I think you underestimate the amount of alcohol consumed in the 70s and 80s.
this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2026
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Asklemmy
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Smartphones, social media and uncontrolled capitalism at work.
People today are boring as fuck and addicted to phones and being enraged at disinformation.
You are seeing the effects of late stage capitalism.
People working 2 jobs and still not have as much disposable income as they had with a single income in the past.
Not having money aside of the work, no time and mental load: it kills motivation, not wanting to be creative, and your health goes downhill also and you can't afford to treat it anyway.
If you ask a 50 something about how long they think have left, yo will have half the amount than 2 generations ago.
Everything is on fire ...
What's the solution?
Goes outside, gestures at everything
I know exactly how you feel. However, I have recently encountered a number of very young, highly intelligent people who are indeed vibrant and actually do give me some hope for the future (EDIT: both of whom, it turns out, are in the healthcare profession, so maybe there will actually be some people left to take care of me and Mrs. Erinaceus as we decline—dare to dream!) But otherwise, yeah, capitalism, late or otherwise, the aftermath of 2008, and the pandemic—many of these things are still slowly draining the life force out of older folks like me.
It's entirely possible this is just attentional bias on your part. You noticed the more vibrant, active adults when you were younger because they were more interesting to you.
But generally, things are worse these days, too. I feel like people used to talk about the future optimistically when I was growing up. Maybe people still talk to kids that way now, but I don't. And I don't hear people doing it. So, maybe you're on to something here.
Being dumb and drunk is not new to humanity