Out here in my garage....I'm the ceo..

It's a lot of things. We live in a society primed for instant gratification and when we aren't receiving it then we aren't happy. Social media plays on this factor heavily. We see people with nice stuff that we don't have and you become depressed we don't have that stuff right this instant. Social media has raised the standards for what it considered a good life considerably and very few will match that standard if they give in to it.

I don't think it has anything to do with tech stripping away social interaction because people are too busy looking at their phones or whatever. I think there really might be more interaction than ever for humans.

We surround ourselves with "ideals" (which are mostly fabricated to begin with and entirely unrealistic) and have become obsessed with having them. What's worse, even desperately trying to flaunt them to others to convince yourself it's the real deal. That we reached this fabricated ideal that doesn't exist but we so desperately are hoping we've found. Instead of being in the moment in marriage proposals people are making sure the damn thing is video taped about their magic moment to hopefully brag about it to others. As if in some way everyone will point to it and say "that's what a proposal should be" or "if only mine could be like that" or some other reaction that confirms the moment was what it should be, rather than enjoying it for what it was. Same thing with vacations. It's not about traveling to all over the world and enjoying your time doing it. It's showing to others you traveled the world and hoping they nod in approval to suggest you've reached the standards of life...the ideal of what a vacation should be.

I've thought about this for the past few years and have researched quite a bit. here are some possible theories:

- your third point, being: "People are more vocal about their depression, maybe **** was just as bad a 100 years ago but we didn't hear about it. I somehow doubt this though as I'm noticing there's far less happy people than even in my parents generation.".

theoretically viable, but unlikely in my opinion.

- I believe that in the cases of emotional/mood disorders, there is a strong argument for the idea of such disorders being 'contagious', e.g. with suicide or depression. I'm 19 now but when I was younger I really believed I was depressed, and even thought I might have been, I recall simply reading about depression/suicide made it worse. Since forcing myself to stop reading about that stuff, stop thinking about it, etc, I felt my 'depression' or whatever it was, go away. check out this scientific article on the topic:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4461080/


raises another thought in my mind: is there actually an effectual difference between thinking you are depressed, and actually being depressed?

yes. actual depression will create brain states that intensify your negative emotion, while those without the disorder create situations themselves in which to wallow.

the difference between clinical depression and the depression you describe is that the depression you describe is fickle; during an exciting or fun time, it's easy to forget that you'd have that type of "depression;" until a time later where you are bored, lonely, or unproductive, and then you suddenly remember "oh, i'm depressed!" real depression is essentially omnipresent in every situation you'll find yourself in, which is why it's so crippling.

i experienced a phenomenon similar to what you described as a teen. later on, i'd come to find out that I wasn't really depressed, I was just letting my lack of satisfaction in one area of my life get me down way too much, to the point where I associated the emotions present with that particular situation with my life overall. with some simple counseling and a role model i'd have broken free of that situation rather easily.

I kind of agree with this, but I think it's more because people actualyl have expectations out of life now that rarely get met.

Other generations knew and accepted that life was basically sh*itty. SO they didnt get depressed when life got s*utty. Nowadays people actual expect to find happiness and satisfaction in all aspects of life which rarely actually happens.

They key to happiness is to realize that life sucks and be thankful for whatever good you can find srs. Thats pretty much the basis of buddhism.

Buddhism basically says that having zero expectations of life is the only way to find peace and free yourself of pain. Why is that? Because life sucks, and only he who lets go and understands that can find peace/contentment, which is what people mean when they say "happiness"

and those expectations are fed by what they are hammered with on social media, in the news/regular media, tv/film, etc. it's a vicious cycle.

I am cognizant of the fact that my existence is meaningless. I will be here for entirely too long, die, and everything I have done will mostly be forgotten. My break ups wont matter. My emotions and what I did will likely be meaningless. This in a sense allows me to be truly free to pursue whatever I want that gratifies me right now in addition to what will sustain me long term. Lifting. Knowledge. Money. These things give me true happiness because the goals associated are realistic, they keep me interested, and they are dependable.

This is the crux of it. Social alienation.

Men, especially, are not usually wired to make friends outside of childhood. There are very few men who are good at doing so. Whereas almost all boys can make deep friendships, men find it hard to do so.

In any pre-modern society, the friends you had at 10 would be the friends you have at 40, for the most part. And you would be very, very close to them, almost certainly seeing them weekly.

That isn't the case any more, and it is a very hard thing for a social animal like a human to deal with. We don't do well in a post-tribal setting.

News/media plays a role but I think there's a greater awakening going on. New generations just aren't satisfied with the things previous generations were. Seemed like in the past people just wanted a decent job/family and they were straight.

Now people want to be the "alpha" banging models, with the perfect job etc. And in reality that is what we all want deep down, but if you actualyl hold your life up against that standard of course you're going to feel depressed. But that doesn't make it any less true.

Essentially this generation is being more honest with themselves about the actual quality of the lives they live, whether or not they find this experience fulfilling etc.

i wouldn't say that the friendships are hard to make. i'd say that they are just different. it's different to make a friend at 10 than you would at 40. i wouldn't necessarily say it's harder.

sounds like it comes back to comparing yourself against some weird ideal you're envisioning. sounds like they're one in the same.

Speak for yourself. Why would I want something that can't possibly get me what I want

Again, that is an outcome of social alienation.

Men who know their place in a tribe are not always trying to be the alpha. As long as they understand their role, they are satisfied with contributing what they do. The same is true of other pack animals, like wolves.



It is in a tribe-less society that every male is trying to be an alpha and start his own tribe.

