It seems people have become more

self obsessed
self centered
greedy
viscious
nasty
cruel
inhumane
almost worshipping technology and money more than valuing human life and purpose


do you think social trends grow or decline over time based off of what media promotes or encourages, or do you think the media "only" shines a spotlight on growing and declining trends?

I think they are a vicious circle, and they both feed on each other.

I blame the liberals and Obama...

TV, commercials, social media and media in general, technology (cell phones, computers)..

I see a direct result of media over exposure to a rise in public narcissism.

People have adopted the instant gratification syndrome with narcissistic tendencies.

I want it!
I Want It Now!
GIVE IT TO ME NOW!

But...as with anything about a group of people there are exceptions.

I know that recently (the last 8 years or so) I have reduced my media exposure and I have much more patience. Want less things and am more content. I'm more tolerant of others too.

Just a personal observation.

I do notice others falling into the instant gratification syndrome but most don't seem to care.

We have become one with the computer collective..we are the

BORG ..resistance is futile...

there is a very interesting thing about labels like liberal, conservative, right wing, left wing, etc...i have a list of human groups, it includes pedophiles, liars, thieves, adulterers, alcoholics, philanthropists, abusers, porno lovers, etc...SO FAR, I don't know of any labeled group which does not have card carrying members in any of the above be they priests, politicians, liberal, conservative, commentators, etc...so labels as far as human behaviour is concerned in my opinion mean nada...no group in my experience has a monopoly on any virtue or vice...

my nickel...

All things promoted in a capitalistic society.

Both. But not really.
Feel free to look up diffusion of innovations.
It works for social trends as well as attitudes and beliefs and ideas, IMO.
"Media" is simply part of "communication channels."
Although, "social media" helps link "communication channels" with the "social system."

Other than that, nothing in the preceding list (self obsessed, greedy, inhumane, etc.) is really a "social trend."


Yes and no.
"Media" isn't a single homogeneous structure.


Why do you think it's vicious?

Based on this, and other similar threads with similar judgments and identifying things like media or the nation or people ("we") as a single entity, it's like saying chemotherapy is a vicious circle.

Is there some expectation that things should be handled in an immediate and absolute unified way? Otherwise it's "vicious?"

Like "I'm sick doctor. Give me a pill. Okay, thanks I swallowed the pill and instantaneously everything is all better, all bad symptoms are gone just switched off, my hair is back and perfectly coiffed. Thank god you developed that pill, how did you do that? Oh, you collaborated with people who never argued or had opposing ideas and every knew exactly what they needed to know when they needed it, and where you instantly and immediately created the exact pill and dosage that was safe for humans to take and immediately feel better, there was no trial and error or animal, plant, or microscopic organism testing or failures which you learned from, and all human beings that take this pill have the exact same reaction without any side effects whatsoever.
It was all instant, on/off, immediate, once you identified the problem you flipped the switch and it was all better. Good job."

If that isn't possible, then it's "vicious?"


Usually it's called a reciprocating feedback loop.
Or just feedback loop.
It's part of human nature and evident in pretty much everything we do as a group. It's inherent to group structure.
Get a group of people together, eventually they will become gang like, pushing each others boundaries as they become comfortable in letting social facades slide for the sake of the most important group. And many won't really understand why they started acting like the others or going along with terrible ideas.
Some people call it "feeding" or "building" on the energy of the group.
It's a constant in courtrooms "I didn't want to do it, I don't know, I just lost myself, couldn't say no, it was the leader, the leader made me do it."
It's a constant in churches and cults.
It's basic to military training in maintaining "the brotherhood" aspect (i.e. "I'm not here to kill people, I'm here to protect my fellow soldiers/brothers. Hoo ah!").

