17 Modern-Day Societal Trends We're All Experiencing That Are Actually Seriously Concerning
With every generation comes new challenges. And in a world that is constantly changing, it's hard to not worry about how society is shifting. Redditor The_DynamicDom asked, "What worrisome trend in society are you beginning to notice?" Here's what people said.
1."AI, in general, is starting to scare me. It’s everywhere: Fake social media profiles, wrong results for internet searches, AI-generated advertisements and media, and more. I don’t think there’s much of anything left that hasn’t been touched by AI. I’m so tired of it!"
2."Our inability to focus on anything but short-form content. I recently saw a comment on a 24-minute YouTube video (about something interesting and fun!), and one of the top comments was basically, 'Man, just for you, I’ll push through a long video,' or something to that effect. It truly baffled me. Like, I know we’re living through a TikTok epidemic, but it’s so sad and frustrating to see how it pans out in real life."
3."I'm tired of looking for an answer to something like, 'How can I turn off split screen in Android,' and the answers all come up as videos I have to watch. Can't you just write the instructions? I CAN read."
4."Hyper-individualism is grating me so much right now. people are very flakey, canceling plans minutes before in the guise of 'having boundaries.' Also, the mindset of you not owing anything to anyone because, God forbid, we owe other humans decency, respect, and niceties."
5."Illiteracy in our society. It’s an actual pandemic."
6."No business takes responsibility anymore. You just always get the runaround. If you have a problem, there is, in many cases, nobody who will fix it..."
"... This month, I was overcharged $700 on my phone bill. I called customer service, and after waiting an hour on hold, they said I needed to go to the store. I went to the store, and they said I needed to call customer service. I convinced them I had, and they told me someone would have to do it another day. Ended up having to go back a few times to get it fixed. Or a coupleof years ago, I ordered groceries from the grocery store's website. Something got messed up, and I called the store.
They said I needed to call some other company that does the shopping and have them fix it. The other company wouldn't even take my call! Just a robot that wouldn't help. It used to be that if you had a problem with a business, you could just settle it with the business. See a person, and they'll work it out. If you didn't feel like going in, a customer service agent on the phone would fix it. I remember in 2015 or 2016, having an issue with Amazon and getting offered a free month of Prime. No chance that would happen today. It really wasn't that long ago that things were much better."
7."The subscription-based model taking over everything from software to car features, combined with rising wealth inequality, means fewer people can truly own things anymore - from homes to digital media. We’re becoming perpetual renters in an increasingly disposable world."
8."Our brains are being cooked by short internet content, six seconds at a time. I'm finding it harder and harder to pick and focus on a book."
9."Overconsumption. I know people who took out LOANS to buy presents for their kids! I would have been just as happy with a dollar-store Barbie doll when I was a kid!"
10."The rise of social media addiction across all age groups has led to a decline in real-world social skills and in-person interactions. When emergencies happen, people now instinctively reach for their phones to record rather than help. What’s particularly troubling is the decline in empathy. People are quick to mock others’ misfortunes rather than show compassion. This lack of emotional intelligence makes many societal issues exponentially worse."
11."I think the internet is driving us insane as a species, and we are starting to make really bad decisions from the bottom to the top because of it. We are all heavily addicted to our devices, and science has clearly shown this has severe adverse effects on our overall mental health."
12."People are not connecting and do not care about how their actions affect others. There's a lot of, 'Well, I'm just going to keep doing X thing because I just prefer it,' even if you point out how this behavior is an issue."
13."So much isolation and loneliness. Meaningful relationships are key to happiness and human wellbeing."
14."Social media making people feel like their lives are 'less than.'"
15."Lack of reading comprehension. Many online text-based conversations, like on Reddit or on Nextdoor, are quickly polluted by people who can’t comprehend the subject matter, the logic, the context, the argument, or the assertion. It usually requires many futile attempts to steer the conversation back on course."
16."Everyone is on their phones and missing the life right in front of them. Children feel ignored because their parents are staring at screens instead of them."
17."I feel like people are starting to lose the ability to have actual, meaningful conversations. It’s like everything is either an argument or super surface-level small talk. Social media plays a huge part; I think everyone’s so quick to jump on trends, cancel someone, or share their hot takes without thinking things through. It’s worrying because we’re all connected more than ever, but simultaneously, it feels like we’re drifting further apart. Can we just chill, listen to each other, and not immediately try to 'win' every discussion?"
Do you have something to add? What modern-day societal trend do you find concerning? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
