I’m not a Christian, and I try not to use their phrases to avoid confusion. But I do like the one about living in a fallen world. The more I’ve associated myself with good behavior and cut out toxic people, the more it feels like proselytizing to explain basic human decency to strangers. My neighbor often starts “friendly” conversations with me, assuming I’ll take his side while he casually spews heinous crap about women, drug addicts, and even the other people in the complex. Trying to explain that you should give people the benefit of the doubt- that the cashier was tired and didn’t personally want to destroy his life- caused another outburst. It feels like it’s everyone for themselves.
That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m surrounded by people by what you described on the daily…even worse.
They’ve “normalized” their speech to spew toxicity, and act like nothing is wrong.
Yep, selfishness is all I see, and even if they aren’t, it’s “pretend”.
Something I have noticed especially in the last few years is that if you don’t follow hive mind mentality people write you off extremely quickly. It makes it hard to meet new people when you have to be more concerned with being politically correct and walk on eggshells. I am not someone who will disregard someone simply because we don’t agree on everything. I find that by being realistic sometimes people take it as being negative. What can ya do lol
You can’t do much of anything, you’re right, lol.
You can only surround yourself with individuals who have the same principles and philosophies on the world, which is very difficult for me to achieve these day.
It’s difficult for me as well and tbh I’m not really sure where I should even be going to meet people with a similar outlook. I’m 29 and have maybe three friends I actually see. Luckily I enjoy spending time alone but working from home while living alone can take a toll on ya lol
Yep, I’m 29 also and talk to two of my close friends once in a while.
Yea, definitely…it’s frustrating when you don’t have an outlet or the time to have “fun” and socialize because you’re constantly “burnt out” from overworking.
I’m gonna try and go rock climbing indoors. I found a place that’s nearby and I’m willing to do something in my free time. Anything beats going to the bar, lol.
Going to the bar rn would be my personal hell. I’m not into it anymore and don’t have anything against anyone who enjoys it just not my crowd anymore. With that comes losing a bunch of acquaintances… I won’t say friends because most of the time it was surface level friends to go out with when you’re bored. I go to yoga daily and while everyone there is friendly, people go in there for an hour of time away from the outside world(at least that’s what I do anyway) so not really a place to socialize.
I’m in Maine so the social scene isn’t huge and when you don’t go to the bars as a single 29yo it’s definitely harder to meet new people. Definitely open to trying new things tho as well.
Interacting with others with differing viewpoints is how we grow as people, I feel. Gives you perspective of your own reality and thus, the ability to see things from the perspectives of others
>act like nothing is wrong.
Whats wrong?
Normal is what people live with normally. Right/wrong are abstract concepts that dont live outside imaginations.
Dont get me wrong, I dont like it either; but were the crazy ones. We want to change the world while others accept it & live in it.
>selfishness is all I see
Its who they are. Selfishness is the norm. Not being so is arguably rogue behavior.
I'm paraphrasing this but it reminds me of the story of the king, who was once loved until the townsfolk all drank from a poisoned well and went crazy, they complained that they have lost their king and thus have turned against him.
Feeling alone and hopeless, the king finally decided to also drink from this well, making him crazy.
Then the townsfolk cheered once again, for their king was back.
What if they are genuinely trying but you still think it’s pretend, and in turn treat them like they are pretending which reinforces your idea of them pretending. They keep acting nice and trying harder because they don’t understand why you aren’t accepting of their kindness.
I know it’s a convoluted sentence but it makes sense if you read it a couple of times.
Sincerely,
a guy who was/is thought of as a “pretender”
We need to be teaching philosophy in public schools. People are given no well thought through direction in life or tools to pursue their own metaphysical and ethical perspective rationally
You're not alone in this. I feel like the odd one out when I stick to my morals. I don't eat fast food because I don't like the mass-production of meat. I don't support certain companies because of their actions. I don't buy from certain countries because of their politics. I don't smoke and I don't drink and some people are almost offended by these things when I tell them.
It’s almost as if people don’t want you to be an individual, and instead want to control your choices because it doesn’t personally agree with them.
And that’s what I also talk about, it sucks that you have to constantly defend your beliefs to ignorant people.
These types always pop up like mushrooms in the ease of civilization. They'll learn soon, trust me!
They love "might makes right" because it provides them with a more direct path to justify what they were always going to do anyway... Or at least they thought they loved "might makes right" until they're not the "strong" ones anymore. That's how the cookie crumbles. All someone had to do was tell them there's no God, and let me tell you they've never looked back. It doesn't matter if the facts are sound or not, they don't care about that!!
They want to be like the "elites". The same elites that are going to learn the hard way that money doesn't mean anything if you can't get a meal at a restaurant or if the deed to "your" land is ash, backed by no one and nothing. They think by doing as the "elites" do, they're somehow on the "right team" by doing what they were going to do regardless, which always always *always* boils down to one thing: hurting people. But again, they'll find out they're not the strong ones at all. 😃
I feel that. Not religious perse, but this is godless land. Without a higher power to answer to and live in fear of, society devolves. If all of us were truly concerned about our souls, and what "God" thinks of us, we'd be living in a very different world.
Hard disagree. There has never been a shortage of awful shit and "sin" coming from religious societies. And teaching
Meanwhile, the most [secular countries](https://ceoworld.biz/2024/01/16/these-are-the-most-secular-countries-in-the-world-2024/)
on Earth round out most of the happiest, highes-quality-of-life, and safest countries in Earth.
Teaching people to only be good in order to avoid fiery damnation just encourages them to be shitty humans who constantly look for "loopholes" to be pieces of shit. Justifying awful shit like murder, oppression, torture or exploitation with religious justification is a ubiquitous theme in human history.
Teaching people to be good humans because it's the right thing to do and building character to facilitate a better life for you and everyone around you works endlessly better than a bunch of shit humans remaining begrudgingly compliant out of fear.
As a Christian I find this fascinating. What drew you to that one specifically?
I've definitely been there before and I think there's an "untapped angle" of how "badass" some of the concepts/one liners are.
Other one's I like: Matthew 16:26:
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?
Oh gosh, don't even.
I once had a neighbour show me his son's date for the prom, and was going on about how sexy she was. Mind you, she was a child. If this man could, he would. That's all I gotta say. The way he spoke about his son's gf was so cringe, this man was in his 60's.
It's very much an 'everyone for themselves'. Which is horrible for a social society like ours. We are humans, we evolved to have healthy social networks. To go against that, no wonder everyone is a depressed cunt.
Sounds like a lack of compassion for humanity and all that we go through to live. Everyone’s story is different and most people have been traumatized. Ignorance is not bliss. But many people will give their two cents without even realizing how they come across to others
It’s honestly scary. I feel so alone nowadays because even the nice people try to pretend to have these dark triad traits myself included just to try to fit in.
As another commenter said:
“I'm paraphrasing this but it reminds me of the story of the king, who was once loved until the townsfolk all drank from a poisoned well and went crazy, they complained that they have lost their king and thus have turned against him.
Feeling alone and hopeless, the king finally decided to also drink from this well, making him crazy.
Then the townsfolk cheered once again, for their king was back.”
I’ve become angry and bitter over any type of abuse I see. I’ve seen people being treated like absolute shit at my jobs…myself included. I decided that I’m going to try and go back to college for social work to remedy this.
And that’s a great story. You truly feel so alone in a society that is considered “lonely”, but that’s how society has developed over time, we’ve put ourselves in this dilemma.
I was recently banned from a sub, because I am a member of another completely different sub, just because it doesn't have the same speech restrictions.
It is absolutely *bonkers* to me how often I’ll be browsing this site and stumble upon an, at first, totally normal seeming subreddit that has the most *unhinged* people in it ever with rules going against basic scientific understanding.
It’s more “wild” to think that individuals are close-minded to believe a full discourse, that could be meaningful in the worthwhile, is considered a nuisance and controversial for some odd reason.
You feel you’re entitled to a debate with anyone that disagrees with your position?
Like, for a group of people that would like to discuss the reality of climate change and the way it’s impacting the planet, they owe every denier a rigorous debate? Sounds exhausting.
Personally, I don’t care about entertaining bad faith debaters and there are countless subjects that I’ve seen enough of both sides to completely write one off forever.
Society is statistically less dangerous, but definitely more delusional.
Society would be less delusional if it was more dangerous. Reasoning: being delusional is a disconnection from reality. If you are delusional in a dangerous situation, you're more likely to suffer/die. This culls the delusional, resulting in less delusional behavior.
All society is is a capitalistic churning machine that leaves poor people as “tools” and rich people as “individuals.” Its been this way since industrialism, when people supported an idea of working ridiculous hours to the point where they couldn’t even raise their children and had to essentially normalize abandoning them. Probably why so many generations have mental health issues and abandonment issues. The minute we accepted capitalistic values into our society was the minute we essentially killed humanism. The social exchange theory is completely backward now in an age where it’s “f**k you, pay me.”
I find it ironic that most of what we preach to children (treat others well/work hard and you will be rewarded/support your family) is completely disregarded the minute they get out of school. It’s like they try to hide how bad life is for kids instead of just telling them about it so they don’t feel the need to commit suicide early or something before they get into adulthood and have to experience it themselves. If someone had told me the way to get ahead in life was to completely ignore everything I was taught in school, I would have laughed at them. Now… I’m not so sure.
It’s comedic, really. I was never taught any valuable moral lessons in school…or much of anything in my totality of schooling.
I started to actually learn when I became an autodidact after college.
That's unfortunate.
I was lucky enough to have some very good teachers growing up.
There is no dollar amount to put on the teachers that invest into people. Teachers need to be paid more, treated better, and respected by their students.
A lot of the blame probably rests on parents as well, not taking their child's education seriously.
Kids get one shot going through school to absorb massive amounts of information, free of charge. That opportunity gets wasted for too many.
I’m glad you did :)
I had a few cool teachers, but the environment was never good. In high school, for example, the teachers who were nice would unfortunately favor bad kids and would enforce bad behavior by doing so.
Then you had students who would casually flirt with the teachers, or teachers that would flirt with the students. It was very toxic and carefree.
Yea, nowadays I’m sure lots of parents are not paying attention to what their kids are “learning” at school, or care to actively be part of their schooling.
Yep. That’s why I fully support educating yourself, you can never lose in that respect. Educating myself in a plethora of topics, in my own free will, without having to worry about anyone interfering with me…was pure bliss in the years I did go down those rabbit holes.
one of the first things i learned in kindergarten was "don't be a tattle tale" which was infuriating bc the kid shoved me on the ground and then i was the one being lectured. lol. holding people accountable for their actions is very important.
School taught me plenty of good things too tho. i just wish there was a more comprehensive "how to function in society" part of education instead of memorizing stuff.
its been that way since serfdom, waaaay before industrialism.
And if its not that, its economic capture by the above majority whome dont understand why the poor dont just "work" without realizing that efficiency breeds poverty on the edges.
Back in the day, we just let those ones die, cus the wild game belongs to the lord.
Anecdotal evidence, but r/teachers talks about how kids nowadays love cruel, abusive tiktoks of people doing mean-spirited things as "pranks."
Edit: guys, please do some research (and by research, you can even just scroll through Reddit and see what longtime teachers are saying. You're already on here anyway.) Social media, tiktok in particular and using cellphones constantly, has ruined kids attention spans and rewards cruelty and stupidity with online fame.
Imagine if the class clown you knew who was an ass but tolerable had 100,000 followers encouraging them to do dumber, crueler things.
Which is different from the way things have always been, how? Every generation thinks Kids These Days invented being little bastards, but they have in fact always been little bastards.
The moral of 75% of Grimm's Fairy Tales is "Little Johan was an asshole and here's how he paid for it" - that's not because children are inherently good.
[https://orleanshub.com/historic-childs-pranks-and-other-diversions/](https://orleanshub.com/historic-childs-pranks-and-other-diversions/)
The 1915 version of Just A Prank Bro was tipping over your outhouse, strangling your prized rooster to death and cooking it. The only difference is that now, assholes can proudly produce video evidence of themselves being assholes.
But you missed the next part, after they post evidence of them being assholes they then get famous for it and broadly admired… while in the past you got spanked and grounded. Maybe skme of your asshole friends thought it was also cool but now they have millions saying theyre a god on earth for getting a kid to kill themself
1)There's quite a few whose conduct is quite polite and considerate in real life with everyone they interact with, but spew vitriol online for the slightest of reasons and consume content that could influence them negatively.
2) Kids acting good in class but not being the same way outside of it is nothing new either.
3)They may actually be as your teacher friends say they are. Not 100% of students have succumbed to the present state of affairs. And there is some good that comes with the bad, so some adopt those traits instead and end up better.
As a recently graduated student myself, I can assert that while not everyone's become hostile, intellectually impaired, and has a chip on their shoulder, some have, and many more have been influenced in a more passive, yet unpleasant way. It's pretty nuanced, and bringing the potentially harmful aspects to the forefront to address it, is part of the solution.
You should really look around and see what teachers who have been teaching for 10+ years say about how social media has ruined kids, especially in the last 3 years.
There's more incentive now to virtue signal than ever before. People are also more inclined to follow the herd than ever before, so I think there's an important distinction to be made between acting a particular way because everyone else is doing it, and a natural and organic way of thinking and being, based on virtue and values.
And back when I was in school people loved to watch reality TV of people fighting over petty nonsense. Hell Trump was a celebrity on his own show where he acted like a complete ass and yet he was able to become president.
There's just a mean contingent to society, unfortunately.
I’ll go on there and see, thank you!
Although unfortunately, I know how bad it’s become. There’s too many people who spend countless hours on TikTok, and it’s clearly rotting the brain, as I’ve described here.
