Progress Notes
What Is Happening To Us?
by
, 05-01-2014 at 06:32 PM (10418 Views)
There are two people who I talk to all the time who keep saying that the World is changing, that people are different. People have become more self-centered and some of the social norms we grew up with are fading away. In particular these two tell me that people feel no obligation to return telephone calls and messages. They also report that the idea of balance in friendships, that one side shouldn't have to do all the calling for example, has been fading away and there seems to be far less empathy for others.
They think that there are two reasons for this change: One reason is the parenting or lack of parenting, that has begun to turn out more selfish and less courteous adults. The other reason, they tell me, is the rise of social media, texting, Facebook, Twitter which has made people less personally engaged with one-another and less "immediate", meaning that social media don't require answers right this second and that many people like to respond later, when they have had time to think.
I don't know how much of this is true. The people telling me this are adamant that the phenomenon they describe is real, they are not so sure of the answers. I have noticed some of this myself and found some reasons of my own but not really given it all that much thought. My interests and the number and kind of people I interact with have changed over the years and I have attributed most of the changes I've notice to that sort of thing, not so much to any global or generational change.
So, now to the real purpose of this: Do you see the World changing? Are people becoming less involved with each other? Are people more rude? Do you find you make what you think are new friendships only to find that your messages go unanswered for days or longer? I'm sending this out like a message in a bottle. Let's see where it drifts and who picks it up!