Why was society and culture so vapid and shallow in the early 2010s?

[CmdrShep2154]

I was just a young idealistic college student back then and most students as well as wider society seemed more interested in reality shows, materialism, and partying.

Society also lost interest in sci fi and space.



Why We Need More Space Adventures

The Death of the Space Opera? - Ricochet

I look back and find it appalling how vapid it was.

Why did society felt they had to choose between popularity and intelligence? Why did society stopped being encouraged to push themselves intellectually?

Why not be athletic, fun loving, and smart? Like those badass Apollo astronauts?

 

[Pork Chop Express]

For me this sums it up well.

 

[devilof76]

Don’t mistake effects for causes. The optimism and creativity of American culture has been under attack from left and right for decades. One pushing socialism, the other pushing religion, and both essentially vehicles for the philosophy that ruined Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. Reality tv is just a symptom. So is identity politics. So is Trump. So is Obama. This country has very much lost its way, and it’s because there have been very few who understood what made America special, and even fewer who defended it based on that understanding.

 

[Pork Chop Express]

I don't think reality TV is the cause, just a clear indicator of how humanity is kept distracted with a lot of senseless noise (especially now with the information age in full swing). Like we're sheep. Much like fantasy football. I like the sport but I don't need it every day all year.
And yes, everything is a choice...that's fine.

We spend millions of $'s on weapons nobody really want's to use yet people are sleeping on the sidewalk or in their car because they have no other choice. It's also very hard to break out of a system you were born in to when a select few control the narrative we see and hear every day.

 

[Solidus]

Lots of "old man yelling at clouds" energy in that opening post. Same thing happened to me, when I was spending lots of time at my grandparents. And I was 10 at the time.

 

[devilof76]

It’s like a spider. If you let get to you, the only solution is to kill it with fire. I’m learning to ignore it.

Mostly.

 

[karamazov80]

Sorry to say that life has always been this way. But if anything, it is continually getting worse with social media and cell phones destroying any sense of genuine human interaction and attention spans.

 

[devilof76]

How could it always be this way, and be getting worse?

 

[karamazov80]

People have always been shallow, but the extent and degree can change. In other words, it can be bad but get worse.

 

[NO.ONE]

How could it always be this way, and be getting worse?

Easy, it's getting more vapid and more shallow.

 

[devilof76]

Saying that vapid and shallow have not come to dominate the culture because they’ve always done so is not a function of quantity. Either it’s always been this bad, or it hasn’t. That some people will be vapid and shallow in any given era is a given. Being able to influence an era to the degree that normal people begin to question the culture’s stability is exceptional, and though many cultures go the way of indigence and stagnation, I don’t think it’s safe to assume that it’s a historical necessity.

 

[Ropen]

I have an extensive background in customer service and for the most part 85% of the customers have always been attentive and nice, the rest are the bad seeds that just demand and expect to be the center of attention. This has been my experience in the US anyways but if you go down to Central America the customer service experience is ****** starting from the workers themselves since they don’t have that sense of urgency and never owning up to anything bad that comes from their store.

With that said right now Europe and North America do live in a bubble of where everything seems to be going perfect for them and everyone just takes everything for granted when the rest of the world is anything but. It’s always close to another international incident waiting to take us back to the dark ages.

 

[Solidus]

Guys, this is like the tenth spam thread from CmdrShep about the same topic: space operas - which, by the way, have never been popular outside of niche followings. Whatever the case, Gundam series are still being made, Picard Season 2 is coming out, new SW entries (for better or worse) are being released, "The Expanse" is like the biggest high-budget series on Amazon Prime. There's talk about going back to the Moon, and having manned trips to Mars. The future of space seems bright and flourishing these days. Can we just demean the OP's cry for attention, like what Lejuan used to do?

 

[devilof76]

In certain senses, things have never been better. As I understand it, that was also said of the first decade of the 20th century. The optimism of that era is legendary.

Then, we got Wilson and WWI.

 

[Lejuan]

... Can we just demean the OP's cry for attention, like what Lejuan used to do?

Is that what I used to do? I miss all the time I obviously had on my hands

 

[Solidus]

In certain senses, things have never been better. As I understand it, that was also said of the first decade of the 20th century. The optimism of that era is legendary.

Then, we got Wilson and WWI.

That reminds me, I was young in the 90s, but old enough to remember the pessimism about generation x. But, those seemed like happier days, and the Gen Xers turned out alright, to say the least.

Is that what I used to do? I miss all the time I obviously had on my hands

Same .

I kind of miss the spirited arguments that used to prevail here. But, then again, I could do without them.

 

[devilof76]

That reminds me, I was young in the 90s, but old enough to remember the pessimism about generation x. But, those seemed like happier days, and the Gen Xers turned out alright, to say the least.

Gen X turned out alright because they had that older generation riding our *****. Our grandparents fought WWII. Those guys are gone now.