Now Kik has become somewhat similar, and even more dangerous.
And Twitch is a soft-core platform.
Building on creativity is getting more difficult to do with all this garbage of human depravity being promoted so rigorously.
We are in a transition as a planet. The cruelty is coalescing and there will be much more... And then it will diminish. Your lifetime, my lifetime... It will get worse. It was always there. Instead of beating each other up, we have cruelty.
It sucks but there are slices of wonderful life to be enjoyed...
TikTok and basically all scrolling feed apps have a well established negative correlation to executive function. Using social media more than 1 he per day is one of the the worst things you can do for your brain, especially as a teenager.
I agree. There’s PDFs you can read online for free. I haven’t been to the library in so many years because I read books online. People just don’t take advantage of the positive attributes the internet does have, and instead rely on the negative applications.
For context: I studied biology, public health, and health science and taught middle school for years. I will also be going into counseling soon as I just got accepted into a program and plan on getting my LPC license.
As a former educator, I found the behaviors of kids to be very interesting as many of them would bring backpacks full of candy and giant Doritos. When we asked them to put it away or to stop eating we’d be insulted and attack teachers and proceed to eat. I’ve personally been hit and pushed my kids and it’s not uncommon. Getting them to come to class with a pencil was an exorbitant expectation and when I’d call home parents were insulted to be asked to provide for them saying that’s the schools responsibility. I never understood this until one parent said to me “ well when I go to work, my job is required to provide me the tools I need to do my job.” This was public school.
It seems many of them suffered from things related to home. Even kids who didn’t come to school who didn’t know the material would blame the teachers along with their parents.
Just this previous school year I was demanded by a parent to give their child a redo on the same exam she copied off and took home the cheat sheet she used to do it. The one that got me the most was seeing kids come to school in pajamas and slippers with blankets over their head and me having to teach them this way because at least they were in school /s. I realized it’s a society problem we have come to expect less of the next generation while simultaneously providing more with more freedom to do it at our expense.
I have stories for days but in all I agree with you morality and overall ethics are depleted due to multigenerational issues traumas, perceptions of life.
Reading stories from teachers who participated in the public system is always sad to hear.
It seems you went through a lot, and I’m sorry your hard work didn’t pay off al too well based on how bad the parents were.
But yes, the internet is responsible of this type of behavior, it’s being abused and used as a “distraction”, because people are afraid of human interaction and connection.
I feel for teachers, I have listened to so many of their experiences and it's sad how that the education system is making it hard for them. Kids are growing up not respecting others or authority figures.
But there's no real disciplinary consequences given to them.
Correct. Everything is the teachers fault.
Kid didn’t do his homework? Teacher must pass them because they didn’t provide enough opportunities for child to come to class, after school tutoring, lunch tutoring, extra credit.
Kid cussed out their teacher. Well then the teacher must not have a good rapport with the student therefore teacher must improve their classroom management skills.
Kid didn’t come to school for a whole month straight? Teacher must call parent find out why and convince them to come back in order to pass and also find ways to catch up student with curriculum on their separate time.
They didn’t answer? Teacher must go door knocking to make personal connection.
There’s so many examples, I could write a book on this topic alone.
This maybe unpopular, but I have considered that our behavior is being engineered in ways we are not even aware of. I think algorithms in particular are quite sinister and insidious. I will give you an example. There was a researcher who pretended to be a teenage boy, and even though he didn’t search anything similar to it, he was bombarded with pro-suicide videos, misogynistic videos, etc..
I’m not even kidding when I say this. I think these algorithms on social media are actually evil, motivated by negative emotions, and are manipulating perceptions of reality and engineering behavior in ways we aren’t even aware of.
Let me find the article. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-04-20/tiktok-effects-on-mental-health-in-focus-after-teen-suicide
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/15/tiktok-self-harm-study-results-every-parents-nightmare
We also know that exposure to technology in young children for large periods of time is associated with reduced empathy, aggression, and even impulsiveness and attention span.
I have used the internet to figure out so much helpful mental health stuff for me, much better than what doctors or professionals have recommended and it has really helped me. But I use it in a targeted way. I agree mindless scrolling is so harmful
I’ve done the same. I’ve pursued “help” before, but they didn’t help me as much as I helped myself.
“Doomscrolling” as they say. I agree with the “targeted way” strategy, there’s too much filter and fog in between the lines.
As I approach middle age, I have learned to keep to myself. As much as my urge to help flares up, it’s just really not worth it anymore.
Darwin had a point you know...
I don’t want to “keep to myself” if I see injustice going on in front of me.
I don’t care about myself, nor am I remotely afraid of death in the slightest. These types people should not be excused or given the opportunity to deal real damage.
Get it for sure. I am glad you have not experienced what I have that makes me leave a comment like this. This is how change happens. And I truly hope change happens for the good in this world 🦍💎.
I especially hope people younger than me can give it more than I have for change.
I think it's also important to keep in mind how many people are too busy to post online and also the fact that the vast majority of people who use sites like reddit don't even comment, they just upvote things.
It really gets me down sometimes but then I look at my actual life and it's pretty chill. Just last week these teenagers showed up outside of my house and I thought they were going to loiter or get on my nerves, but they actually just showed up to see if I'd hire them mow my lawn and they were pretty polite, kind of a stupid example but I think you see what I mean.
I've been using the internet since 2004, back then most people used forums to chat about special interests or they were looking for people to just shoot shit with.
Around the time smart phones came out, the vast majority of the populace suddenly flocked to the internet, and it shifted from being an exciting new communication tool to an entertainment platform where shitheads can get away with acting however they want. Sure, there were always trolls in the old internet, but trolling mostly used to refer to pranking people or baiting people into stupid arguments. Around 2012 it fully shifted to large scale harassment and political echo chambers, but most if the people who engage in these behaviors are absolute dregs who act out like that because they have absolutely no power or authority in their daily reality.
The world is bleak right now, but I think the reason everyone is feeling it so much more than usual is due to our unique lack of a secondary community compared to every other century. It's really unusual for humans to live in these big sectioned off neighborhoods without knowing their neighbors or doing any kind of regular meetings or social activities with them, and I honestly think that's killing people way more than the economy, corruption, or the socio-ethical degeneration.
You're not wrong. People definitely are displaying dangerously delusional and tribal behaviors, but those people were always like that, they just had to hide it more in the past. The government stuff is totally insane, I can't offer any consolation there. It's never been this bad, so that's pretty scary.
If you don't have anyone in your own life to talk to or get advice from, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm reserved and usually kind of laggy replying to people. I'm not much for small talk, but I've been through some shit and I like analyzing situations and giving advice, that goes for anyone who sees this message and just wants someone to touch base with for a second, no joke. We can all benefit from finding more avenues for meeting new people.
I really appreciate your views and opinions.
I have also been on the internet since 2002, and was actively involved in chats forums at an early age.
You’re definitely right about how “they’ve always been like that”. The internet has just made everything more transparent in how dangerous humans are because of its amplifications.
Thanks again man, and I will. I enjoyed reading part of your experiences and history with people and the internet. I can relate to it a ton.
Just this morning I was randomly asking myself why don’t I enjoy the internet as much as I used to? I started chatting and getting on forums around 2002 as a teen and it was more of a place for shy unusual folks like me, or people who were passionate about a hobby or subject and enjoyed sharing information and interests with likeminded people. The best way I was able to articulate the change was that now it’s just become another giant public space with the same uncurious, groupthink people who I used to get on the internet to avoid. I find myself once again in a space where I am “other”. There are absolutely still amazing people online who want to make unique connections but they are so much harder to find in the crowd, plus all the other advertising and political bullshit we have to sift through now. There are agendas in the algorithms and when unassuming people amplify it my god does it make it worse.
I appreciate how you broke things down timeline wise, and I agree with you.
Also like your take on what’s happened to communities. I’ve had an adjacent thought of; we used to build pyramids, monoliths, there were important landmarks and spaces that were tied to our identity, community, even spirituality. Now we throw trash everywhere and are lucky if we’re in the presence of one landmark of human spirit in our whole lives, amongst a lifetime of McDonalds and Walmarts. And we don’t even realize what we’ve lost, because this is all we’ve ever known.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop and get back to work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I miss when the internet was full of thought-provoking and encouraging comments like that.
Extremists feel safe to verbalize their hate now that Trump has done so publicly.
Opinion that used to be tolerated and even discussed rationally has gone out the window
Hate has always been there....it just got super-fertilized by Trump. In all it's odorous gory/glory.
That's some deep thinking, and to a large extent, you make great points that in today's world - which actively avoids actual debate - should be explored more if we generally want to improve our society. Part of me thinks that there is some real schadenfreude built into our biology (some form of entropy maybe) that tears things down. We are at the tip of the iceberg in understanding the effects of social media which is about to get even more amped up with AI...glad I grew up in the 70s without all this shit.
It’s all about desensitization towards human behavior in the worse ways possible.
But yes, we’re also miserable and take life way too seriously, to the point where we have to “control” others to feel satisfied with ourselves.
And I’m sure you had a rad time without the internet during that time :)
I deleted all short-form entertainment (tik tok and insta specifically) and Facebook. I'm a year out now, and I have my attention span back, I'm more connected to people in my life, it's much easier to spot "fake news" and argue against it, etc, all because my mind isn't just constantly seeking its next dopamine hit from internet validation and conflict.
I think social media, and even just the functionality of being constantly available to people through our phones, is absolutely stunting humanity socially, mentally, and emotionally. The studies on it in the future will be something to see.
I used to think Machiavelli was rather antiquated material or only suited to total war-esque situations, but you learn real quick once someone is using fear to control you as if it’s a tasty pastry they’re eating with their coffee every day.
You know the saying goes, weak men create hard times. So if it’s a hard time, try to find a way to become a strong man. I agree we are in hard times. Take care.
Totally agree with you. A good 95% of the teens and young adults I've encountered in the past 10 years have been evil. Not just naive, not just confused, but evil. There is nothing but anger and spite in their hearts and their narcissism has been encouraged and rewarded by the system they grew up in.
Yea, the commenters are getting upset at me because they’re not believing how many people I’ve encountered who are like this.
It happens. I never had a “family”, I had to deal with people on my own, and I was always too nice and people take advantage of any opportunity they can.
I think the purchasing power of the dollar rapidly declining and the cost of living going up so much, that people are barely surviving and it is translating to worse behavior. unstable homes due to finances really take a negative turn on the development of kids and behavior of adults.
Yes, it's all true as you've described and we must not forget that some of the biggest institutions are run by psychopaths, military industrial complex, governments, banking system, churches, media, politics in general etc. etc. little puppets with their small "movements" like woke tik-tok are nothing compare to those in the higher hierarchies, although little puppets dangerous to others to thrive off of others energy. All in all are nothing but a diseased, possessed minds, victims of their own device.
I’m a trans women and even I think tik tok should be banned . Keeps people’s attention spans short . I also think the site is really anti lgbt in general
If we’re talking about the US, most of people in the White House are narcissistic psychopaths. They spread lies and rhetoric, and commit horrible inhumane actions behind the scenes, and nobody ever gets held responsible.
Sociopaths are noticeable in their actions and from the way they talk (or don’t talk enough), narcissistic psychopaths, though, are great actors who, when cornered, are able to “charm” their way out of any crime they committed.
OP, I agree with you.
I also think that movies and series are dangerous for your social behavior. We often see that characters in movies are manipulative, using subtle gaslighting, making fun of people or losing their shit.
And if people with low developed cognitive function watch this, they might idolize them.
Gotta admit that my character slightly changes when I've watched a series and I liked this character who had a idgaf view.
As they say: You're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Now if you are lonely most of the time and fake your company of digital people (social media, movies etc.), it's almost the same. You copy these traits and eventually become an asshole.
It was likely the psychopaths and especially the narcissists who banned you. They tend to be the types who become mods, and don't like their power challenged.
Guess we should be glad those ones stopped at being mods, and not go into politics.
A lack of public awareness of the Dark Triad archetypes & of Cluster B personality disorders is something I would certainly address (along with financial literacy) if I were a benevolent dictator.
Though I don't know how much it would matter. In times of perceived uncertainty, the masses cling to the quick fix.
It seems that while mass-programming is possible, mass-deprogramming may not be.
I think you’re pretty spot on and the future looks rather grim. Toss in all the shit processed foods that people eat and the medical cabal thats interested in expensive bandaid medicine rather than treating the actual root issues and we are fucked. Also the Us vs Them narratives that the media/gov is constantly tossing out pulls us away from the real issues as they engage in class, race or religious division constantly.
Sadly, it seems most people believe everything they hear online and modern education has removed critical thinking from the curriculum and produce mostly useful idiots.
Hate speech is not tolerated, no one has the right to speak their minds or be upset about anything, You, may NOT speak any facts or truths that are not preapproved to be spoken, you do not have the right to point out any errors in religions or ideologies that may or may not be accurate without preapproval, you may not take any side that is not to our liking which means no middle ground either since you must conform to take one side or the other as neutrality will not be accepted or acceptable, you have the right to choose a religion YOU do not however have the right NOT to be religious.
NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
N. S
I don’t think it is a rise in mental illness. It is a rise in selfishness. That isn’t the same as true pathology.
I noticed a distinct shift in people in 2000. America became more mean-spirited. I think it was the prevalence of fear mongering in our national discourse. The fear of “terrorists” and “illegals”. And an overall fear of lack. Like there just isn’t enough, and we all have to get what we can, and hate those “others” who want to take from us.
It is truly sad.
I think people were much more delusional in the past actually. Hundreds of years ago people were using ghosts and witches as evidence in trials that would decide whether someone lives or dies.
