Is society becoming less sane?

[Breakingthewall]

8 hours ago, Nivsch said:

But it was better than what we have today. The narrative then was of course limited too, but had healthier roots, and made us live our life in a mental state which is more stable and with a stronger compass.

I am not talking about a century ago but only 20 years ago and before. The 90s and early 00s as the reference point.

I think people back then were extremely ignorant, racist , close minded, much more so than now. For example, sodomy and fellatio if I'm not wrong were decriminalized in the US in 2003.

[Consept]

I can't understate the impact social media has and is having. It literally rewards conflict and inducing rage in others, it's so open to manipulation from outside forces (foreign governments, entities making money). The algorithm can send people down extremely radical rabbit holes and get the locked in echo chambers that potentially can be distrustful of real critical thinking. 

Add to this world events like covid and these wars which had massive repercussions for everyone and I think the combination of things has fried a lot of people's brains. 

[Hojo]

Yes we are being made to think too much. And act like a different person. We are made to tip toe around other people to not hurt their made up feelings. We are made to shun ourselves and feel like trash. Forced communication means people are constantly faking life.This makes the ego attack itself and the result is madness outlashes rage and fear.the person dosent want to communicate but are forced and the result of forced communication means the person is saying things they dont want to. This will result in the person saying things then feeling like what they said was stupid.

The mind can't quiet itself unconciously the individual has to. If the individual dosent realize what they are doing they are mad. If the individual thinks they are the voice in their head they are mad. Ask yourself how many people think they are the voice in their head. 70 or more percent of the pop will say they are. Thats probably close to 80 percent insanity rate in usa/canada.

Its 80 percent of people who think and act like they are something other then what they are on accident.Including the people who are running the countries.

Edited Monday at 03:53 PM by Hojo

[Nivsch]

2 hours ago, Hojo said:

Forced communication means people are constantly faking life

What do you mean by forced communication? Can you give an example?

Edited Monday at 06:06 PM by Nivsch

[Breakingthewall]

5 hours ago, Hojo said:

Yes we are being made to think too much. And act like a different person. We are made to tip toe around other people to not hurt their made up feelings. We are made to shun ourselves and feel like trash. Forced communication means people are constantly faking life.This makes the ego attack itself and the result is madness outlashes rage and fear.the person dosent want to communicate but are forced and the result of forced communication means the person is saying things they dont want to. This will result in the person saying things then feeling like what they said was stupid.

The mind can't quiet itself unconciously the individual has to. If the individual dosent realize what they are doing they are mad. If the individual thinks they are the voice in their head they are mad. Ask yourself how many people think they are the voice in their head. 70 or more percent of the pop will say they are. Thats probably close to 80 percent insanity rate in usa/canada.

Its 80 percent of people who think and act like they are something other then what they are on accident.Including the people who are running the countries.

Imagine some year ago, when you had to get married and have kids to content the society, the divorce was forbidden, and there were only 2 channel of tv and gin tonic. Seemed a happy party 

Edited Monday at 09:30 PM by Breakingthewall

[Frylock]

Yes. Metal Gear Solid 2, a videogame released in 2001, accurately predicted the insanity that society would devolve into.

[hoodrow trillson]

13 hours ago, Frylock said:

Yes. Metal Gear Solid 2, a videogame released in 2001, accurately predicted the insanity that society would devolve into.

Kojima baby.  That codec call becomes even more relevant each passing day.

 

[Alex4]

I think the middle and working class struggle, due to high cost of living, wages not increasing proportionally, and how hard it is to get a house, it's taking a serious toll on a lot of people's mental health. But hey, let's just ignore all this collateral damage and pretend the market will magically fix everything.

Edited Wednesday at 09:16 AM by Alex4

[Nivsch]

On 21.4.2025 at 7:27 AM, Breakingthewall said:

I think people back then were extremely ignorant, racist , close minded, much more so than now. For example, sodomy and fellatio if I'm not wrong were decriminalized in the US in 2003.

To my view, when I said "then" I meant to the 90s and early 00s as the reference point to the sanity we lack today. No need to go further in the past to my opinion.

Edited Wednesday at 07:34 PM by Nivsch

[Nivsch]

We see this in music, art, family conversations even.

20 years ago there were high quality songs you could see that people invested a lot of effort in, but today each new song is a combination of gimmickly sounds effects with much less depth, the words are shallow and sloganish, and the singer is actually half singing and half talking a bunch of nonsense.

Singers who are less talented like Taylor Swift get an unproportional popularity wereas singers who are much better then her goes under the radar. People get catched up by gimmicks and whatever catches the eyes, without further thinking.

