Is the world getting worse?

[terry78]

It's gotten to the point where I view everyone that complains about society as a hipster. It's become too trendy to do so.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Sure, the world is getting worse!! Have you heard about the Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew? If that's not a sign of the apocalypse….

 

[SuperFerret]

Better than Mountain Dew flavored Doritos.

 

[squeekness]

Sure, the world is getting worse!! Have you heard about the Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew? If that's not a sign of the apocalypse….

Lord tell me it ain't so.

 

[Shikamaru]

The answer to this question varies depending on the context and perspective.

I think in terms of environment, economics and misanthropy, the world is indeed getting worse. Resources will become more and more scarce as both CO2 emissions and overpopulation rise simultaneously, potentially leading to a fight for survival. The recession in the West continues. The job & market fair is increasingly getting more competitive, not just due to overpopulation but also the number of people with university degrees, the result being us having to work more for less in the future, or in other words, more than the previous generations just to keep up. Misanthropy and cynicism seem to be on the rise, as we continue to view our very own humanity as a disease (statements like "humanity is stupid", "all we do is take up space" and "a meteor should just hit us" are heard almost daily). There was a pole result taken on whether or not we should eventually colonize space. A surprising number of people voted "no" with their reason being that we'd just waste the cosmos' resources like we did on Earth. Which when analyzed, it's really just another way of saying "We deserve extinction, might as well quarantine ourselves here". Depression and stress are also on the rise, due to said factors.

If the world is getting worse in any way, if we will ever face destruction in the near future, it will be because of those three factors. It doesn't matter how much we solve our other problems if those specific problems aren't taken care of, in my opinion, because they will be there to take care of us regardless.

However, often when this question is asked people are looking at it from a more philosophical perspective as opposed to the perspective I just offered. The more accurate thread title should be "Are we/people getting worse?", because that's clearly what everyone is discussing for the most part. Even the OP has approached that question from a human perspective. So for the remaining part of this post, I will answer the question from that same perspective, unless otherwise stated.

No, I don't think the world is getting worse. On the contrary, I think it is getting better.

Aside from the statistics others have brought up regarding there being less poverty, diseases, crime, etc. than in the past, I think we are becoming less socially conservative and more open minded. There is less bigotry in general, more equal rights for women and minorities, more acceptance towards homosexuals and beliefs that go against the traditional "norm". Skepticism towards institutions and groups in power, such as religion as government, is not just becoming more common but trendy. We're better at grasping the idea no one is above criticism and people/ideas should never be blindly followed, which has in turn helped us engage in more critical independent thinking.

The "good ol' days" we hear older generations talk about, and even a lot of the younger ones, are really a myth. BRAB summed them up nicely as the "nostalgia days where people could walk the streets, bible in one hand, gun in the other, praising God's country, where kids could walk around without being abducted, the good old dream o' freedom." In reality, all supposed good ol' days are envisioned by selective truth. We love to talk about how more peaceful it was in the 1950's and 60's, but forget about the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam. We love to bring up the lack of panic over radical Islam, but forget about the panic initiated by fascism and Communism.

Obviously we're far away from ridding ourselves of the brought-up problems for good, but we've come a long way and it looks as if we'll continue to minimize them as we progress into the future.

That's my opinion on the topic.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

Better than Mountain Dew flavored Doritos.

That's...actually a good point.

 

[chaseter]

Overpopulation is regulated by disease and famine. It's sad but we now go through renewable resources before each year is up. Third world countries are reproducing like rabbits and the not so well off people in the US increase the poverty cycle. Education is the key factor here so I would start with that. But, when push comes to shove and we stop sending food and medicine aid, billions will likely die.

 

[Godzilla2000]

I think human behavior has gotten worse. Seriously the human I.Q. has dipped significantly. People can't survive on their own in the world without being told what to do.

Example: The whole Laundry Detergent Pods poisoning children debacle. Back when I was young the common sense thing all parents knew how to do with cleaning supplies was to put them in places a child cannot reach. Nowadays you have to tell people to do this because they for some reason cannot think of this all on their own. The power of stupidity is increasing among the human population. Who in their right mind would keep poisonous products like that in an area where a young child who puts everything in their mouth or doesn't know any better within their reach?

 

[Superwoman Prime]

I think human behavior has gotten worse. Seriously the human I.Q. has dipped significantly. People can't survive on their own in the world without being told what to do.

Example: The whole Laundry Detergent Pods poisoning children debacle. Back when I was young the common sense thing all parents knew how to do with cleaning supplies was to put them in places a child cannot reach. Nowadays you have to tell people to do this because they for some reason cannot think of this all on their own. The power of stupidity is increasing among the human population. Who in their right mind would keep poisonous products like that in an area where a young child who puts everything in their mouth or doesn't know any better within their reach?