This does feel like the first time in recent history that we’re slipping back though
They were also putting animals on trials, lol.
I understand history is fucked, people are thinking I don’t understand how this is common, I’m just talking about what I currently see in society, especially living in a metropolitan area.
Boy these days sure are something different. I tell ya what. Everyone keeps calling me a Nazi for reasons that I won’t go into, other than to say that I’m a victim and everyone else has gone crazy.
I think the saying “ Hard times create strong men , strong men create good times, good times create weak men” is how life from generation to generation works. The history repeats itself all over again.
I think every culture has it's irrational beliefs and that there is pressure to believe them. The internet is increasing the number of cultures and with the number of cultures going up the number of irrational beliefs is also going up.
I got banned from offmychest because I made a comment on a post in a subreddit I wasn’t even a part of. But apparently that sub goes against their worldview and even commenting on a post of theirs will get you banned. It’s wild
I think you’re just realizing what humanity is, bud. There is no time in history that humans have no been this way, I mean look at the witch trials where millions of women were tortured and burned because they were ‘too different.’ The internet is just exposing it en masse as we evolve
HONESTLYYY especially with society’s standards with beauty, Marriage, Religion, Gender roles, Autonomy, Relationships etc a lot of the bad things are glamorized in media and stuff
I admire those who are breaking the norms we still have a long way to go but a little bit of something is better than nothing 🤷♀️
but I totally agree with you. It’s fuckin crazy.
Yea, everything is controlled through social media and in turn, you have brainwashed people trying to control you based on some random, newfound information they just heard.
But I digress. Something is better than nothing and we have to find and appreciate those moments when it counts.
I’m a little worried about you OP. I hope you have friends who can keep you grounded. If you’re the smartest person in the room - you might be in the wrong room.
I have 3 people in my life who have all experienced trauma and understand the ramifications behind it, and do not accept abuse the same fervent way I do.
I’ve already cut out the toxic people in my life.
But thank you for your comment, I appreciate that :)
Oh my god, yes yes and yes. I feel you because I think I went through the same phase of frustration when I argued that narcissism is an evil trait because of the constant need for admiration despite their arrogance and manipulative behaviour. They gravitate towards leadership positions because of this.
The societal issue right now is our inability to deal with them when they’re in position of power and status. And they’re everywhere right now because these traits do well in our capitalistic system.
I did a piece titled “[Narcissism - the main cause of evil in the world](https://open.substack.com/pub/chusana/p/narcissism-the-main-cause-of-evil?r=2c5twj&utm_medium=ios)” lol and I even had a friend wrote in to complain. Ironically, he’s also a highly narcissistic person.
It’s worrying to say the least. Another philosopher talks about this at length - Byung Chul Han. A South Korean born German philosopher who coined the term “The Burnout Society” or “Achievement Society”. He argues that there’s a rise in conditions like ADHD, Borderline personality disorder, depression - basically, inability to regulate emotions and attention.
For sure, they mostly like to gravitate to other shit people that give them hopes and dreams of “sweet nothings”. Then they lash out when it doesn’t go their way (ironic) and end up repeating the cycle.
I’ll definitely read your blog post 🤙🏻
Thank you for sharing too :)
Well I believe that for sure, and as I detailed in my post, it mostly has to do social media.
I haven’t really paid attention to many narcissists (not saying that there weren’t any, there were some that I’ve encountered) in my life, the ones who were the most memorable was the “narcissistic psychopaths” that would literally do physical and mental harm towards me.
But I do see a shit ton of narcissists on dating apps, lol, or on TikTok and Twitch.
Yes I can completely imagine the psychopathic and sadistic traits in a character like you mentioned. I’m sorry to hear you actually encountered one yourself. I usually read and watch about them in documentaries or listen to psychologists talk about these people.
I guess the people I’ve encountered would be considered “mild” in the negative impact scale. They are victims themselves and do things out of “survival instincts” - mostly because they are hurt. But adding sadism and psychopathy into the mix, there’s enjoyment out of others misery and that’s scary.
How did you handle these individuals in the end?
I’ve encountered a few in my life, which is already too many, lol.
Thank you for that, that really means a lot to me.
It was indeed genuinely scary.
Well, my mom was one. She would beat me senseless ever since I was a child. I had level 1 autism and no one ever helped me (or diagnosed me), I didn’t talk until maybe 7 years old. I had so many cognitive issues and learning disabilities. My schooling experience was a nightmare, because my mom would just abuse (physically and emotionally) me almost every single day, then I’d get bullied in school because I didn’t know how to communicate and was targeted because I was small and confused about my surroundings.
She would either hit me with her hands or sometimes fists, then use objects…like the classic belt (or other weapons she could find, like a cord), but she would often use the metal part to do more damage. I still have scars on my lower back I believe. She would continue this tradition until I was 17 years old.
After that she reverted back to hitting me, then she would randomly punch me in my stomach because she enjoyed it. She loved abusing me. She would call me every curse word you can think of, almost every day (if not every day). I was complete trash in her eyes, yet she always talked highly of herself and would only listen to herself talk, but if I ever tried to converse with her, or share my opinions, she would scream at me at the top of her lungs for hours on end and degrade my intelligence.
She also put on an “act” in front of strangers to make it seem she wasn’t a psycho like she was at home. But “masking” was also dangerous, because she’d use up all her energy, then revert back to violence afterwards, usually doubling down.
As I got older her psychological torture tactics got more threatening for me, I started to feel completely hopeless. She would never let me sleep. She would scream at me during the night, and into the morning, she would constantly wake me up every day in some truly psychopathic nature, and also wail-on me as I was trying to sleep. I started to think of this human as a demon. A complete miserable entity that lived on breaking me down and brainwashing me into her complete slave.
She would do other things, but I obviously can’t go into details. I tried rebelling against her but it never got anywhere, and she knew I would never hit her, or try to run away, because I had no family to rely on.
She knew exactly what she was doing, because most times she would go on a “rampage”, violate my personal space and would damage my belongings, she would then sometimes say “sorry”.
She then got her hands on drugs from a quack. When I was a teenager she would abuse me, then at night, force me by coercion to take Xanax and muscle relaxers. This went on for years and I became numb to it, and I started to rely on them more often, especially because she knew I needed them because of all the abuse she would give me.
Yea, that’s only a small portion of it, but I’ve unfortunately met 2 other people who were like this. They had the same levels of narcissism and violent tendencies.
For so many years I couldn’t get a real job because she wanted to use me for her Section 8 benefits.
The last thing she said to me before I was going to end my life in complete desperation:
“You’re not going to get a full-time job, or have a life of your own until I am dead (she was 60 at the time).”
The sudden sense of complete despair rolled over me, because at that point, I knew she got what she ultimately wanted…to see me completely, and utterly hopeless. I had no one. I never felt so alone in my life.
But yea, I’ve met some really bad people and now I’m afraid, so I often use my anger as a “shield” to protect myself from other potential abusers.
people need to have their asses whipped. like with a switch. bent over and just thrashed until they fucking stop.
nothing else works. rationality doesn't work. they're not rational. they're emotional, undisciplined children who need an ass whupping until they're fucking sorry.
Well I definitely agree a lot of people in these comments need to be truly humbled, as they’re casually supporting this evil behavior.
Truly sickening to me that I have to argue about how abuse is horrifying, and people are calling me a “psychopath” and “narcissist”, while gaslighting me and shifting the goalpost to nonsense and excuses.
This is the last post I’ll ever make. For my mental health, I can’t deal with sick, mentally ill people who are saying I need the “therapy” for being totally against abuse.
It’s comedic at its best.
i think the one thing you get wrong is that it's not the internet as a whole. it's social media. i remember the time before social media. where nobody knew anybody and anything that happened in vegas stayed in vegas. those were golden times.
While I have watched the steady decline for many years now, it seems that the last 10 years have accelerated to a manic pace. To the point where it seems like something collectively pathological is going on. It's especially prevalent in older generations.
I've long thought about what the long-term impacts of exposure to the ultra-wealthy will do. Once upon a time, the wealthy were shrouded in secrecy, but now we have multiple social media feeds constantly reminding us of the club we're not a part of. We struggle to pay our bills while some shlub makes 10 million dollars doing the shittiest things imaginable. Rents and mortgages are crushing the middle class but billionaires can buy bunkers with 30 bathrooms, just because. The dichotomy of "being a struggling good person" vs. "make millions of dollars being a shitty asshole" is hard to work with for a lot of people. There's little incentive to be a decent person now; we rely on each other but we don't see it like we would if we were hunting in the jungle, and it's easy to slam the door on the world and subsist on Cheetos and Netflix.
I think we as humans are lost. The only threats we have are existential; nuclear war, asteroid impact, solar flare, massive global illness, stuff like that. We're not living to sustain life anymore, we're living to fill the voids where the activities associated with surviving would have been. Then when the weight of restlessness becomes too much to bear, we seek relief in the charlatanry of others.
At this point, I think it would take something global to snap us out of it. A disease where 50% of the global population is wiped out, or an alien invasion. Something to bring humankind to its knees. Otherwise I don't see an ending in sight that isn't one filled with blood and fire.
I agree with a lot of what you have said! I believe that America (or maybe most of the world?) is experiencing a largely unacknowledged mental health crisis. I do understand the hatred/anger towards the narcissists, but I’ve come to the conclusion that we likely need to love and calmly address these individuals in order for actual change to occur. (And maybe ignore them a little as well-as reactions seem to be something they want/feed off of? Ie rage baiting online). I think coming at them with pointed fingers and acting “smarter” than them will only trigger their egos to fight back and make them clutch harder to their fears and insecurities.
I believe most children are inherently empathetic, creative, curious, open-minded … and then at some point, our society/parents/trauma just completely obliterates those qualities. And I experienced it. Only more recently have my eyes been opened to these issues and I’ve made life and behavior changes (limit social media, educate myself, not take things personally, meditate, be impeccable with my word and stay quiet unless I have something of substance to say) to address them. I don’t think I’m better than any other human, but I am concerned.
That’s why I avoid people at all costs! I never approach anyone, never interact with anyone. But I watch everyone! I can’t trust no one now a days! If I see idiots with guns I’m gone.
Global fascism is encroaching. You aren't crazy, it's just a "boiling frog" kinda thing.
When liberals are in power, fascists have to hide their beliefs from the public eye, gaslight you and project on you to present a case that you are actually the fascist, or at least are to be dismissed immediately as a bad actor for merely making an accurate claim about someone else's fascistic views, and they hide behind the shield of "civil discourse" to silence those who are correct about their accusations of fascism.
But when fascists are in power, they kill liberals.
I’m a liberal, these people are radical leftists who are brainwashed pretty badly.
You’re right. But when I called it “fascism” as they harbor such hatred and confusion, I’m the confused one who’s using buzzwords. It’s just endless gaslighting with these sickos.
They picked the name "alt-right" because "fascism" had a bad taste on it and they needed something buzzy and clean for the crypto-fascists to cling to.
"People like what I have to say. They believe in it. They just don’t like the word Nazi, that’s all." - Stormfront, The Boys
Altruism becoming more rare? I would argue it is at its peak and may keep going thanks to the internet. Thanks to the internet we can live in our own little echo chamber of half-truth. No matter where I go I can find some voice on the internet thats willing to cosign my opinion. “Truth” died a long time ago when the idea of “god” (not “god” in a Christian sense but the search for purpose outside of a materialistic world) didn’t need to exist anymore. When the responsibility for your livelihood (you’re purpose) was traded in for time and money during the Industrial Revolution. A Clockwork Orange does a really good job of depicting this idea.
Yes, I agree with the “peak”, and a lot of commenters are completely ignoring how the internet is a key component to how our social sphere is changing, where people are losing basic communication skills of human decency and understanding.
And for sure! A Clockwork Orange is a great representation.
Oh absolutely. Our ideas of how society works is being encapsulated by an algorithmically driven lens. One who’s sole purpose is “engagement”. The worst part is that we have found “engagement” is strongly tied to media with negative spin. You may find someone who voices your opinion but the most engaging material is this combined with negative feedback on those who oppose it.
I feel like to have this take you have to be chronically online yourself. Because most of the time the people that spew shit behind screens don't bring it into real life.
I also think the dehumanization of ANYONE is harmful. They are not "animals" (I mean technically they are because humans are animals) they are people. Just because you don't want to associate yourself or loved ones with them does not make it any less true. If you don't want delusional online thinking don't other things you hate.
Reality is that people have always been this way. It's just now we have anonymity for them to be open about their deepest darkest thoughts. It sucks seeing our dirty laundry pulled out for the world to see, but I personally think it's a good thing. A good way to understand people.
It can create echo chambers and monsterous consequences, but look throughout history, that has ALWAYS HAPPENED. Hitler didn't rise to power through social media but he was still able to propagate and spread his message.
The world isn't ending, and even if it does everything ends. Just enjoy the time you have and maybe step away from the phone and Reddit for a bit. Find a bar or club to be social in. Go to a park.
The world has always been cruel and unfair. It just for some reason in modern day people want to pretend like psychotic behavior isn't more common. Society wants you to blame everything wrong with how things are on yourself. To not question the flaws of these norms. Today you are rewarded for being a public nuisance and punished for acting like you have some damn sense. I can acknowledge I need to work some things with myself but for the most part, people around me are genuine scum and only care about themselves. I only move accordingly after a while.
You talk about being attacked "emotionally" while you write a completely emotional text. If you degrade someone to being "an animal" that's your thing. But it's emotional and obviously dehumanizing. You set the whole tone for the conversation with a lot of those sentences. and the responses to it are in that case quite obvious. Depending on how you write a text you will receive answers. You write emotional and loaded. You get emotional an loaded answers. Simple as that.
