Ask HN: Why Is Everything Declining?

Black people are people.

Murder is bad.

If black people are murdered out of proportion to all other races, by a wide margin, that's something that needs to be investigated.

Down vote me racists.

For Christ sake, if you seriously can't tell the difference between an exhaust system that physically assault one's ears bordering on tinnitus versus a goofy eccentric pair of Cookie Monster pajamas, I just don't know what to say.

What does "a society which takes itself seriously" even mean? To me this just sounds like mindless conformity.

1. We're in late-stage capitalism. Things are optimized for capital, not for people.

2. You are a victim of the fact that sensationalism drives views and clicks. Things aren't getting any worse, you're just exposed to the worst of it.

2. You're getting older.

We've probably only spent 1/10 on it of what we sent to Ukraine last year since the beginning.

29yo woman here. I passionately share the bitter sentiment that most things are declining. Some anecdotal evidence.

* The built quality of the average fridge, car, phone, piece of clothing, sofa feels lower. A few years lifespan at most. One has to pay big bucks to get great build. Also, we repair much less and replace much more. * Community and family bonds are extremely weak. People in my city used to go to church on Sundays and socialise. We used to have family meals weekly. Now each family is locked in their house I feel. People don't have kids and think they can get an equal level of fulfilment from work or hobbies or traveling. * Many transaction, not many interactions with people. Attention spans have become super short. People very self-centered. No ability to listen. Not even interest. Genuine conversations f2f in decline. During my childhood people used to sit out on their balconies and have conversations with people who passed by. Kids used to play outside. I feel kids were more smiley, vibrant and full of life. * Aura of laziness and entitlement. I feel in general people have less appetite to go out and do things. I also think we are way more fragile and mentally weak growing up in this societies whilist being protected from any adversity from our families. * We are more connected than every but feel the least truly connected. A result of digital communication I believe instead of real f2f touch and talk. * Nobody of my friends can afford a house. My parents had one at 25. We are 30 and most of them are still stuck at entry level jobs (various reasons). 30s are meant to be our career peak. * Brother coming fresh out of university and it is impossible to get a job. I had no trouble, parents, not even. * Every building looks the same. Not attention to detail put anymore. Furniture too. And ofcourse software. Every landing page every product feels kinda the same. Minimal they call it. Where is the soul? Where is the craft? Emotional design? * The people successful online are the ones who shout the loudest not the ones that have the highest quality or are most legit. This holds for 'creators' and for businesses that are trying to sell you something. It is all about sneaky loud marketing. * Woke culture. Don't even get me started. * We are more productive than ever but work just as much as we used to. It used to be that human progress was measured by the amount of labor one had to do to make a living. The less the better. This metric has barely moved. * Gentlemen are hard to find and not appreciated. Craftsmen. Good ethical businesses - everybody is looking to make a quick buck with little care and devotion it feels. What was once considered the peak of human flourishing is extremely hard to find.

Sure there are so many things that got better like access to knowledge, power to create our own opportunities, cheap travel, conveniences like UBER or online bookings, improved healthcare(?), generation that cares about doing the right thing(?) but do they balance out the negatives? I am not so sure. Again; I am talking about Western societies. And these are just observations and feelings of one person. I don't have data to back these.

I am really trying to check if I am objective or if I am being driven by emotion aka nostalgia for the good ol days, as many in the comments mention. But I still hold the position that the at least Western societies is getting worse.

By many measures of wellbeing personally I am better off now than in the past: salary/material wellbeing, fitness, number of friends, freedom, skill, self-awareness, wisdom, emotional maturity, peace, finding my mission in life, having an unbelievable partner, great bonds with family etc But still I truly, objectively think life is not as good as 90s - 2010s