No no no.

IQ is relative. Sharp elderly people, even those who retain the bulk of their education and logic from early adulthood, would score badly on an IQ test meant for the modern day twenty to thirty year old.

But our intelligence is changing, especially here in the western world where internet access is common. We're becoming better at quickly scanning information, but worse at catching smaller details.

 

[Charlatan]

Overpopulation is regulated by disease and famine. It's sad but we now go through renewable resources before each year is up. Third world countries are reproducing like rabbits and the not so well off people in the US increase the poverty cycle. Education is the key factor here so I would start with that. But, when push comes to shove and we stop sending food and medicine aid, billions will likely die.

I disagree. The poverty cycle is increased by the lack of good paying jobs. as long as we have a hyper capitalist society that believes the lie that wealth "trickles down" and that jobs are created by CEOs/business owners and not customers with money in hand purchasing goods and services, the lie propagated by puppet politicians and corporate owned media then we will continue to have that problem. and yes education is necessary. but higher education is increasingly moved out of reach financially by those who wish to create an exclusive upper class, one only enjoyed by their children in their gated communities.

 

[Charlatan]

No no no.

IQ is relative. Sharp elderly people, even those who retain the bulk of their education and logic from early adulthood, would score badly on an IQ test meant for the modern day twenty to thirty year old.

But our intelligence is changing, especially here in the western world where internet access is common. We're becoming better at quickly scanning information, but worse at catching smaller details.

and woefully poor at critical thinking , we like to have our "news" fed to us through a bias confirmation filter.

 

[Destructus86]

The answer to this question varies depending on the context and perspective.

I think in terms of environment, economics and misanthropy, the world is indeed getting worse. Resources will become more and more scarce as both CO2 emissions and overpopulation rise simultaneously, potentially leading to a fight for survival. The recession in the West continues. The job & market fair is increasingly getting more competitive, not just due to overpopulation but also the number of people with university degrees, the result being us having to work more for less in the future, or in other words, more than the previous generations just to keep up. Misanthropy and cynicism seem to be on the rise, as we continue to view our very own humanity as a disease (statements like "humanity is stupid", "all we do is take up space" and "a meteor should just hit us" are heard almost daily). There was a pole result taken on whether or not we should eventually colonize space. A surprising number of people voted "no" with their reason being that we'd just waste the cosmos' resources like we did on Earth. Which when analyzed, it's really just another way of saying "We deserve extinction, might as well quarantine ourselves here". Depression and stress are also on the rise, due to said factors.

You make some great points here. Though I do feel that the three examples you listed...while it's true are getting worse...I feel that's a bit of a cycle that we as a species experience through out history in it's ups and downs. Just as Empires rise and fall, so does humanity rise to new heights of human understanding and prosperity and then fall into depths of strife and various forms of down slide. I think right now we are in that fall...eventually to rise up again into a time of prosperity and peace. At least until the next fall.

I remember not long ago they found an ancient writing from Rome where someone was complaining about the youth of "today" being too wild and out of control and how it would lead to destruction. The same thing people nowadays complain about.

 

[squeekness]

Saw on the news that a man just captured is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl. Two college women were slipped rookies at a party and raped. ISIS is selling women. How is the world NOT getting worse? The perps don't care about how what they do affects these lives. Like these women aren't even real people with real feelings. How can our race survive if no one gives a crap about anyone other than themselves?

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Things like that have been happening throughout history though. So technically things aren't getting worse they're just staying the same on those fronts

 

[squeekness]

Things like that have been happening throughout history though. So technically things aren't getting worse they're just staying the same on those fronts

I suppose. It just concerns me that it seems like sexual assault is becoming more common at parties. The friends of these men, are they not disgusted by the idea of it enough to stop it? No, they film it on their phones and post pictures. Like the attention they get is more important than stopping an obvious crime. We are at the very least growing more narcissistic, something I fear will ultimately doom us.

 

[Shikamaru]

Overpopulation is regulated by disease and famine. It's sad but we now go through renewable resources before each year is up. Third world countries are reproducing like rabbits and the not so well off people in the US increase the poverty cycle. Education is the key factor here so I would start with that. But, when push comes to shove and we stop sending food and medicine aid, billions will likely die.

Disease and famine are gradually reducing as technological progress advances, while overpopulation has and still is significantly increasing. It's happened in small doses before (see the fall of Easter Island), there's no guarantee it can't happen on a grander scale.