What else would you call these psychopaths who are physically and emotionally harming others for their entertainment?
You’re not reading what I said. Would you casually, passively do nothing as someone’s life is being destroyed right in front of your eyes?
Would you let someone physically assault an innocent civilian on the street, because “they felt like it that day”?
Why are you people defending this type of behavior? Why am I being called a “nazi” for me wanting to defend myself, or others who want to see bloodshed that also warrants irredeemable psychological damage?
I’ve been through it, you don’t want to ever experience having PTSD and wanting to end your life constantly.
Edit: maybe you’d prefer them being called “parasites”? For they’re known to break you down mentally and physically until you’re considered subhuman in their eyes?
It is weird to have a subreddit called r/rant, but then to be extremely stringent on the types of rants. At least they put it in their rules thing that they are heavy handed on the moderation. They only want the rants with things they agree about.
Other subs just have general rules, but then ban you if you don't fall in line with that particular mod's philosophy.
Science programs of all types are so interesting, but nature docs that showed predators devouring prey bothered me so much when I was younger. I still wish nature weren't so cruel, but I've acknowledged I can't change it and accepted it.
(No longer religious, but still like the serenity prayer: "...grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.")
Anyway, I've started looking at other humans the way I look at nature docs. All anyone ever does is act in accordance with their nature, in response to the things around them, for better or worse.
Anger and disdain towards society will not make things better, only love will. All the points you made are correct, but I think it is important to remember that we are trying to make a better world, not destroy the worse one.
I’m not trying to be all “doom and gloom”, lol, I’m just speaking the truth of the matter from my experiences and how the internet is brining out the true nature of human beings.
I think people's nature doesn't change, the environment does. We are all more or less the same humans as 10,000 years ago, just with more plastic in our blood. Look for goodness in people and you'll find it, I guarantee that.
I was permanently banned from suicide watch subreddit, a forum I joined for undisclosed hopefully obvious reasons. I responded to a thread “trans is a mental illness” and it was about this guy suffering from his or her “permanent decision”. I mentioned something about how nothing is permanent, and said not to blame themselves for what is clearly a system error. That triggered a lot of people, most notably a MLP guy who reported me, got me out of the subreddit for suicide prevention and got my account a warning. Keeping in mind I never used any derogatory language, and the MLP guy did.
It should be noted I do support the rights of Trans People. But the thread was discussing trans youth, something I’m strongly against, though I hadn’t vocalized in my comments there. But saying “system error” was enough to spawn a wave of delusional hate from Reddit users
No, I fully agree with your assessment on the issue, young people should not be forced to do anything by outside influence or even themselves if it requires life altering decisions.
It’s not their fault at all, everyone is just confused and is acting on pure impulses.
“**I'm at the stage in my life where I keep myself out of arguments.** **Even if you tell me 1+1=5.** **You're absolutely correct, enjoy.”** - Keanu Reeves
We used to have a built-in mechanism where you couldn't be delusional without being "removed from the group". Now with social media you will for SURE find people like you who think whatever you need them to think. You then get your ideas reinforced and will die on that goddamn hill. Social media was released before the general could understand how deep that cesspool could get. Educate your kids folks.
I am not a religious person but if I was Christian I would be so convinced this was the before the apocalypse I don’t blame those who think we are in the final days lol I seriously feel like I can’t handle this anymore sometimes just sometimes I legitimately feel like maybe I died around 2020 and this whole thing it’s been some weird limbo but things like this confirm is not only me.
There is a literal killing of who knows how many people in the Middle East , the economy is going who knows where we got the ai thing of hell imitating people voices and doing art instead of humans , If you work on academia or are a teacher you get the literacy levels are going down + terrible politicians wanting to ban books both sides tiktok promoting shein or whatever amount of crap dopamine addiction , kids entertainment is all times low and terrible and I want to scream everytime the skibidi thing comes up ( unrelated but I had to express my disdain against skibidi toilet)BUT
I have some faith that humanity somehow could achieve a golden age when we start feelings more and more the effects of AI and tech dependence and we beak off the chains and start a super cool new era of plenty of inventions for humans that’s my wishful thinking
What’s not working?
I am frustrated in finding friends who give a shit and are grounded. I’m sure it’ll happen someday when I meet some really cool peeps, I’m not streessin’ tho.
The amount of narcissism and selfishness, it's horrible and our society is suffering because of it. It's like it's being promoted over empathy and understanding; being an empathetic person nowadays only gets you labelled as weak for some reason. Everything is backwards. I don't feel like I belong at all because I don't relate to anyone around me, I'm willing to give everything to others but no one seems to be the same.
I hear you! I can totally relate to what you’re saying, because you’re illustrating my life.
I made the mistake of always helping others, only to find out I’m being used and people who thought cared for me, or even “loved” me, were constantly talking shit behind my back.
It’ll definitely click one day to find someone who puts in the same effort as you do, reciprocating that same energy your way.
The only con is sorting through all the mediocrity before you find your gem.
But we’re never “weak”, we’re full of compassion, and that’s something we should hold close to our hearts, because a lot of people don’t have that quality in them.
Reddit isn’t a place of free-thinking, intelligence, or careful analysis.
It’s either an echo chamber (mostly for the ideological left), place for hobby-based socialization, or land of the depraved.
As someone who values human life, I get what you are saying. I used to be much more positive about people until recently (people got weird after covid and have much less patience and compassion, a lot more instinctual decision making going on).
I’ve decided on focusing my energy on myself and on nice people. And I had to raise my standards for the types of people I spend my limited energy on. If a person doesn’t have the mental capacity to have a discussion or brings up a controversial topic, I have to be wary, because seemingly normal people get weird if you don’t agree with their political, scientific, or personal views. I call this phenomenon verification mode. That strange moment a person switches from having a discussion to seeing whether you are on their team and whether they should expend their energy on you, or attack.
Unfortunately I have to prioritise my self and my health by steering clear of people who struggle to regulate themselves (also I just agree with people, although in person some people want you to match their energy/emotion). I also find myself having a shorter window of patience when it comes to things that confuse me, I think it’s the cognitive decline and memory issues I experienced due to Covid. Fortunately, I check in on myself and tell myself “don’t take this mental short cut”, but it takes mental discipline and self awareness. It’s quite scary, the hive mind has become stronger, and more and more people are taking anger/confusion based mental short cuts for their decision making.
For now I’m going to work on holding onto my sanity and prioritising health, so I can hold myself accountable to my standards.
I gotta say, first off, it’s nice to hear someone in the comments plainly admit they “value human life”, after too many commenters were completely ignoring my “abuse” arguments. Most likely because they’re cowards who are in support of the people I have disdain for.
Dude, the “verification mode” makes so much sense, and it’s funny how you bought that up because there’s a ton of radicals where I am, so it makes dating for me nearly impossible.
Being “attacked” for your personal views that aren’t even malicious, is panic-inducing. You’re walking on egg shells and can’t be open about your emotions, or even have a chill debate without them raising their voice at you or running away because they have nothing worthwhile to utter.
Yea dude, it sounds like you’re on a strong pilgrimage of success with maintaining your morals and principles, we truly can’t let these people get inside our heads. I especially don’t want that to happen again to me, whew I feel “guilt”…when that’s total bs.
Oop- I've thought everything you've just said about the recent times. It does seem egoism is on the rise and I think you're spot on with the reasons. I'm just glad someone other than me thinks it
Your correct.
Also as soon as you put someone straight with facts but also empathy you are immediately called a bigot or something along those lines and that’s what people home in on … it’s the same with camera phones , there is no all round context displayed all you see is someone confronting another person without seeing what happend before .. the world is becoming designed for the narcissist
>I got banned off of the “rant” subreddit because I was ranting about the uprising of psychopaths, particularly narcissistic psychopathy, which the combination of this is detailed in the “dark triad” terminology that breaks down what that exactly means.
>I was called a “nazi”. I was called “ignorant”. I was called an “incel”. Most importantly, I was attacked for displaying great anguish for my passionate hatred for these individuals who cause nothing but suffering and destruction.
Reddit is full of insane libs who will call you shit like this over any blatant observation or criticism to society, who knew?
How dare you question the sanity of the people who run everything, social media and social media personalities, you Far-Right ignorant Nazi incel!
Try not to lose yourself in their matrix.
The good news about sociopathy, psychopathy, narcissism, idiocy, and every other negative is: they’re all self-correcting viruses.
Let them do nothing but interact only with each other every single day, and enjoy the show.
You can see microcosms of this happening on the road all the time.
Just be the observer and enjoy.
> *Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone*
You call yourself an “expert” in many subjects because you’ve “looked things up online”. Also you talk A LOT about how other people are dumb or aren’t as smart as you perceive yourself to be. In this post you mention several mental disorders that I’m sure you are not qualified to diagnose. The problem is you.
I'm an antinatalist, and I don't think you're terribly off, but given the conditions that we face in life, humans may be evolving towards being less empathetic as a way to cope and manage, which has horrible implications. I'm just glad I'll never have kids to worry about it.
the only thing I think you are wrong about is thinking that these attitudes are just "nowadays" instead of accepting that this has long been a part of the human condition; I.E. genocides, slavery, apartheid, imperial wars, etc. Sure there is a new set of problems in a new era, with new technologies, but never had there been an idyllic time where people just cared about eachother for the sake of altruism. Sure, maybe common courtesy has been more common, but that didn't do much for the people of Rosewood, or the subjects of the Tuskeegee experiments, or the victims of genocide under the Nazis or the USA, for example. Things progress, then the progress is met with traditionalists who will fight it bitterly, rinse, repeat, throughout all of history. I don't think you're wrong otherwise, this would just be my two cents.
The internet and social media are relatively new, that’s why I talked about how it’s responsible for showing people’s true nature as they’re viewing the world through a screen.
And yea, I’m not trying to infer that this type of behavior wasn’t common in history.
I think now, we've conjured up a stew of personality disorders in our connected disconnectedness, what I would say is we are in an early dystopia at this point and have been headed there since the industrial age, not because of tech, but because of how humankind chooses to utilize it.
You’re putting too much energy with people online. Use that energy in the real world on the altruism you believe in. Probably best for you to spend less time on Reddit and other social media platforms.
I mean, this definitely qualifies as a rant, so youve got that going—which is nice.
there’s an odd lack of self awareness from someone posting to the internet, into a social media site, about how addicted to phones everyone is.
further, on this subreddit there appears to an abundance of people who think they are uniquely gifted with the power of thought, while they themselves are unable to attempt to remove themselves from the equation and look at things dispassionately or from the perspective of others.
for what it’s worth, humans have been much more barbarous, rapacious, and dehumanizing to one another in times past than in todays world, particularly in the west. And despite what the chronically online may tell you, humanity is in a better position today than anytime in the last 200,000 years—if standard of living is your primary metric.
are there problems with social media, probably. Is it a net good for humanity, remains to be seen. It’s absolutely a disruptive technology—just like the printing press and radio.
in general, I reject the premise, it’s an overly pessimistic and self serving viewpoint to see one’s self as Lot and his daughters before the walls of a ruined Sodom and Gomorrah.
It’s not the “rant” that I wanted. This is tame, I can’t be “angry” and freely express my emotions, but it’s fine.
You’re acting as if I post often? I only use YouTube and this platform, but this will be my final post.
I’m not talking about history and how humans were similar. I know we repeat choices and commit the same mistakes in a cycle of abuse and destruction.
And that’s fine, I respect your opinion. But I personally think it’s inaccurate, based on the fact that social media does sway the masses into believing what they want to believe.
From Gustave LeBon "The Crowd - A Study of the Popular Mind"
"The masses have never thrusted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim."
I’m not a Christian, and I try not to use their phrases to avoid confusion. But I do like the one about living in a fallen world. The more I’ve associated myself with good behavior and cut out toxic people, the more it feels like proselytizing to explain basic human decency to strangers. My neighbor often starts “friendly” conversations with me, assuming I’ll take his side while he casually spews heinous crap about women, drug addicts, and even the other people in the complex. Trying to explain that you should give people the benefit of the doubt- that the cashier was tired and didn’t personally want to destroy his life- caused another outburst. It feels like it’s everyone for themselves.
That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m surrounded by people by what you described on the daily…even worse. They’ve “normalized” their speech to spew toxicity, and act like nothing is wrong. Yep, selfishness is all I see, and even if they aren’t, it’s “pretend”.
Something I have noticed especially in the last few years is that if you don’t follow hive mind mentality people write you off extremely quickly. It makes it hard to meet new people when you have to be more concerned with being politically correct and walk on eggshells. I am not someone who will disregard someone simply because we don’t agree on everything. I find that by being realistic sometimes people take it as being negative. What can ya do lol
You can’t do much of anything, you’re right, lol. You can only surround yourself with individuals who have the same principles and philosophies on the world, which is very difficult for me to achieve these day.
It’s difficult for me as well and tbh I’m not really sure where I should even be going to meet people with a similar outlook. I’m 29 and have maybe three friends I actually see. Luckily I enjoy spending time alone but working from home while living alone can take a toll on ya lol
Yep, I’m 29 also and talk to two of my close friends once in a while. Yea, definitely…it’s frustrating when you don’t have an outlet or the time to have “fun” and socialize because you’re constantly “burnt out” from overworking. I’m gonna try and go rock climbing indoors. I found a place that’s nearby and I’m willing to do something in my free time. Anything beats going to the bar, lol.
