a point of exhaustion. I'm also vegan and an environmental / animal activist, constantly fighting in any way possible for the ideal.
 
Ryso89 said:
I do... all of the time, to a point of exhaustion. I'm also vegan and an environmental / animal activist, constantly fighting in any way possible for the ideal.
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That's great! I am planning to make this a priority in my life and to talk about it more often with others.
 
CosmicINFJ said:
That's great! I am planning to make this a priority in my life and to talk about it more often with others.
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Awesome. I have done so, but mostly to deaf ears. Most of my awareness spreading is limited to Facebook, and likely, because of my harsh opinions, (which I seldom post) my page is probably hidden to a lot of "friends". I don't know.

I wish humanity had a higher percentage of open minds and empathetic souls. The world could do with far less selfie takers and beer guzzling sport junkies.
 
I've worked with college student for 6 years now (and hopefully many more years to come!). I have noticed some changes from year to year, and the main thing I have noticed is a decrease in willingness, not ability, to analyze arguments. It seems many people are more interested in sound bites and talking points than examining arguments. My observation isn't limited to certain political groups, as I have seen many different groups take part in this. No matter if someone is liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, libertarian, or socialist, it seems that sound bites commonly prevail. I'm no saint when it comes to this either. Part of the reason I study communication is because of the personal observations I have made about my own behavior and thoughts.

I'm not going to say things are bad. I actually think things are overall positive. Humanity has greater access to information than at any time in our short history. The ability to gather information, information created a thousand years apart even, is more of a possibility today than ever before. We have great opportunity and ability to synthesize information and disseminate ideas to almost anyone. Many people carry smartphones with the ability to access virtually any kind of information we could ever dream of, and if the information is not there, we have the ability to create that information ourselves via many different mediums. A free exchange of ideas does have some danger to it, and that is why it is vital that we exercise our ability to effectively analyze the quality of information we access. However, that danger should not deter us in opening our minds and seeking to understand.

Idealistic? Yes, but I have confidence in human ability, and that good ultimately prevails. Fate swings like a pendulum, and guides the human experience.
 
CosmicINFJ said:
I had a discussion about this today with a friend and thought I would post some questions here. Do you think that Society is Kinder and Gentler now or Harsher than it was 5 years ago? Why do you think this? Or is it a feeling that you have? Please feel free to elaborate. Thank you.
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When you mix "rugged individualism" with some variation of "God helps those who help themselves," plus add some financial burden on exhausted workers who obtain healthcare from their jobs - by increasing taxes, etc - pointing out scapegoats in society so exploited workers don't direct their rage at the system....

This is not a model built on kindness. There is a constant balancing act: Who is most enraged atm? Various groups take turns. All have valid points, but an individualistic society pits people against one another. I mean, that's what competition is.

The U.S. government won't last much longer unless our politicians muster the nerve to force sharing -- perhaps they could reference Jesus and his kindness to win people over -- otherwise, we will eventually need a Marx to step in. Politicians give boilerplate speeches about inclusiveness and compassion, but people know bullshit when they hear it. Individual entitlement and caring in action -- which requires sacrifice -- are mutually exclusive. The U.S. cannot find a happy middle ground because there isn't one.
 
Tilheyra said:
I've worked with college student for 6 years now (and hopefully many more years to come!). I have noticed some changes from year to year, and the main thing I have noticed is a decrease in willingness, not ability, to analyze arguments. It seems many people are more interested in sound bites and talking points than examining arguments. My observation isn't limited to certain political groups, as I have seen many different groups take part in this. No matter if someone is liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, libertarian, or socialist, it seems that sound bites commonly prevail. I'm no saint when it comes to this either. Part of the reason I study communication is because of the personal observations I have made about my own behavior and thoughts.

I'm not going to say things are bad. I actually think things are overall positive. Humanity has greater access to information than at any time in our short history. The ability to gather information, information created a thousand years apart even, is more of a possibility today than ever before. We have great opportunity and ability to synthesize information and disseminate ideas to almost anyone. Many people carry smartphones with the ability to access virtually any kind of information we could ever dream of, and if the information is not there, we have the ability to create that information ourselves via many different mediums. A free exchange of ideas does have some danger to it, and that is why it is vital that we exercise our ability to effectively analyze the quality of information we access. However, that danger should not deter us in opening our minds and seeking to understand.

Idealistic? Yes, but I have confidence in human ability, and that good ultimately prevails. Fate swings like a pendulum, and guides the human experience.
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Thank you
 
I think that the majority of people, all over the world, are inherently kind. Our priorities get skewed for so many reasons. Survival, basic needs, get in the way. Materialism gets in the way. The world is abundant. We need to share. I believe in taking care of people. The world could afford to provide every person on the planet with a basic minimum standard of living that is higher than the majority of people are experiencing now. Yes, we need to cap our population at this level, but there is enough for everyone and we can take care of the planet too. I know this is a huge leap, optimistic and that many would not believe that this is possible. I think that most people can agree that the current system is not working.
 
CosmicINFJ said:
I had a discussion about this today with a friend and thought I would post some questions here. Do you think that Society is Kinder and Gentler now or Harsher than it was 5 years ago? Why do you think this? Or is it a feeling that you have? Please feel free to elaborate. Thank you.
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Society is harsher than it was. People are lazy and stupid, including myself, from the top-down. Instead of fixing this, we subsidize failure. There's no reason for poverty in the era of the smart-phone.
 
Pin said:
Society is harsher than it was. People are lazy and stupid, including myself, from the top-down. Instead of fixing this, we subsidize failure. There's no reason for poverty in the era of the smart-phone.
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Lazy and stupid play a factor, sure. But the main reason poverty (and its twin sibling, lack of progress) still exist in this day and age is greed. Pure, simple, naked greed, and the ability of the most privileged to control the resources AND the narrative. The people in power (i.e. those with extreme wealth and connections) fear losing that power above all. Thus they create strategies to not only continually expand their holdings, but also to keep all the scampering runts from dipping too deeply into the food dish.

Perhaps foremost among these strategies is simple divide and conquer. Control the social narrative to steer people away from examining the real problem, set them against each other, then sit back and laugh while the runts tear each others' faces off for a chance at a few scraps. And sure, the era of the smartphone helps because it gives the power brokers more chances to disseminate their propaganda. Plus of course it's a ready made source for distraction, which has been the greatest ally to those in power for thousands of years (bread and circuses).

So to answer the OP...

CosmicINFJ said:
I had a discussion about this today with a friend and thought I would post some questions here. Do you think that Society is Kinder and Gentler now or Harsher than it was 5 years ago? Why do you think this? Or is it a feeling that you have? Please feel free to elaborate. Thank you.
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Society is not kinder and gentler on the whole, nor will it become so until those elements of the human race with a real ability to enact change in the world set aside their animal hoarding instinct and decide on their own that all of humanity benefits from a kind and generous spirit of progress and good works.

I do not believe that this will happen in my lifetime. In fact, it may never happen. The future of the human race is an amalgam of Blade Runner and Idiocracy. Star Trek ain't happening.
 
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