Edited Wednesday at 07:56 PM by Nivsch

[Jodistrict]

I knew people who lived through the depression and World War II and they were ridiculously happy.  Going through hardship in a society with good values made them strong and self reliant.  The elites who control society today are materialists and their progressivism is garbage.   All civilizations formed under the guidance of higher spiritual knowledge.  The emergence of the right expresses the sentiment of the populations that something is wrong and the old system, with all its limitations, prejudices and blind spots, was actually better.

[Raze]

2 minutes ago, Jodistrict said:

I knew people who lived through the depression and World War II and they were ridiculously happy.  Going through hardship in a society with good values made them strong and self reliant.  The elites who control society today are materialists and their progressivism is garbage.   All civilizations formed under the guidance of higher spiritual knowledge.  The emergence of the right expresses the sentiment of the populations that something is wrong and the old system, with all its limitations, prejudices and blind spots, was actually better.

People normally tend to get happier as they enter older ages

[Nivsch]

19 minutes ago, Jodistrict said:

The emergence of the right expresses the sentiment of the populations that something is wrong and the old system, with all its limitations, prejudices and blind spots, was actually better.

By 'right' you mean to the right-wing and conservatism?

Edited Wednesday at 08:21 PM by Nivsch

[BlueOak]

Where I live barely ever changes, whatever is going on in the wider world barely affects it. I imagine in some areas of the world it's affected even less than this. I used to rail against this when i was younger, but I see the benefit as I age more and more.

Prices go up and the quality of life changes, what we can do with what money we have left for example, but otherwise all the chaos others live through and engage in barely touches the surface here. Life here tends to slow people down. Post 2010 I did hear more open racism, which I surprised people with when I told them that I am hearing it more now not less, there are also one or two more open fascists or worse that talk here. 

But that is a very small microcosm, for the most part, life in the village (small town), is slow, doesn't change much, out of the 8000 or so people here 7500 of them are friendly enough to talk to and interact with. People do know your business and you do build a reputation for better or worse, usually just for X. But that also brings stability as you know people, you know what to expect.

Where you live currently, @Nivsch and in the online political spaces for example, things are less stable, less grounded, more easily affected, I would guess.

It's very easy to ground if you connect more with the land around you or in service/employment etc to a community that is.

Edited Wednesday at 08:43 PM by BlueOak

[Basman]

Social media has the tendency to over-represent more extreme and emotionally engaging views because of how engagement dictates exposure. The "silent majority" is practically invisible because they have no need to engage in discourse that appears from the outside as superfluous and overtly hostile.

I don't think society is necessarily going insane population wide but western societies tend to be very depoliticized which can leave them vulnerable to institutional degradation and democratic monarchism and corruption. "Who cares who runs the country as long as I can browse my cat memes and go to Target? It is not my problem if migrants are being illegally deported."

Edited Wednesday at 09:02 PM by Basman

[Breakingthewall]

Right now, people are very superficial, but before, people were much more trapped in social roles. Now, if you want, you can break out of the social wheel and search for depth. Before, it was very difficult; everything was much more homogeneous. People were more mentally limited, full of red lines and fears.

From the outside, it seems more authentic, but I think it was much more hellish than it is now.  people were so trapped in their roles that the only thing that mattered to them was fitting in, so much so that they didn't even allow themselves to be depressed. They were, but they pretended not to.

[Nivsch]

4 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

people were so trapped in their roles that the only thing that mattered to them was fitting in, so much so that they didn't even allow themselves to be depressed.

An important point.

Do you see that problem was much higher even in the near past 00s and 90s?

[Breakingthewall]

20 minutes ago, Nivsch said:

An important point.

Do you see that problem was much higher even in the near past 00s and 90s?

Yes. Now it seems like people are more obsessed with fitting in than ever, what with social media and all that, but the range of possibilities is much broader. People allow themselves to be much more open about their true feelings, even if they're superficial or focused on appearances.

It seems like before, everyone pretended to be someone else, to be the archetypal man or woman, and they couldn't break away from that, not even within their own minds. The pressure was much greater. It's true that there's more depression and mental illness now than before, but I think that's paradoxically because before, social pressure kept people in a mental corset that prevented the disorder from surfacing.

[Nivsch]

35 minutes ago, Breakingthewall said:

social pressure kept people in a mental corset that prevented the disorder from surfacing.

In the other hand today there is too much diversion and individualism that intensifies loneliness, and too little feeling of collective responsibility what makes the disorder worse.

Edited Wednesday at 11:11 PM by Nivsch

[BlueOak]

7 hours ago, Nivsch said:

In the other hand today there is too much diversion and individualism that intensifies loneliness, and too little feeling of collective responsibility what makes the disorder worse.

Yes but the community also needs something to stabilize it; otherwise it's a nebulous concept. 

A community of gamers for example can make you feel like you belong to a community but its not as stable as a community of people that are supporting each other in business, and that isn't as stable as a community of people engaged in working the land day to day that are interlinked in its preservation and development.