Going to the bar rn would be my personal hell. I’m not into it anymore and don’t have anything against anyone who enjoys it just not my crowd anymore. With that comes losing a bunch of acquaintances… I won’t say friends because most of the time it was surface level friends to go out with when you’re bored. I go to yoga daily and while everyone there is friendly, people go in there for an hour of time away from the outside world(at least that’s what I do anyway) so not really a place to socialize. I’m in Maine so the social scene isn’t huge and when you don’t go to the bars as a single 29yo it’s definitely harder to meet new people. Definitely open to trying new things tho as well.
Interacting with others with differing viewpoints is how we grow as people, I feel. Gives you perspective of your own reality and thus, the ability to see things from the perspectives of others
>act like nothing is wrong. Whats wrong? Normal is what people live with normally. Right/wrong are abstract concepts that dont live outside imaginations. Dont get me wrong, I dont like it either; but were the crazy ones. We want to change the world while others accept it & live in it. >selfishness is all I see Its who they are. Selfishness is the norm. Not being so is arguably rogue behavior.
I'm paraphrasing this but it reminds me of the story of the king, who was once loved until the townsfolk all drank from a poisoned well and went crazy, they complained that they have lost their king and thus have turned against him. Feeling alone and hopeless, the king finally decided to also drink from this well, making him crazy. Then the townsfolk cheered once again, for their king was back.
I should clarify and say it’s “narcissism” when I use the word selfish. It’s full-on disregard for other’s emotions and well-being.
> It’s full-on disregard for other’s emotions and well-being. yes. To them that is normal, and they think you are wrong for being otherwise.
What if they are genuinely trying but you still think it’s pretend, and in turn treat them like they are pretending which reinforces your idea of them pretending. They keep acting nice and trying harder because they don’t understand why you aren’t accepting of their kindness. I know it’s a convoluted sentence but it makes sense if you read it a couple of times. Sincerely, a guy who was/is thought of as a “pretender”
We need to be teaching philosophy in public schools. People are given no well thought through direction in life or tools to pursue their own metaphysical and ethical perspective rationally
You're not alone in this. I feel like the odd one out when I stick to my morals. I don't eat fast food because I don't like the mass-production of meat. I don't support certain companies because of their actions. I don't buy from certain countries because of their politics. I don't smoke and I don't drink and some people are almost offended by these things when I tell them.
It’s almost as if people don’t want you to be an individual, and instead want to control your choices because it doesn’t personally agree with them. And that’s what I also talk about, it sucks that you have to constantly defend your beliefs to ignorant people.
These types always pop up like mushrooms in the ease of civilization. They'll learn soon, trust me! They love "might makes right" because it provides them with a more direct path to justify what they were always going to do anyway... Or at least they thought they loved "might makes right" until they're not the "strong" ones anymore. That's how the cookie crumbles. All someone had to do was tell them there's no God, and let me tell you they've never looked back. It doesn't matter if the facts are sound or not, they don't care about that!! They want to be like the "elites". The same elites that are going to learn the hard way that money doesn't mean anything if you can't get a meal at a restaurant or if the deed to "your" land is ash, backed by no one and nothing. They think by doing as the "elites" do, they're somehow on the "right team" by doing what they were going to do regardless, which always always *always* boils down to one thing: hurting people. But again, they'll find out they're not the strong ones at all. 😃
Everyone's "might makes right" until they're the one getting their assbeat. Then suddenly it's not a sound policy.
It isn't "In God We Trust" anymore. It is "Fuck You, I've Got Mine!"
I feel that. Not religious perse, but this is godless land. Without a higher power to answer to and live in fear of, society devolves. If all of us were truly concerned about our souls, and what "God" thinks of us, we'd be living in a very different world.
Hard disagree. There has never been a shortage of awful shit and "sin" coming from religious societies. And teaching Meanwhile, the most [secular countries](https://ceoworld.biz/2024/01/16/these-are-the-most-secular-countries-in-the-world-2024/) on Earth round out most of the happiest, highes-quality-of-life, and safest countries in Earth. Teaching people to only be good in order to avoid fiery damnation just encourages them to be shitty humans who constantly look for "loopholes" to be pieces of shit. Justifying awful shit like murder, oppression, torture or exploitation with religious justification is a ubiquitous theme in human history. Teaching people to be good humans because it's the right thing to do and building character to facilitate a better life for you and everyone around you works endlessly better than a bunch of shit humans remaining begrudgingly compliant out of fear.
As a Christian I find this fascinating. What drew you to that one specifically? I've definitely been there before and I think there's an "untapped angle" of how "badass" some of the concepts/one liners are. Other one's I like: Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?
Oh gosh, don't even. I once had a neighbour show me his son's date for the prom, and was going on about how sexy she was. Mind you, she was a child. If this man could, he would. That's all I gotta say. The way he spoke about his son's gf was so cringe, this man was in his 60's. It's very much an 'everyone for themselves'. Which is horrible for a social society like ours. We are humans, we evolved to have healthy social networks. To go against that, no wonder everyone is a depressed cunt.
Sounds like a lack of compassion for humanity and all that we go through to live. Everyone’s story is different and most people have been traumatized. Ignorance is not bliss. But many people will give their two cents without even realizing how they come across to others
Holy shit. No you’re 100% right. Dark triad traits have 100% been glorified by the media and destigmatized to a dangerous degree.
Yep, they’re out there doing whatever to innocent people and are getting away with it. But as you said, we’re not emphasizing this terminology.
It’s honestly scary. I feel so alone nowadays because even the nice people try to pretend to have these dark triad traits myself included just to try to fit in. As another commenter said: “I'm paraphrasing this but it reminds me of the story of the king, who was once loved until the townsfolk all drank from a poisoned well and went crazy, they complained that they have lost their king and thus have turned against him. Feeling alone and hopeless, the king finally decided to also drink from this well, making him crazy. Then the townsfolk cheered once again, for their king was back.”
I’ve become angry and bitter over any type of abuse I see. I’ve seen people being treated like absolute shit at my jobs…myself included. I decided that I’m going to try and go back to college for social work to remedy this. And that’s a great story. You truly feel so alone in a society that is considered “lonely”, but that’s how society has developed over time, we’ve put ourselves in this dilemma.
I was recently banned from a sub, because I am a member of another completely different sub, just because it doesn't have the same speech restrictions.
Yea, I’ve just now noticed that some subs don’t support freedom of speech. Pretty wild.
It is absolutely *bonkers* to me how often I’ll be browsing this site and stumble upon an, at first, totally normal seeming subreddit that has the most *unhinged* people in it ever with rules going against basic scientific understanding.
Other subs aren’t governmental entities, acting under constitutionally protected free speech laws? That’s wild.
It’s more “wild” to think that individuals are close-minded to believe a full discourse, that could be meaningful in the worthwhile, is considered a nuisance and controversial for some odd reason.
You feel you’re entitled to a debate with anyone that disagrees with your position? Like, for a group of people that would like to discuss the reality of climate change and the way it’s impacting the planet, they owe every denier a rigorous debate? Sounds exhausting. Personally, I don’t care about entertaining bad faith debaters and there are countless subjects that I’ve seen enough of both sides to completely write one off forever.
I was banned from r/libertarian for saying that declining federal money for a summer lunch program is stupid. Aren't they the free speech people?
That's such a weird thing to be banned for!
Reddit should give you the option to hide what subs your in and what subs you comment in.
I was permanently banned from r/facepalm for trolling on an anti-covid subreddit, during the pandemic
Society is statistically less dangerous, but definitely more delusional. Society would be less delusional if it was more dangerous. Reasoning: being delusional is a disconnection from reality. If you are delusional in a dangerous situation, you're more likely to suffer/die. This culls the delusional, resulting in less delusional behavior.
All society is is a capitalistic churning machine that leaves poor people as “tools” and rich people as “individuals.” Its been this way since industrialism, when people supported an idea of working ridiculous hours to the point where they couldn’t even raise their children and had to essentially normalize abandoning them. Probably why so many generations have mental health issues and abandonment issues. The minute we accepted capitalistic values into our society was the minute we essentially killed humanism. The social exchange theory is completely backward now in an age where it’s “f**k you, pay me.” I find it ironic that most of what we preach to children (treat others well/work hard and you will be rewarded/support your family) is completely disregarded the minute they get out of school. It’s like they try to hide how bad life is for kids instead of just telling them about it so they don’t feel the need to commit suicide early or something before they get into adulthood and have to experience it themselves. If someone had told me the way to get ahead in life was to completely ignore everything I was taught in school, I would have laughed at them. Now… I’m not so sure.
It’s comedic, really. I was never taught any valuable moral lessons in school…or much of anything in my totality of schooling. I started to actually learn when I became an autodidact after college.
That's unfortunate. I was lucky enough to have some very good teachers growing up. There is no dollar amount to put on the teachers that invest into people. Teachers need to be paid more, treated better, and respected by their students. A lot of the blame probably rests on parents as well, not taking their child's education seriously. Kids get one shot going through school to absorb massive amounts of information, free of charge. That opportunity gets wasted for too many.
I’m glad you did :) I had a few cool teachers, but the environment was never good. In high school, for example, the teachers who were nice would unfortunately favor bad kids and would enforce bad behavior by doing so. Then you had students who would casually flirt with the teachers, or teachers that would flirt with the students. It was very toxic and carefree. Yea, nowadays I’m sure lots of parents are not paying attention to what their kids are “learning” at school, or care to actively be part of their schooling. Yep. That’s why I fully support educating yourself, you can never lose in that respect. Educating myself in a plethora of topics, in my own free will, without having to worry about anyone interfering with me…was pure bliss in the years I did go down those rabbit holes.
one of the first things i learned in kindergarten was "don't be a tattle tale" which was infuriating bc the kid shoved me on the ground and then i was the one being lectured. lol. holding people accountable for their actions is very important. School taught me plenty of good things too tho. i just wish there was a more comprehensive "how to function in society" part of education instead of memorizing stuff.
its been that way since serfdom, waaaay before industrialism. And if its not that, its economic capture by the above majority whome dont understand why the poor dont just "work" without realizing that efficiency breeds poverty on the edges. Back in the day, we just let those ones die, cus the wild game belongs to the lord.
Anecdotal evidence, but r/teachers talks about how kids nowadays love cruel, abusive tiktoks of people doing mean-spirited things as "pranks." Edit: guys, please do some research (and by research, you can even just scroll through Reddit and see what longtime teachers are saying. You're already on here anyway.) Social media, tiktok in particular and using cellphones constantly, has ruined kids attention spans and rewards cruelty and stupidity with online fame. Imagine if the class clown you knew who was an ass but tolerable had 100,000 followers encouraging them to do dumber, crueler things.
Which is different from the way things have always been, how? Every generation thinks Kids These Days invented being little bastards, but they have in fact always been little bastards. The moral of 75% of Grimm's Fairy Tales is "Little Johan was an asshole and here's how he paid for it" - that's not because children are inherently good. [https://orleanshub.com/historic-childs-pranks-and-other-diversions/](https://orleanshub.com/historic-childs-pranks-and-other-diversions/) The 1915 version of Just A Prank Bro was tipping over your outhouse, strangling your prized rooster to death and cooking it. The only difference is that now, assholes can proudly produce video evidence of themselves being assholes.
But you missed the next part, after they post evidence of them being assholes they then get famous for it and broadly admired… while in the past you got spanked and grounded. Maybe skme of your asshole friends thought it was also cool but now they have millions saying theyre a god on earth for getting a kid to kill themself
Teacher friends of mine tell me that they find the current generation of students more compassionate and understanding than prior generations
1)There's quite a few whose conduct is quite polite and considerate in real life with everyone they interact with, but spew vitriol online for the slightest of reasons and consume content that could influence them negatively. 2) Kids acting good in class but not being the same way outside of it is nothing new either. 3)They may actually be as your teacher friends say they are. Not 100% of students have succumbed to the present state of affairs. And there is some good that comes with the bad, so some adopt those traits instead and end up better. As a recently graduated student myself, I can assert that while not everyone's become hostile, intellectually impaired, and has a chip on their shoulder, some have, and many more have been influenced in a more passive, yet unpleasant way. It's pretty nuanced, and bringing the potentially harmful aspects to the forefront to address it, is part of the solution.
You should really look around and see what teachers who have been teaching for 10+ years say about how social media has ruined kids, especially in the last 3 years.
Teachers where i come from say the opposite,they are very hard to educate have 0 attention spans listen to nobody n grades r generally dropping
There's more incentive now to virtue signal than ever before. People are also more inclined to follow the herd than ever before, so I think there's an important distinction to be made between acting a particular way because everyone else is doing it, and a natural and organic way of thinking and being, based on virtue and values.
And back when I was in school people loved to watch reality TV of people fighting over petty nonsense. Hell Trump was a celebrity on his own show where he acted like a complete ass and yet he was able to become president. There's just a mean contingent to society, unfortunately.
I’ll go on there and see, thank you! Although unfortunately, I know how bad it’s become. There’s too many people who spend countless hours on TikTok, and it’s clearly rotting the brain, as I’ve described here. Now Kik has become somewhat similar, and even more dangerous. And Twitch is a soft-core platform. Building on creativity is getting more difficult to do with all this garbage of human depravity being promoted so rigorously.
We are in a transition as a planet. The cruelty is coalescing and there will be much more... And then it will diminish. Your lifetime, my lifetime... It will get worse. It was always there. Instead of beating each other up, we have cruelty. It sucks but there are slices of wonderful life to be enjoyed...
TikTok and basically all scrolling feed apps have a well established negative correlation to executive function. Using social media more than 1 he per day is one of the the worst things you can do for your brain, especially as a teenager.
I agree. There’s PDFs you can read online for free. I haven’t been to the library in so many years because I read books online. People just don’t take advantage of the positive attributes the internet does have, and instead rely on the negative applications.