It's not really a weird ideal, it's what you actually want. Most people cannot get what they actually want in life and so they settle for something realistic. Previous generations were satisfied doing that but it isn't happening anymore.

Obviously this isn't true of every single person, but if you break it down this is part of it.

Even just the notion that you're supposed to enjoy work didn't exist until recently. Work used to be just a way to make dough and nobody really cared if they liked it.

Nowadays people actually expect, not just desire, but EXPECT to find something to do for a living that they enjoy.

Again, very few people in life actually live the life that they want if they're being honest with themselves.

I think it's men no longer wanting to challenge themselves.

I think it comes back to my point of expectations, people today aren't even socially alienated the way everyone's describing. It's never been easier to keep in touch with people, so that claim is bulls*it.


What has changed is that everyone has come to want and expect the perfect social life, so when they find themselves bored at home sometimes they get FOMO and depressed.

Gotta get on that lone wolf lifestyle.

Because they never question why they want that chit in the first place, since they aren't honest with themselves

No it's the opposite, people are being more honest with themselves than they were in the past about what they truly want, and if there actual life measures up to it. The answer for almost everyone on the planet is no. They have no choice but to settle for whatever cards they were dealt whether they like it or not. That is naturally depressing.

In the past people didnt even bother asking themselves such questions.

I' don't practice, but I believe in the truth of buddhism 100%. Which is basically brainwashing yourself to have zero wants and desires, because if you have wants and desires almost always it will cause you pain because you cant get it

There is nothing to be happy about:

- Poor job economy.

- People whodohave jobs, are slaving away getting into debt.

- Destruction of environment and this Earth.

- Unintuitive educational system that never sparks creativity.

- Very superficial looks and money obsessed society.

- Celebrity/Entertainment/Athlete worshipping.

- Females are all mental in the head, and frauding every aspect of their lives (appearance and personality)

- Marriage is stacked against males. Families are becoming destroyed.

- Death. Old-age. Seeing your parents get older. The fact "youth" is so short.

- Growing up without proper fatherly and motherly figures.

- Immigration. Feminism. Political correctness.

- No sense of belonging. No mission. No goal. Just a rodent out of billions of other rodents.



Last time I felt real happiness was childhood. I do not know how it's possible to be happy and optimistic, as an adult. Some of us have our moments, but they are so few and far in between. The happiness that wesometimesexperience DOES NOT make up for the pain.

Not in my opinion at least.

tbh passive income makes life 100% easier srsly.

enjoy the fruits of life by taking advantage of technology and making the best of it.

to stay on track of this thread tho, i think people are depressed because of competition.

it's not realistic competition, it's like comparing yourself to drake, or some millionaire athlete.

like, women want that, and would settle for less but would def shoot for that if they could.

monkey branching is prevalent more than ever by women..

men can go on ig; and whiteknight some 10/10 but in actuality they'd settle with 7.10 that cooks, cleans, acts like a lady.

women don't settle until they're worn out by those athletes, rappers etc,, and will always have an option to get married down the line.

there's no one to check them on it, or put them in there place because it's abusive, and demoralizing to do so.

jobs are a joke, when you have expectations through the roof, with unrealistic credentials for a 15 an hour job.

social media is a joke, people constantly trying to brag, quoting celebrities by worship etc.

Yes. Women are told that deep down they are men in like to do masculine things but the patriarchy keeps it locked away. So they're all f***** up. Men are told that being a beta male is an admirable thing, that their common sense inclinations towards various cultures is all rooted in racism and their privilege etcetera. It's like a social storm of self-hatred with the end goal of knocking down the greatest culture in the history of human civilization. And it's working

edited.

People seem as happy as ever to me op. Hell from what I remember people were saddest around 2005-20010. Maybe economic reasons.

Meh I don't think there's a lack of effort, with all the social apps and websites etc I think there's generally decent effort out there.

But when the reality doesn't meet expectation or desire people are like "WTF, this is super s*itty".

it's not genuine tho that's the point.

it's based on superficiality. i'm not saying i'm not part of the problem, i have a nice car, live in a nice spot, this is because i choose to for survival.

people are 'happy' in spite of how much they have compared to the next person.

do you ever see those animals on black friday trampling over each other to get the bigger tv, phone etc..

this is america's 'happiness'. it's stupid, and it's getting out of hand. the blind ones will be apart of the destruction of this nation,

while the centered, and grounded will prevail as collected through the turmoil we will face eventually.

it's even in the bible and i don't believe in religion but it's hard to not forsee what's oncoming in the future.

NWO.

thank 'progressives' for the rise in depression. 100% srs.

this

Very few people are truly happy, at best you find some genuinely content people out there but truly "happy" as in they are living the life they want to live? Almost nobody.

And if you cant live the life you want, what's the point in settling for whatever you are fated to have?

yep, "i'd rather live enormous than live dormant that's how we on it". - jayz

true chit, but no we insist on belittling people on what they have and trying to hate on what they achieved in anyway possible so we can make ourselves feel better.

#goals.

the majority of people nowadays don't even want their own lifestyle, they'd rather carbon copy their favorite celebrity and live vicariously through them on tmv, and e-hollywood.

go on yahoo.com right now and see some celebrity header that makes no gotdamn sense to the encouragement of the day.

It isn't bullchit. The main problem is the paradox and burden of too many choices and trying to juggle too many connections and 'friends' at once. When youre trying to connect with FB, IG, snapchat, and Twitter with 5000 people you are effectively connecting with no one. Stay in a small village for a week and you'll see REAL homey atmosphere and social connections, and love among friends, neighbors, and families--I think Dunbar's number actually derived from studying small villages.