People want to be part of groups. Person A shares opinion with person B. Person B agrees with opinion. Objectively they've just formed a group based on a shared belief. Person A and B are now in competition for hierarchy in the group and both are responsible for maintaining the group. Person A now happy they have someone to share opinions with feels the need to share more opinions, more extreme opinions that person B may agree with and thereby provide validation.
Person B finding someone they agree with wants to share their own opinion so may more readily agree with or at least not invalidate person A's opinion to move the conversation along so person B can share their opinion with person A.
Person A may readily agree with person B's interjected opinions in order to move them along to get back to sharing their own opinion since person B seems to always agree with them, offering validation of the opinion. That continues, escalating.

Little different than in high school when you went to the cafeteria with your friends and you were in conversation, and so was the next group at the next table, and the next group and so on.
Voices kept rising and rising and rising until a teacher would say "shhh" and then it would just start all over again from a whisper.

It's not a "vicious" cycle, it's a natural phenomenon.


People are people. Haven't really changed much in thousands of years.

They haven't become more self obsessed or yadda yadda yadda. At best they just haven't been disincentivized from expressing their natural self obsession, or incentivized enough to control/hide their self obsession as they may have in the past.

Or more likely there are simply changing consequences and/or rewards for self obsessed (or yadda yadda yadda) behavior than there were before.

Of course there is the idea that people haven't become more self obsessed so much as people are being trained to look for flaws and judge more harshly others. Possibly as part of the regimen for "self improvement."
I mean in order to figure out a point in 3d space you need how many points of reference?
So you've got "this is who I want to be, who I idealize I could be, how I want to see myself, to feel comfortable and safe and good and live up to my potential in society" the point you're trying to figure out.
How do you determine that?
"This is who I was," point a.
"This is who I think I am," point b.
"This is who you are telling me I am," point c.
"By your existence you telling me who you think I am, am I better than you, or worse than you, how close are you to where I want to be," point d.

Plus, what timeframe are you using when you say "more" (greedy, self obsessed, whatever)?
Just your own life? Past 50 years? Since the industrial revolution? The Roman Empire? The bible? Gilgamesh?

I mean it could very well simply seem "more" due to your own personal biased perspective.
Maybe it's not that people are becoming "more" you are just starting to pay attention to what people have always been. Maybe you have more time on your hands. Maybe you're being exposed to a wider demographic. Who knows.

This makes sense for me.
In the past I didn't have time to look at others, didn't really have time to even look at myself.
It wasn't till I slowed down and started looking that I noticed anything. A hectic busy life can be very distracting.

I remember when I was in the Navy out to sea on a ship. I spent a lot of time reflecting and dreaming. I didn't notice others or self evaluate much tho. My head wasn't tuned there.

It wasn't till I faced my own mortality and its unknowns that I started focusing. I no longer expect to be alive tomorrow. I have time to reflect on things because I am unable to do most of the things I used to do. I have few life dreams anymore.

I do realize that other people are not in my situation nor have the same time to reflect on things as I. I don't see that as right or wrong but as the reality of it all.

Personally, I got tired of the media overload because I was finally seeing it as what it is and to whom it was directed.
It didn't fit my new take on life because I was no longer part of the demographic.

As I started taking notice of the correlation between media overload and hype and how the average Joe reacts to it, I realized its significance.

I've noticed, while waiting to see my Dr. that a lot of people become engrossed in the TV set no matter what is playing. I've sat and watched them react to the media. If someone changes the station, they react at first with disappointment but settle into the new program rather quickly.
Then there are the people glued to their phones, totally engrossed with what they are doing to the point that they barely look up to see what is going on around them.
In the past, I had no time to people-watch. I was engrossed in the TV or the phone. I bought what the TV told me to buy because I thought it was what I was supposed to do.
I was in a perpetual state of discontentment and had no idea why.
After I "tuned out" and started living in the moment in the here and now, started buying what I wanted and thinking how I wanted my contentment started to rise.
Its something you can't do unless you try it for yourself. The thing is, you have to want to try it before it will work. It takes conscious effort and self-discipline. However, once you start, it quickly makes a difference. Start small.