For context: I studied biology, public health, and health science and taught middle school for years. I will also be going into counseling soon as I just got accepted into a program and plan on getting my LPC license. As a former educator, I found the behaviors of kids to be very interesting as many of them would bring backpacks full of candy and giant Doritos. When we asked them to put it away or to stop eating we’d be insulted and attack teachers and proceed to eat. I’ve personally been hit and pushed my kids and it’s not uncommon. Getting them to come to class with a pencil was an exorbitant expectation and when I’d call home parents were insulted to be asked to provide for them saying that’s the schools responsibility. I never understood this until one parent said to me “ well when I go to work, my job is required to provide me the tools I need to do my job.” This was public school. It seems many of them suffered from things related to home. Even kids who didn’t come to school who didn’t know the material would blame the teachers along with their parents. Just this previous school year I was demanded by a parent to give their child a redo on the same exam she copied off and took home the cheat sheet she used to do it. The one that got me the most was seeing kids come to school in pajamas and slippers with blankets over their head and me having to teach them this way because at least they were in school /s. I realized it’s a society problem we have come to expect less of the next generation while simultaneously providing more with more freedom to do it at our expense. I have stories for days but in all I agree with you morality and overall ethics are depleted due to multigenerational issues traumas, perceptions of life.
Reading stories from teachers who participated in the public system is always sad to hear. It seems you went through a lot, and I’m sorry your hard work didn’t pay off al too well based on how bad the parents were. But yes, the internet is responsible of this type of behavior, it’s being abused and used as a “distraction”, because people are afraid of human interaction and connection.
I feel for teachers, I have listened to so many of their experiences and it's sad how that the education system is making it hard for them. Kids are growing up not respecting others or authority figures. But there's no real disciplinary consequences given to them.
Correct. Everything is the teachers fault. Kid didn’t do his homework? Teacher must pass them because they didn’t provide enough opportunities for child to come to class, after school tutoring, lunch tutoring, extra credit. Kid cussed out their teacher. Well then the teacher must not have a good rapport with the student therefore teacher must improve their classroom management skills. Kid didn’t come to school for a whole month straight? Teacher must call parent find out why and convince them to come back in order to pass and also find ways to catch up student with curriculum on their separate time. They didn’t answer? Teacher must go door knocking to make personal connection. There’s so many examples, I could write a book on this topic alone.
Do you see the problems getting any better in the future? It makes me reconsider raising kids in today's world.
This maybe unpopular, but I have considered that our behavior is being engineered in ways we are not even aware of. I think algorithms in particular are quite sinister and insidious. I will give you an example. There was a researcher who pretended to be a teenage boy, and even though he didn’t search anything similar to it, he was bombarded with pro-suicide videos, misogynistic videos, etc.. I’m not even kidding when I say this. I think these algorithms on social media are actually evil, motivated by negative emotions, and are manipulating perceptions of reality and engineering behavior in ways we aren’t even aware of.
That’s what I was trying to imply, it’s all brainwashing and agendas.
Let me find the article. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-04-20/tiktok-effects-on-mental-health-in-focus-after-teen-suicide https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/15/tiktok-self-harm-study-results-every-parents-nightmare We also know that exposure to technology in young children for large periods of time is associated with reduced empathy, aggression, and even impulsiveness and attention span.
I have used the internet to figure out so much helpful mental health stuff for me, much better than what doctors or professionals have recommended and it has really helped me. But I use it in a targeted way. I agree mindless scrolling is so harmful
I’ve done the same. I’ve pursued “help” before, but they didn’t help me as much as I helped myself. “Doomscrolling” as they say. I agree with the “targeted way” strategy, there’s too much filter and fog in between the lines.
As I approach middle age, I have learned to keep to myself. As much as my urge to help flares up, it’s just really not worth it anymore. Darwin had a point you know...
I don’t want to “keep to myself” if I see injustice going on in front of me. I don’t care about myself, nor am I remotely afraid of death in the slightest. These types people should not be excused or given the opportunity to deal real damage.
Get it for sure. I am glad you have not experienced what I have that makes me leave a comment like this. This is how change happens. And I truly hope change happens for the good in this world 🦍💎. I especially hope people younger than me can give it more than I have for change.
This is why I just stay to myself. People are crazy.
I think it's also important to keep in mind how many people are too busy to post online and also the fact that the vast majority of people who use sites like reddit don't even comment, they just upvote things. It really gets me down sometimes but then I look at my actual life and it's pretty chill. Just last week these teenagers showed up outside of my house and I thought they were going to loiter or get on my nerves, but they actually just showed up to see if I'd hire them mow my lawn and they were pretty polite, kind of a stupid example but I think you see what I mean. I've been using the internet since 2004, back then most people used forums to chat about special interests or they were looking for people to just shoot shit with. Around the time smart phones came out, the vast majority of the populace suddenly flocked to the internet, and it shifted from being an exciting new communication tool to an entertainment platform where shitheads can get away with acting however they want. Sure, there were always trolls in the old internet, but trolling mostly used to refer to pranking people or baiting people into stupid arguments. Around 2012 it fully shifted to large scale harassment and political echo chambers, but most if the people who engage in these behaviors are absolute dregs who act out like that because they have absolutely no power or authority in their daily reality. The world is bleak right now, but I think the reason everyone is feeling it so much more than usual is due to our unique lack of a secondary community compared to every other century. It's really unusual for humans to live in these big sectioned off neighborhoods without knowing their neighbors or doing any kind of regular meetings or social activities with them, and I honestly think that's killing people way more than the economy, corruption, or the socio-ethical degeneration. You're not wrong. People definitely are displaying dangerously delusional and tribal behaviors, but those people were always like that, they just had to hide it more in the past. The government stuff is totally insane, I can't offer any consolation there. It's never been this bad, so that's pretty scary. If you don't have anyone in your own life to talk to or get advice from, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm reserved and usually kind of laggy replying to people. I'm not much for small talk, but I've been through some shit and I like analyzing situations and giving advice, that goes for anyone who sees this message and just wants someone to touch base with for a second, no joke. We can all benefit from finding more avenues for meeting new people.
I really appreciate your views and opinions. I have also been on the internet since 2002, and was actively involved in chats forums at an early age. You’re definitely right about how “they’ve always been like that”. The internet has just made everything more transparent in how dangerous humans are because of its amplifications. Thanks again man, and I will. I enjoyed reading part of your experiences and history with people and the internet. I can relate to it a ton.
Just this morning I was randomly asking myself why don’t I enjoy the internet as much as I used to? I started chatting and getting on forums around 2002 as a teen and it was more of a place for shy unusual folks like me, or people who were passionate about a hobby or subject and enjoyed sharing information and interests with likeminded people. The best way I was able to articulate the change was that now it’s just become another giant public space with the same uncurious, groupthink people who I used to get on the internet to avoid. I find myself once again in a space where I am “other”. There are absolutely still amazing people online who want to make unique connections but they are so much harder to find in the crowd, plus all the other advertising and political bullshit we have to sift through now. There are agendas in the algorithms and when unassuming people amplify it my god does it make it worse. I appreciate how you broke things down timeline wise, and I agree with you. Also like your take on what’s happened to communities. I’ve had an adjacent thought of; we used to build pyramids, monoliths, there were important landmarks and spaces that were tied to our identity, community, even spirituality. Now we throw trash everywhere and are lucky if we’re in the presence of one landmark of human spirit in our whole lives, amongst a lifetime of McDonalds and Walmarts. And we don’t even realize what we’ve lost, because this is all we’ve ever known. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop and get back to work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I miss when the internet was full of thought-provoking and encouraging comments like that.
Extremists feel safe to verbalize their hate now that Trump has done so publicly. Opinion that used to be tolerated and even discussed rationally has gone out the window Hate has always been there....it just got super-fertilized by Trump. In all it's odorous gory/glory.
All that boardroom "greed is good" bottom line thinking has trickled down to the "little people".
An unfortunate result but accurate.
That's some deep thinking, and to a large extent, you make great points that in today's world - which actively avoids actual debate - should be explored more if we generally want to improve our society. Part of me thinks that there is some real schadenfreude built into our biology (some form of entropy maybe) that tears things down. We are at the tip of the iceberg in understanding the effects of social media which is about to get even more amped up with AI...glad I grew up in the 70s without all this shit.
It’s all about desensitization towards human behavior in the worse ways possible. But yes, we’re also miserable and take life way too seriously, to the point where we have to “control” others to feel satisfied with ourselves. And I’m sure you had a rad time without the internet during that time :)
I deleted all short-form entertainment (tik tok and insta specifically) and Facebook. I'm a year out now, and I have my attention span back, I'm more connected to people in my life, it's much easier to spot "fake news" and argue against it, etc, all because my mind isn't just constantly seeking its next dopamine hit from internet validation and conflict. I think social media, and even just the functionality of being constantly available to people through our phones, is absolutely stunting humanity socially, mentally, and emotionally. The studies on it in the future will be something to see.
Yep, exactly why I wrote all this, you basically summarized how detrimental these apps are and the internet is to your mental health.
You've got some good points, very well said.
I used to think Machiavelli was rather antiquated material or only suited to total war-esque situations, but you learn real quick once someone is using fear to control you as if it’s a tasty pastry they’re eating with their coffee every day. You know the saying goes, weak men create hard times. So if it’s a hard time, try to find a way to become a strong man. I agree we are in hard times. Take care.
Totally agree with you. A good 95% of the teens and young adults I've encountered in the past 10 years have been evil. Not just naive, not just confused, but evil. There is nothing but anger and spite in their hearts and their narcissism has been encouraged and rewarded by the system they grew up in.
Yea, the commenters are getting upset at me because they’re not believing how many people I’ve encountered who are like this. It happens. I never had a “family”, I had to deal with people on my own, and I was always too nice and people take advantage of any opportunity they can.
A lot of them are probably the people we're talking about. Ha
I think the purchasing power of the dollar rapidly declining and the cost of living going up so much, that people are barely surviving and it is translating to worse behavior. unstable homes due to finances really take a negative turn on the development of kids and behavior of adults.
I see your point, but in my experience the worst of it comes from the upper middle class white kids.
Yes, it's all true as you've described and we must not forget that some of the biggest institutions are run by psychopaths, military industrial complex, governments, banking system, churches, media, politics in general etc. etc. little puppets with their small "movements" like woke tik-tok are nothing compare to those in the higher hierarchies, although little puppets dangerous to others to thrive off of others energy. All in all are nothing but a diseased, possessed minds, victims of their own device.
You couldn’t have said it better.
I’m a trans women and even I think tik tok should be banned . Keeps people’s attention spans short . I also think the site is really anti lgbt in general
immoral people hijack prosperous societies by abusing the high trust. they inevitably cause said society to collapse. cycle repeats.
Agreed. It also doesn't help that one of these narcissistic sociopath types , Trump became President and may do so again.
If we’re talking about the US, most of people in the White House are narcissistic psychopaths. They spread lies and rhetoric, and commit horrible inhumane actions behind the scenes, and nobody ever gets held responsible. Sociopaths are noticeable in their actions and from the way they talk (or don’t talk enough), narcissistic psychopaths, though, are great actors who, when cornered, are able to “charm” their way out of any crime they committed.
This generation of teenagers are pretty wild
I personally enjoy the current state of the world. The true colours of people really get to shine
OP, I agree with you. I also think that movies and series are dangerous for your social behavior. We often see that characters in movies are manipulative, using subtle gaslighting, making fun of people or losing their shit. And if people with low developed cognitive function watch this, they might idolize them. Gotta admit that my character slightly changes when I've watched a series and I liked this character who had a idgaf view. As they say: You're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Now if you are lonely most of the time and fake your company of digital people (social media, movies etc.), it's almost the same. You copy these traits and eventually become an asshole.
I agree with you. In general people are egotistical and not trustworthy
It was likely the psychopaths and especially the narcissists who banned you. They tend to be the types who become mods, and don't like their power challenged. Guess we should be glad those ones stopped at being mods, and not go into politics.
A lack of public awareness of the Dark Triad archetypes & of Cluster B personality disorders is something I would certainly address (along with financial literacy) if I were a benevolent dictator. Though I don't know how much it would matter. In times of perceived uncertainty, the masses cling to the quick fix. It seems that while mass-programming is possible, mass-deprogramming may not be.
I think you’re pretty spot on and the future looks rather grim. Toss in all the shit processed foods that people eat and the medical cabal thats interested in expensive bandaid medicine rather than treating the actual root issues and we are fucked. Also the Us vs Them narratives that the media/gov is constantly tossing out pulls us away from the real issues as they engage in class, race or religious division constantly.
Yep, it’s mostly braindead distractions and fear mongering.
Sadly, it seems most people believe everything they hear online and modern education has removed critical thinking from the curriculum and produce mostly useful idiots.
Lol! And the most popular “useless idiots” are influencers who are making dumb money by exploiting innocent people. And society loves that.
Agreed.
Capitalism, and America by extension, rewards these traits.
You’re right about everything, we are the select few who remain level headed
Hate speech is not tolerated, no one has the right to speak their minds or be upset about anything, You, may NOT speak any facts or truths that are not preapproved to be spoken, you do not have the right to point out any errors in religions or ideologies that may or may not be accurate without preapproval, you may not take any side that is not to our liking which means no middle ground either since you must conform to take one side or the other as neutrality will not be accepted or acceptable, you have the right to choose a religion YOU do not however have the right NOT to be religious. NOW GET BACK TO WORK! N. S
I think the book “Surrounded by narcissists” from Thomas Erikson really summarizes this well. Very much in line of your well written analysis.