I think human behavior has gotten worse. Seriously the human I.Q. has dipped significantly. People can't survive on their own in the world without being told what to do.

Example: The whole Laundry Detergent Pods poisoning children debacle. Back when I was young the common sense thing all parents knew how to do with cleaning supplies was to put them in places a child cannot reach. Nowadays you have to tell people to do this because they for some reason cannot think of this all on their own. The power of stupidity is increasing among the human population. Who in their right mind would keep poisonous products like that in an area where a young child who puts everything in their mouth or doesn't know any better within their reach?

Where are you getting your facts from? Studies have shown that the average human IQ is increasing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect#External_links

"People [not being able to] survive on their own in the world without being told what to do" is human nature and has always been present throughout history. There's nothing to suggest it's a recent trend, in fact there's a lot to suggest the opposite. As for the example you brought up, it sounds like you're basing your entire opinion on a fragment of personal experience you had, a random unorganized sample. I could as easily say people are smarter because they don't smoke inside their homes anymore, but there's still much more to determining human stupidity/intelligence than just that.

I disagree. The poverty cycle is increased by the lack of good paying jobs. as long as we have a hyper capitalist society that believes the lie that wealth "trickles down" and that jobs are created by CEOs/business owners and not customers with money in hand purchasing goods and services, the lie propagated by puppet politicians and corporate owned media then we will continue to have that problem. and yes education is necessary. but higher education is increasingly moved out of reach financially by those who wish to create an exclusive upper class, one only enjoyed by their children in their gated communities.

This is part of what I was referring to when I said the world will get worse economically.

You make some great points here. Though I do feel that the three examples you listed...while it's true are getting worse...I feel that's a bit of a cycle that we as a species experience through out history in it's ups and downs. Just as Empires rise and fall, so does humanity rise to new heights of human understanding and prosperity and then fall into depths of strife and various forms of down slide. I think right now we are in that fall...eventually to rise up again into a time of prosperity and peace. At least until the next fall.

I'm not so sure. Often whenever those "downs" occur, we can't seem to get back up without a war or some sort of major conflict. If we continue at this rate, I don't see those 3 problems being solved without another world war or global catastrophe. Which, sure, they would theoretically be "solved", but that shouldn't be the way to do it IMO. We should learn from past mistakes, not repeat them.

Also, some of those "downs" we've never recovered and have actually brought extinction. I brought up the Easter Island earlier, how its inhabitants were essentially wiped out by their overpopulation and finite resources.

I remember not long ago they found an ancient writing from Rome where someone was complaining about the youth of "today" being too wild and out of control and how it would lead to destruction. The same thing people nowadays complain about.

I agree, but what does that have to do with the three factors I brought up? I already said I don't believe humans are getting worse as people.

Saw on the news that a man just captured is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl. Two college women were slipped rookies at a party and raped. ISIS is selling women. How is the world NOT getting worse? The perps don't care about how what they do affects these lives. Like these women aren't even real people with real feelings. How can our race survive if no one gives a crap about anyone other than themselves?

You seem to be under the assumption that these are recent trends or have greatly increased in recent years, which is not true. Kidnapping and sexually assaulting have always been a thing. Radical Islamists (and theists by extension) have always been a thing. Misogyny has always been a thing. Some of those have actually been reduced in recent years and continue to be reduced.

 

[Howlett]

24 hour news reporting channels make it all seem like the world is coming to an end.

These people are the only thing that are getting worse in this world.

 

[squeekness]

24 hour news reporting channels make it all seem like the world is coming to an end.

These people are the only thing that are getting worse in this world.

Lol, them and Tea Party Republicans.

 

[Charlatan]

This is part of what I was referring to when I said the world will get worse economically.

well it's kind of an inevitability seeing as how it's all built upon sand. a hard reset has to occur at some point.

[YT]qi9sLkyhhlE[/YT]

 

[Mandon Knight]

As we get older, as our understanding and appreciation of the wider world increases, it it inevitable the world will appear worse. All the elements that have blighted our world have always existed, we are just made more aware of them through the media heavy world we live in.

There is always hope, there is always death, there is always pain, it's how we survive the pain within us that is the important thing and try and make the world for those around us the best it can be in the short time we are here.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

I don't think anyone is seeing the bigger picture. We live in a time where a live action Superman V Batman is becoming a reality.

 

[squeekness]

I don't think anyone is seeing the bigger picture. We live in a time where a live action Superman V Batman is becoming a reality.

And yet there is Horrible Bosses 2. * shudders*

 

[DarkSovereignty]

I think the responses in the Pineapple Pizza Thread are proof enough that the world is in fact getting worse. Say no to the pineapple.