These years are probably the best they will ever be, or at least for a long time. We have have relatively good peace in the West, antibiotics and medicine is generally still working, average life expectancy is high, governments tend to look after the old or ill, most people are well educated, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of privacy - the list goes on. Compared to past times, we arguably live in the best period the human race has ever lived.
Yet, open any newspaper, read any major news website, speak to any up-to-date person. Despite living in arguably the best times in known human history, things have never looked so bleak. Examples of this are:
Larger numbers of protests for recognition of social issues for “minorities” which we had previously assumed to have been “resolved” - or at least heading in the right direction (feminists, LGBT, black lives matter, etc). For examples of this, look towards the media and Universities - the places where ideas are supposed to be openly challenged.
Crime in general is on the rise. Looks at American gun crime as an example, where mass shootings have become a frequent report. Americans are now more threatened by other Americans than they are by any terrorism. When we hear of a mass shooting, no longer are we surprised to learn numbers tipping into the hundreds have been killed.
General disliking towards foreign people, look at Brexit and Trump as examples. There is still the worsening situation in Calais, France, where immigrant camps exist in large numbers.
Okay, these are just some of the current happenings around the globe. What is even causing this?
Cause
I believe that there may be several causes adding towards a general feeling of discontent:
Children are no longer taught how to be happy. More specifically, they have lost their innocence from the miserable world we were previously able to shield them from many years. Young children are now aware of and worrying about issues they weren’t previously aware of, to the point where they are no longer aware of any feeling of intelligence and happiness coinciding. We are producing deeply unhappy people, we are poisoning the youth who we expect to take the flag one day.
General awareness of powerlessness. There was a time when people were not aware of what they didn’t know and in general, they were happier for it. Humans tend to fill in the blanks of knowledge with some model they are able to accept, like religion, generally not challenging it unless forced to. We’ve delivered a wealth of unknowns to people and haven’t offered any theory allowing them to digest it. Humans in general seem to be unhappy when they have patterns they are not able to comprehend. People purposely create thought bubbles to protect themselves from opposing ideas that challenge their own model.
Emotions spread quickly. Previously general feelings were confined locally, they weren’t able to spread at the speed of light to the corners of the globe. Hearing someone else is unhappy is often contagious for people with empathy (the majority). We are one snowball away from global depression.
The human race didn’t evolve to have continuous connectivity every second of the day, our minds and bodies just simply aren’t prepared. Social media platforms have long been aware of this, applying filters to prevent overload. Even so, these machine learnt systems are imperfect and simply not powerful enough. These blanket rules are simply not enough.
Prediction
This will likely get worse. We are becoming more connected, not less. As I type, algorithms are being tweaked to maximize the amount of attention you give these platforms, spending more time, not less, being indoctrinated into these systems.
Solution
There are a few options available, not all within our control:
We evolve. Those who are able to withstand the constant pressure of mass communication are more likely to be successful, therefore spreading their genetics and becoming a majority. This will take a very long time.
We self-regulate. People realize they are poisoning their own minds and begin to use these communication services. This is unlikely, but by far the best version. The only way this will work is if individuals have short-term incentive to act in their long-term interest. This could be financial, time or some other factor.
Enforced regulation. Governments or external factors reduce the connectivity of individuals. This seems most likely and to some lengths, very affective. China is an example of how to pacify an entire nation by controlling their communication. This is highly likely and to be frank, the worst possible option.
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