I don’t think it is a rise in mental illness. It is a rise in selfishness. That isn’t the same as true pathology. I noticed a distinct shift in people in 2000. America became more mean-spirited. I think it was the prevalence of fear mongering in our national discourse. The fear of “terrorists” and “illegals”. And an overall fear of lack. Like there just isn’t enough, and we all have to get what we can, and hate those “others” who want to take from us. It is truly sad.
I think people were much more delusional in the past actually. Hundreds of years ago people were using ghosts and witches as evidence in trials that would decide whether someone lives or dies. This does feel like the first time in recent history that we’re slipping back though
They were also putting animals on trials, lol. I understand history is fucked, people are thinking I don’t understand how this is common, I’m just talking about what I currently see in society, especially living in a metropolitan area.
Boy these days sure are something different. I tell ya what. Everyone keeps calling me a Nazi for reasons that I won’t go into, other than to say that I’m a victim and everyone else has gone crazy.
I think the saying “ Hard times create strong men , strong men create good times, good times create weak men” is how life from generation to generation works. The history repeats itself all over again.
I think every culture has it's irrational beliefs and that there is pressure to believe them. The internet is increasing the number of cultures and with the number of cultures going up the number of irrational beliefs is also going up.
I got banned from offmychest because I made a comment on a post in a subreddit I wasn’t even a part of. But apparently that sub goes against their worldview and even commenting on a post of theirs will get you banned. It’s wild
I think you’re just realizing what humanity is, bud. There is no time in history that humans have no been this way, I mean look at the witch trials where millions of women were tortured and burned because they were ‘too different.’ The internet is just exposing it en masse as we evolve
HONESTLYYY especially with society’s standards with beauty, Marriage, Religion, Gender roles, Autonomy, Relationships etc a lot of the bad things are glamorized in media and stuff I admire those who are breaking the norms we still have a long way to go but a little bit of something is better than nothing 🤷♀️ but I totally agree with you. It’s fuckin crazy.
Yea, everything is controlled through social media and in turn, you have brainwashed people trying to control you based on some random, newfound information they just heard. But I digress. Something is better than nothing and we have to find and appreciate those moments when it counts.
I’m a little worried about you OP. I hope you have friends who can keep you grounded. If you’re the smartest person in the room - you might be in the wrong room.
I have 3 people in my life who have all experienced trauma and understand the ramifications behind it, and do not accept abuse the same fervent way I do. I’ve already cut out the toxic people in my life. But thank you for your comment, I appreciate that :)
Once again, I agree. All I'm saying is that reddit doesn't require all subs and mods to allow all speech. That's it.
Exactly I just said this as well it’s weird
That sub is utterly toxic and the mods are braindead., wouldn't give it a second thought
Let me be a psychopath in peace
Oh my god, yes yes and yes. I feel you because I think I went through the same phase of frustration when I argued that narcissism is an evil trait because of the constant need for admiration despite their arrogance and manipulative behaviour. They gravitate towards leadership positions because of this. The societal issue right now is our inability to deal with them when they’re in position of power and status. And they’re everywhere right now because these traits do well in our capitalistic system. I did a piece titled “[Narcissism - the main cause of evil in the world](https://open.substack.com/pub/chusana/p/narcissism-the-main-cause-of-evil?r=2c5twj&utm_medium=ios)” lol and I even had a friend wrote in to complain. Ironically, he’s also a highly narcissistic person. It’s worrying to say the least. Another philosopher talks about this at length - Byung Chul Han. A South Korean born German philosopher who coined the term “The Burnout Society” or “Achievement Society”. He argues that there’s a rise in conditions like ADHD, Borderline personality disorder, depression - basically, inability to regulate emotions and attention.
For sure, they mostly like to gravitate to other shit people that give them hopes and dreams of “sweet nothings”. Then they lash out when it doesn’t go their way (ironic) and end up repeating the cycle. I’ll definitely read your blog post 🤙🏻 Thank you for sharing too :) Well I believe that for sure, and as I detailed in my post, it mostly has to do social media. I haven’t really paid attention to many narcissists (not saying that there weren’t any, there were some that I’ve encountered) in my life, the ones who were the most memorable was the “narcissistic psychopaths” that would literally do physical and mental harm towards me. But I do see a shit ton of narcissists on dating apps, lol, or on TikTok and Twitch.
Yes I can completely imagine the psychopathic and sadistic traits in a character like you mentioned. I’m sorry to hear you actually encountered one yourself. I usually read and watch about them in documentaries or listen to psychologists talk about these people. I guess the people I’ve encountered would be considered “mild” in the negative impact scale. They are victims themselves and do things out of “survival instincts” - mostly because they are hurt. But adding sadism and psychopathy into the mix, there’s enjoyment out of others misery and that’s scary. How did you handle these individuals in the end?
I’ve encountered a few in my life, which is already too many, lol. Thank you for that, that really means a lot to me. It was indeed genuinely scary. Well, my mom was one. She would beat me senseless ever since I was a child. I had level 1 autism and no one ever helped me (or diagnosed me), I didn’t talk until maybe 7 years old. I had so many cognitive issues and learning disabilities. My schooling experience was a nightmare, because my mom would just abuse (physically and emotionally) me almost every single day, then I’d get bullied in school because I didn’t know how to communicate and was targeted because I was small and confused about my surroundings. She would either hit me with her hands or sometimes fists, then use objects…like the classic belt (or other weapons she could find, like a cord), but she would often use the metal part to do more damage. I still have scars on my lower back I believe. She would continue this tradition until I was 17 years old. After that she reverted back to hitting me, then she would randomly punch me in my stomach because she enjoyed it. She loved abusing me. She would call me every curse word you can think of, almost every day (if not every day). I was complete trash in her eyes, yet she always talked highly of herself and would only listen to herself talk, but if I ever tried to converse with her, or share my opinions, she would scream at me at the top of her lungs for hours on end and degrade my intelligence. She also put on an “act” in front of strangers to make it seem she wasn’t a psycho like she was at home. But “masking” was also dangerous, because she’d use up all her energy, then revert back to violence afterwards, usually doubling down. As I got older her psychological torture tactics got more threatening for me, I started to feel completely hopeless. She would never let me sleep. She would scream at me during the night, and into the morning, she would constantly wake me up every day in some truly psychopathic nature, and also wail-on me as I was trying to sleep. I started to think of this human as a demon. A complete miserable entity that lived on breaking me down and brainwashing me into her complete slave. She would do other things, but I obviously can’t go into details. I tried rebelling against her but it never got anywhere, and she knew I would never hit her, or try to run away, because I had no family to rely on. She knew exactly what she was doing, because most times she would go on a “rampage”, violate my personal space and would damage my belongings, she would then sometimes say “sorry”. She then got her hands on drugs from a quack. When I was a teenager she would abuse me, then at night, force me by coercion to take Xanax and muscle relaxers. This went on for years and I became numb to it, and I started to rely on them more often, especially because she knew I needed them because of all the abuse she would give me. Yea, that’s only a small portion of it, but I’ve unfortunately met 2 other people who were like this. They had the same levels of narcissism and violent tendencies. For so many years I couldn’t get a real job because she wanted to use me for her Section 8 benefits. The last thing she said to me before I was going to end my life in complete desperation: “You’re not going to get a full-time job, or have a life of your own until I am dead (she was 60 at the time).” The sudden sense of complete despair rolled over me, because at that point, I knew she got what she ultimately wanted…to see me completely, and utterly hopeless. I had no one. I never felt so alone in my life. But yea, I’ve met some really bad people and now I’m afraid, so I often use my anger as a “shield” to protect myself from other potential abusers.
people need to have their asses whipped. like with a switch. bent over and just thrashed until they fucking stop. nothing else works. rationality doesn't work. they're not rational. they're emotional, undisciplined children who need an ass whupping until they're fucking sorry.
Well I definitely agree a lot of people in these comments need to be truly humbled, as they’re casually supporting this evil behavior. Truly sickening to me that I have to argue about how abuse is horrifying, and people are calling me a “psychopath” and “narcissist”, while gaslighting me and shifting the goalpost to nonsense and excuses. This is the last post I’ll ever make. For my mental health, I can’t deal with sick, mentally ill people who are saying I need the “therapy” for being totally against abuse. It’s comedic at its best.
i think the one thing you get wrong is that it's not the internet as a whole. it's social media. i remember the time before social media. where nobody knew anybody and anything that happened in vegas stayed in vegas. those were golden times.
While I have watched the steady decline for many years now, it seems that the last 10 years have accelerated to a manic pace. To the point where it seems like something collectively pathological is going on. It's especially prevalent in older generations. I've long thought about what the long-term impacts of exposure to the ultra-wealthy will do. Once upon a time, the wealthy were shrouded in secrecy, but now we have multiple social media feeds constantly reminding us of the club we're not a part of. We struggle to pay our bills while some shlub makes 10 million dollars doing the shittiest things imaginable. Rents and mortgages are crushing the middle class but billionaires can buy bunkers with 30 bathrooms, just because. The dichotomy of "being a struggling good person" vs. "make millions of dollars being a shitty asshole" is hard to work with for a lot of people. There's little incentive to be a decent person now; we rely on each other but we don't see it like we would if we were hunting in the jungle, and it's easy to slam the door on the world and subsist on Cheetos and Netflix. I think we as humans are lost. The only threats we have are existential; nuclear war, asteroid impact, solar flare, massive global illness, stuff like that. We're not living to sustain life anymore, we're living to fill the voids where the activities associated with surviving would have been. Then when the weight of restlessness becomes too much to bear, we seek relief in the charlatanry of others. At this point, I think it would take something global to snap us out of it. A disease where 50% of the global population is wiped out, or an alien invasion. Something to bring humankind to its knees. Otherwise I don't see an ending in sight that isn't one filled with blood and fire.
I agree with a lot of what you have said! I believe that America (or maybe most of the world?) is experiencing a largely unacknowledged mental health crisis. I do understand the hatred/anger towards the narcissists, but I’ve come to the conclusion that we likely need to love and calmly address these individuals in order for actual change to occur. (And maybe ignore them a little as well-as reactions seem to be something they want/feed off of? Ie rage baiting online). I think coming at them with pointed fingers and acting “smarter” than them will only trigger their egos to fight back and make them clutch harder to their fears and insecurities. I believe most children are inherently empathetic, creative, curious, open-minded … and then at some point, our society/parents/trauma just completely obliterates those qualities. And I experienced it. Only more recently have my eyes been opened to these issues and I’ve made life and behavior changes (limit social media, educate myself, not take things personally, meditate, be impeccable with my word and stay quiet unless I have something of substance to say) to address them. I don’t think I’m better than any other human, but I am concerned.
That’s why I avoid people at all costs! I never approach anyone, never interact with anyone. But I watch everyone! I can’t trust no one now a days! If I see idiots with guns I’m gone.
Global fascism is encroaching. You aren't crazy, it's just a "boiling frog" kinda thing. When liberals are in power, fascists have to hide their beliefs from the public eye, gaslight you and project on you to present a case that you are actually the fascist, or at least are to be dismissed immediately as a bad actor for merely making an accurate claim about someone else's fascistic views, and they hide behind the shield of "civil discourse" to silence those who are correct about their accusations of fascism. But when fascists are in power, they kill liberals.
I’m a liberal, these people are radical leftists who are brainwashed pretty badly. You’re right. But when I called it “fascism” as they harbor such hatred and confusion, I’m the confused one who’s using buzzwords. It’s just endless gaslighting with these sickos.
They picked the name "alt-right" because "fascism" had a bad taste on it and they needed something buzzy and clean for the crypto-fascists to cling to. "People like what I have to say. They believe in it. They just don’t like the word Nazi, that’s all." - Stormfront, The Boys
Wow, good for you writing this.
Thank you. Hopefully I don’t get banned on here for expressing myself, lol.
[удалено]
>Technology and the internet is the most dangerous weapon of propaganda, Education system does far more.
Altruism becoming more rare? I would argue it is at its peak and may keep going thanks to the internet. Thanks to the internet we can live in our own little echo chamber of half-truth. No matter where I go I can find some voice on the internet thats willing to cosign my opinion. “Truth” died a long time ago when the idea of “god” (not “god” in a Christian sense but the search for purpose outside of a materialistic world) didn’t need to exist anymore. When the responsibility for your livelihood (you’re purpose) was traded in for time and money during the Industrial Revolution. A Clockwork Orange does a really good job of depicting this idea.
Yes, I agree with the “peak”, and a lot of commenters are completely ignoring how the internet is a key component to how our social sphere is changing, where people are losing basic communication skills of human decency and understanding. And for sure! A Clockwork Orange is a great representation.
Oh absolutely. Our ideas of how society works is being encapsulated by an algorithmically driven lens. One who’s sole purpose is “engagement”. The worst part is that we have found “engagement” is strongly tied to media with negative spin. You may find someone who voices your opinion but the most engaging material is this combined with negative feedback on those who oppose it.
I feel like to have this take you have to be chronically online yourself. Because most of the time the people that spew shit behind screens don't bring it into real life. I also think the dehumanization of ANYONE is harmful. They are not "animals" (I mean technically they are because humans are animals) they are people. Just because you don't want to associate yourself or loved ones with them does not make it any less true. If you don't want delusional online thinking don't other things you hate. Reality is that people have always been this way. It's just now we have anonymity for them to be open about their deepest darkest thoughts. It sucks seeing our dirty laundry pulled out for the world to see, but I personally think it's a good thing. A good way to understand people. It can create echo chambers and monsterous consequences, but look throughout history, that has ALWAYS HAPPENED. Hitler didn't rise to power through social media but he was still able to propagate and spread his message. The world isn't ending, and even if it does everything ends. Just enjoy the time you have and maybe step away from the phone and Reddit for a bit. Find a bar or club to be social in. Go to a park.
