Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
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Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#2I don't know. I think it's too convenient to blame this solely on devices and internet and such.
I'm certain that they are a symptom, but I am unconvinced that they are a sole cause for this
Edit: Obviously not a psychologist, but just from what I observe: People have had way higher expectations from life than ever before in the past, and life has not really been meeting those expectations.
A lot of people I know simply aren't going to enjoy the same luxury that they grew up expecting, being told they would have, that they were "promised".
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#3I don't know. I think it's too convenient to blame this solely on devices and internet and such. I'm certain that they are a symptom, but I am unconvinced that they are a sole cause for this Edit: Obviously not a psychologist, but just from what I observe: People have had way higher expectations from life than ever before in the past, and life has not really been meeting those expectations. A lot of people I know sim…
Arguably the ability of people to see how the wealthiest people are living is going to create exactly that sense. What is Instagram if not a giant machine to generate the exact feeling? After all it “inspires” people to emulate what they see, which usually involves spending whatever they have on their appearance and lifestyle.
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#4We are inundated with more choices and decisions than ever before, causing stress that becomes overwhelming.
Up until the last generation, you didn’t even worry about what you were going to have for dinner. Your option was whatever was available. You spent the day making that thing. You ate. Now you have to make decisions on every little thing in life because there are options and choices for everything in life. We have not yet evolved quickly enough to handle this many choices and decisions, as lame and unimportant as they may seem.
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#5I don't know. I think it's too convenient to blame this solely on devices and internet and such. I'm certain that they are a symptom, but I am unconvinced that they are a sole cause for this Edit: Obviously not a psychologist, but just from what I observe: People have had way higher expectations from life than ever before in the past, and life has not really been meeting those expectations. A lot of people I know sim…
Arguably the ability of people to see how the wealthiest people are living is going to create exactly that sense. What is Instagram if not a giant machine to generate the exact feeling? After all it “inspires” people to emulate what they see, which usually involves spending whatever they have on their appearance and lifestyle.
Yes, that's true too
I was honestly just talking about "people used to afford a house and family with two vacations per year on a single income, now people can't even afford a house on two incomes" which seems to be a common refrain nowadays
I know a lot of my friends and peers believe they have worse standard of living than their parents did at the same age, and the data does seem to agree with them. Existence of smartphones is a nice convenience but it doesn't seem to offset being able to afford a house or flights and hotels for vacations
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Arguably the ability of people to see how the wealthiest people are living is going to create exactly that sense. What is Instagram if not a giant machine to generate the exact feeling? After all it “inspires” people to emulate what they see, which usually involves spending whatever they have on their appearance and lifestyle.
Yes, that's true too I was honestly just talking about "people used to afford a house and family with two vacations per year on a single income, now people can't even afford a house on two incomes" which seems to be a common refrain nowadays I know a lot of my friends and peers believe they have worse standard of living than their parents did at the same age, and the data does seem to agree with them. Existence of sm…
I doubt "the data" is anything more than a survey of said people's feelings on the manner, which is basically of zero value. But we live in an age where if enough people say something is true that "makes" it true, objective reality be damned.
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#7I don't know. I think it's too convenient to blame this solely on devices and internet and such. I'm certain that they are a symptom, but I am unconvinced that they are a sole cause for this Edit: Obviously not a psychologist, but just from what I observe: People have had way higher expectations from life than ever before in the past, and life has not really been meeting those expectations. A lot of people I know sim…
Arguably the ability of people to see how the wealthiest people are living is going to create exactly that sense. What is Instagram if not a giant machine to generate the exact feeling? After all it “inspires” people to emulate what they see, which usually involves spending whatever they have on their appearance and lifestyle.
> Arguably the ability of people to see how the wealthiest people are living is going to create exactly that sense.
Nobody is seeing how the wealthy live. They're seeing caricatures of how people imagine the wealthy live, or sometimes the extravagance of the nouveau riche living out those fictions. And even when they get glimpses of actual wealth, like all forms of entertainment (including rage bait) they're seeing highly compressed slices that only superficially reflect the fictions.
And the same is largely true for every class and group depiction. People forming expectations based on digital content (social media videos, but even "news" stories and narratives) are bound to be confused. Over time their expectations simply won't match the way reality unfolds, but they don't understand why. This helps drive conspiracy theories, both on the left and the right; narratives are concocted to explain the fictitious universes people are living in.
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#8I think the new generation will be alright. From what I've seen, they seem to believe that maximizing their looks is the answer.
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#9I don't know. I think it's too convenient to blame this solely on devices and internet and such. I'm certain that they are a symptom, but I am unconvinced that they are a sole cause for this Edit: Obviously not a psychologist, but just from what I observe: People have had way higher expectations from life than ever before in the past, and life has not really been meeting those expectations. A lot of people I know sim…
But what about "the medium is the message"? I haven't read the book, but I'm remembering a quote mentioning how the technological mediums become extensions of our nervous systems, through this optic, internet and devices maybe really do have this kind of potency...
Re: Depression has tripled in the last 15 years. Arthur Brooks about the cause
#10I think the new generation will be alright. From what I've seen, they seem to believe that maximizing their looks is the answer.
That is a thing people do when they feel a lack of control over other aspects of their life. It's a coping mechanism. Frequently comorbid with depression.
Also it's quite rude of you to dismiss an entire generation with this belittling rhetoric. Mental health is a really, really big deal.