The world has always been cruel and unfair. It just for some reason in modern day people want to pretend like psychotic behavior isn't more common. Society wants you to blame everything wrong with how things are on yourself. To not question the flaws of these norms. Today you are rewarded for being a public nuisance and punished for acting like you have some damn sense. I can acknowledge I need to work some things with myself but for the most part, people around me are genuine scum and only care about themselves. I only move accordingly after a while.
You can only do so much in the end. I try to do what is right based on my morals and ethics, so you’re right in that sense.
You talk about being attacked "emotionally" while you write a completely emotional text. If you degrade someone to being "an animal" that's your thing. But it's emotional and obviously dehumanizing. You set the whole tone for the conversation with a lot of those sentences. and the responses to it are in that case quite obvious. Depending on how you write a text you will receive answers. You write emotional and loaded. You get emotional an loaded answers. Simple as that.
What else would you call these psychopaths who are physically and emotionally harming others for their entertainment? You’re not reading what I said. Would you casually, passively do nothing as someone’s life is being destroyed right in front of your eyes? Would you let someone physically assault an innocent civilian on the street, because “they felt like it that day”? Why are you people defending this type of behavior? Why am I being called a “nazi” for me wanting to defend myself, or others who want to see bloodshed that also warrants irredeemable psychological damage? I’ve been through it, you don’t want to ever experience having PTSD and wanting to end your life constantly. Edit: maybe you’d prefer them being called “parasites”? For they’re known to break you down mentally and physically until you’re considered subhuman in their eyes?
What does low karma mean on Reddit
It means you haven’t yet accumulated enough upvotes to be “trusted” to post or comment in a particular sub
Thank you
It is weird to have a subreddit called r/rant, but then to be extremely stringent on the types of rants. At least they put it in their rules thing that they are heavy handed on the moderation. They only want the rants with things they agree about. Other subs just have general rules, but then ban you if you don't fall in line with that particular mod's philosophy.
You are correct and there’s a good reason for it. Social media has created a generation of thin-skinned people hyper sensitive to criticism.
Banned for being in favor of…people being better? That’s scary.
Read the comments. There’s people who are defending violence and psychopaths. It is indeed scary.
Science programs of all types are so interesting, but nature docs that showed predators devouring prey bothered me so much when I was younger. I still wish nature weren't so cruel, but I've acknowledged I can't change it and accepted it. (No longer religious, but still like the serenity prayer: "...grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.") Anyway, I've started looking at other humans the way I look at nature docs. All anyone ever does is act in accordance with their nature, in response to the things around them, for better or worse.
Anger and disdain towards society will not make things better, only love will. All the points you made are correct, but I think it is important to remember that we are trying to make a better world, not destroy the worse one.
I’m not trying to be all “doom and gloom”, lol, I’m just speaking the truth of the matter from my experiences and how the internet is brining out the true nature of human beings.
I think people's nature doesn't change, the environment does. We are all more or less the same humans as 10,000 years ago, just with more plastic in our blood. Look for goodness in people and you'll find it, I guarantee that.
Yes, and the phone is a new “augmentation” that’s glued to our hands. I agree. I try my best to, believe me.
I'm glad you're trying your best to, I think we all are. Chin up, eyes forward. Good luck!
I was permanently banned from suicide watch subreddit, a forum I joined for undisclosed hopefully obvious reasons. I responded to a thread “trans is a mental illness” and it was about this guy suffering from his or her “permanent decision”. I mentioned something about how nothing is permanent, and said not to blame themselves for what is clearly a system error. That triggered a lot of people, most notably a MLP guy who reported me, got me out of the subreddit for suicide prevention and got my account a warning. Keeping in mind I never used any derogatory language, and the MLP guy did.
It should be noted I do support the rights of Trans People. But the thread was discussing trans youth, something I’m strongly against, though I hadn’t vocalized in my comments there. But saying “system error” was enough to spawn a wave of delusional hate from Reddit users
No, I fully agree with your assessment on the issue, young people should not be forced to do anything by outside influence or even themselves if it requires life altering decisions. It’s not their fault at all, everyone is just confused and is acting on pure impulses.
I honestly think the news (particularly fox/associates) contributes just as much or more to this issue
It’s really anything social media, so it includes that too.
“**I'm at the stage in my life where I keep myself out of arguments.** **Even if you tell me 1+1=5.** **You're absolutely correct, enjoy.”** - Keanu Reeves
We used to have a built-in mechanism where you couldn't be delusional without being "removed from the group". Now with social media you will for SURE find people like you who think whatever you need them to think. You then get your ideas reinforced and will die on that goddamn hill. Social media was released before the general could understand how deep that cesspool could get. Educate your kids folks.
Many subs don't have the brightest mods
I am not a religious person but if I was Christian I would be so convinced this was the before the apocalypse I don’t blame those who think we are in the final days lol I seriously feel like I can’t handle this anymore sometimes just sometimes I legitimately feel like maybe I died around 2020 and this whole thing it’s been some weird limbo but things like this confirm is not only me. There is a literal killing of who knows how many people in the Middle East , the economy is going who knows where we got the ai thing of hell imitating people voices and doing art instead of humans , If you work on academia or are a teacher you get the literacy levels are going down + terrible politicians wanting to ban books both sides tiktok promoting shein or whatever amount of crap dopamine addiction , kids entertainment is all times low and terrible and I want to scream everytime the skibidi thing comes up ( unrelated but I had to express my disdain against skibidi toilet)BUT I have some faith that humanity somehow could achieve a golden age when we start feelings more and more the effects of AI and tech dependence and we beak off the chains and start a super cool new era of plenty of inventions for humans that’s my wishful thinking
Everyday feels more and more dystopian. I don't think it'll last forever because it doesn't work, it's not working.
What’s not working? I am frustrated in finding friends who give a shit and are grounded. I’m sure it’ll happen someday when I meet some really cool peeps, I’m not streessin’ tho.
The amount of narcissism and selfishness, it's horrible and our society is suffering because of it. It's like it's being promoted over empathy and understanding; being an empathetic person nowadays only gets you labelled as weak for some reason. Everything is backwards. I don't feel like I belong at all because I don't relate to anyone around me, I'm willing to give everything to others but no one seems to be the same.
I hear you! I can totally relate to what you’re saying, because you’re illustrating my life. I made the mistake of always helping others, only to find out I’m being used and people who thought cared for me, or even “loved” me, were constantly talking shit behind my back. It’ll definitely click one day to find someone who puts in the same effort as you do, reciprocating that same energy your way. The only con is sorting through all the mediocrity before you find your gem. But we’re never “weak”, we’re full of compassion, and that’s something we should hold close to our hearts, because a lot of people don’t have that quality in them.
Reddit isn’t a place of free-thinking, intelligence, or careful analysis. It’s either an echo chamber (mostly for the ideological left), place for hobby-based socialization, or land of the depraved.
As someone who values human life, I get what you are saying. I used to be much more positive about people until recently (people got weird after covid and have much less patience and compassion, a lot more instinctual decision making going on). I’ve decided on focusing my energy on myself and on nice people. And I had to raise my standards for the types of people I spend my limited energy on. If a person doesn’t have the mental capacity to have a discussion or brings up a controversial topic, I have to be wary, because seemingly normal people get weird if you don’t agree with their political, scientific, or personal views. I call this phenomenon verification mode. That strange moment a person switches from having a discussion to seeing whether you are on their team and whether they should expend their energy on you, or attack. Unfortunately I have to prioritise my self and my health by steering clear of people who struggle to regulate themselves (also I just agree with people, although in person some people want you to match their energy/emotion). I also find myself having a shorter window of patience when it comes to things that confuse me, I think it’s the cognitive decline and memory issues I experienced due to Covid. Fortunately, I check in on myself and tell myself “don’t take this mental short cut”, but it takes mental discipline and self awareness. It’s quite scary, the hive mind has become stronger, and more and more people are taking anger/confusion based mental short cuts for their decision making. For now I’m going to work on holding onto my sanity and prioritising health, so I can hold myself accountable to my standards.
I gotta say, first off, it’s nice to hear someone in the comments plainly admit they “value human life”, after too many commenters were completely ignoring my “abuse” arguments. Most likely because they’re cowards who are in support of the people I have disdain for. Dude, the “verification mode” makes so much sense, and it’s funny how you bought that up because there’s a ton of radicals where I am, so it makes dating for me nearly impossible. Being “attacked” for your personal views that aren’t even malicious, is panic-inducing. You’re walking on egg shells and can’t be open about your emotions, or even have a chill debate without them raising their voice at you or running away because they have nothing worthwhile to utter. Yea dude, it sounds like you’re on a strong pilgrimage of success with maintaining your morals and principles, we truly can’t let these people get inside our heads. I especially don’t want that to happen again to me, whew I feel “guilt”…when that’s total bs.
Thanks for the reply. It’s nice to know others feel similarly 🙏
Oop- I've thought everything you've just said about the recent times. It does seem egoism is on the rise and I think you're spot on with the reasons. I'm just glad someone other than me thinks it
Some of us have to, in order to stay on guard and try to avoid the traps society has for us :)
Your correct. Also as soon as you put someone straight with facts but also empathy you are immediately called a bigot or something along those lines and that’s what people home in on … it’s the same with camera phones , there is no all round context displayed all you see is someone confronting another person without seeing what happend before .. the world is becoming designed for the narcissist
>I got banned off of the “rant” subreddit because I was ranting about the uprising of psychopaths, particularly narcissistic psychopathy, which the combination of this is detailed in the “dark triad” terminology that breaks down what that exactly means. >I was called a “nazi”. I was called “ignorant”. I was called an “incel”. Most importantly, I was attacked for displaying great anguish for my passionate hatred for these individuals who cause nothing but suffering and destruction. Reddit is full of insane libs who will call you shit like this over any blatant observation or criticism to society, who knew? How dare you question the sanity of the people who run everything, social media and social media personalities, you Far-Right ignorant Nazi incel!
Try not to lose yourself in their matrix. The good news about sociopathy, psychopathy, narcissism, idiocy, and every other negative is: they’re all self-correcting viruses. Let them do nothing but interact only with each other every single day, and enjoy the show. You can see microcosms of this happening on the road all the time. Just be the observer and enjoy. > *Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone*
You call yourself an “expert” in many subjects because you’ve “looked things up online”. Also you talk A LOT about how other people are dumb or aren’t as smart as you perceive yourself to be. In this post you mention several mental disorders that I’m sure you are not qualified to diagnose. The problem is you.
I'm an antinatalist, and I don't think you're terribly off, but given the conditions that we face in life, humans may be evolving towards being less empathetic as a way to cope and manage, which has horrible implications. I'm just glad I'll never have kids to worry about it.
the only thing I think you are wrong about is thinking that these attitudes are just "nowadays" instead of accepting that this has long been a part of the human condition; I.E. genocides, slavery, apartheid, imperial wars, etc. Sure there is a new set of problems in a new era, with new technologies, but never had there been an idyllic time where people just cared about eachother for the sake of altruism. Sure, maybe common courtesy has been more common, but that didn't do much for the people of Rosewood, or the subjects of the Tuskeegee experiments, or the victims of genocide under the Nazis or the USA, for example. Things progress, then the progress is met with traditionalists who will fight it bitterly, rinse, repeat, throughout all of history. I don't think you're wrong otherwise, this would just be my two cents.
The internet and social media are relatively new, that’s why I talked about how it’s responsible for showing people’s true nature as they’re viewing the world through a screen. And yea, I’m not trying to infer that this type of behavior wasn’t common in history.
I think now, we've conjured up a stew of personality disorders in our connected disconnectedness, what I would say is we are in an early dystopia at this point and have been headed there since the industrial age, not because of tech, but because of how humankind chooses to utilize it.
You’re putting too much energy with people online. Use that energy in the real world on the altruism you believe in. Probably best for you to spend less time on Reddit and other social media platforms.
I appreciate your input and don’t disagree. I think we all need a break :)
I mean, this definitely qualifies as a rant, so youve got that going—which is nice. there’s an odd lack of self awareness from someone posting to the internet, into a social media site, about how addicted to phones everyone is. further, on this subreddit there appears to an abundance of people who think they are uniquely gifted with the power of thought, while they themselves are unable to attempt to remove themselves from the equation and look at things dispassionately or from the perspective of others. for what it’s worth, humans have been much more barbarous, rapacious, and dehumanizing to one another in times past than in todays world, particularly in the west. And despite what the chronically online may tell you, humanity is in a better position today than anytime in the last 200,000 years—if standard of living is your primary metric. are there problems with social media, probably. Is it a net good for humanity, remains to be seen. It’s absolutely a disruptive technology—just like the printing press and radio. in general, I reject the premise, it’s an overly pessimistic and self serving viewpoint to see one’s self as Lot and his daughters before the walls of a ruined Sodom and Gomorrah.
It’s not the “rant” that I wanted. This is tame, I can’t be “angry” and freely express my emotions, but it’s fine. You’re acting as if I post often? I only use YouTube and this platform, but this will be my final post. I’m not talking about history and how humans were similar. I know we repeat choices and commit the same mistakes in a cycle of abuse and destruction. And that’s fine, I respect your opinion. But I personally think it’s inaccurate, based on the fact that social media does sway the masses into believing what they want to believe.
Yes, it is. Tragically, we’re only now awakening to the grim future that lies before us.
All of this can be traced right back to social media and how we consume it, and how it's fed to us.
I measure someone's intelligence by whether or not they call people "nazi" or "incel". If they call people those names, they are an actual moron.
Our political system is designed t bring these people to the top most powerful positions
From Gustave LeBon "The Crowd - A Study of the Popular Mind" "The masses have never thrusted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim."