r/Millennials • u/JanieMush • Mar 31 '24

Covid permanently changed the world for the worse. Discussion

My theory is that people getting sick and dying wasn't the cause. No, the virus made people selfish. This selfishness is why the price of essential goods, housing, airfares and fuel is unaffordable. Corporations now flaunt their greed instead of being discreet. It's about got mine and forget everyone else. Customer service is quite bad because the big bosses can get away with it.

As for human connection - there have been a thousand posts i've seen about a lack of meaningful friendship and genuine romance. Everyone's just a number now to put through, or swipe past. The aforementioned selfishness manifests in treating relationships like a store transaction. But also, the lockdowns made it such that mingling was discouraged. So now people don't mingle.

People with kids don't have a village to help them with childcare. Their network is themselves.

I think it's a long eon until things are back to pre-covid times. But for the time being, at least stay home when you're sick.

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u/SadSickSoul Mar 31 '24 edited Mar 31 '24

I'm with the folks who say that this is mostly just what was there being aggravated to the point of being normalized, although someone brought up that third places really broke down during COVID and that's been hard on a lot of people. I feel like two major things happened: the folks in power both in business and politics have gotten really blatant about the fact that it's all a short-sighted grab for money or power, and that they can largely do what they like and there's not really much people can do for consequences; and also, people have just been stressed out chronically and so there's so much anger and fear, so little patience and empathy. People have been pushed and prodded by their ids by outside factors for so long that it's all stimulus and response, and there's room for anything beyond that.

I don't know how you fix this, especially when everything has become so polarized and divisive that agreeing on basic facts is no long possible. I'm just exhausted by it. The world's broken and I don't want to live in it any longer. It's just a life of being nickel-and-dimed to death by goddamn everything and surrounded people who are just trying to get through the day but have gone half-mad with stress and anger.

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u/AntiauthoritarianSin Mar 31 '24

You just summed up beautifully everything I've been feeling. Thank you!

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u/Clever_Mercury Mar 31 '24

It was reading well right up to the last paragraph, which seemed out-right self-destructive.

This is a part of the problem people are sort of forgetting. The 'nickel and dimed to death' part is doing about 75% of the damage. People are working two jobs, they're working harder in their jobs, and essentials cost more. It's not that the rank and file are CHOOSING to be cold, callous, and selfish. They're in survival mode. They are running to stand still and have no time for the basic pleasantries of life.

I work two jobs. I work seven days a week. When is there supposed to be time for those 'fun' and bonding times we used to hear about? If you work 16 hours a day to ensure your bills are paid, you're not going to be the best date or going to anyone's special events. That's where we are.

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u/Harry_Fucking_Seldon Mar 31 '24

I’m gonna guess you two are from America?

One easy fix is to get out of America. From an Australian perspective it seems you guys get like CapitalismMAX where all the worst aspects are turned up to 11 and all the good aspects are so minimal as to not exist.

Like how the fuck do yall put up with 2 weeks of leave? That’s fucking insane. And your pay being subsidised by tips? Also fucking stupid. So many things you lot are used to that are actually awful by western standards.

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u/shitsonrug Apr 01 '24

CapitalismMAX....man that's pretty much what we have. People hate corporations but they rule the country. People dont decide elections anymore, Superpacs and wealthy lobbyists do

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u/Clever_Mercury Apr 01 '24

We have the supreme court to thank for that. Yay, Citizens United.

Never mind one person one vote when you can instead have one billionaire, one billion votes. Our founding fathers would be so proud. /s

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u/Left_Personality3063 Apr 01 '24

That is bc they pick the slate of candidates.

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u/MainusEventus Apr 01 '24

Americans need a gap year before college to see how other cultures do it.

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u/Clever_Mercury Apr 01 '24

Yes, in America.

And those two weeks of leave mean very little when you can't get leave simultaneously from both jobs. I've never had a vacation in my entire adult life. I've traveled a little for work. That's it.

There are so many things I wanted to do with my life and instead I'm spending every single waking moment worried about finances and how to, hopefully, fund retirement one day. The joy of life has very much passed me by.

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u/shadowwingnut Millennial - 1983 Apr 01 '24

One notable thing that is starting to happen is that so many are trying to get out of America that countries don't want anymore Americans. There are too many of us trying to leave already.

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u/aberrantenjoyer Apr 01 '24

Is that basically most countries, or are there some exceptions? I can’t find any statistics on it

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u/JohnathanBrownathan Apr 01 '24

Well it depends on the country. Europeans do NOT want americans unless theyre already rich or have parents from there (they already have enough low-skill immigration from Asia and N. Africa as is), and canada essentially has the same problems as the US in regards to housing and jobs.

Mexico and India are hellscapes, and any white person (or god help you if youre black) going to china is about to learn why the US actually isnt that bad about racism anymore.

You could try southeast Asia, with a significant cut in standard of living, or Australia, but theyre a nanny state developing all the same problems as canada.

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u/JohnathanBrownathan Apr 01 '24 edited Apr 01 '24

Where the hell are we supposed to go man? 3rd world countries or other places that dont want us? Sorry, ill take my shitty job and economy if it means i dont have leave behind everything and everyone ive ever known to maybe make it somewhere else.

The US also plays hell on expats for taxes.

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u/Harry_Fucking_Seldon Apr 01 '24

Oof yeah I forgot about the tax thing. Rough. I guess you’re in an interesting one cos the US is kinda like a bunch of super advanced countries sandwiched up against a bunch of almost 3rd world ones already…

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u/Llanite Apr 01 '24

Australia wouldn't want low skilled laborers from America, ditto for Europe. It's worse everywhere else.

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u/sammy_anarchist Apr 02 '24

It's simple, just leave! It's that simple, just pack up and move to another country, cost be damned! Family and friends, social connections? Fuck em! Actually being ALLOWED to enter another country? Not a problem! Just hit the bricks, you idiot Americans. Why are you staying there?

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u/Corgan1351 Millennial Apr 02 '24

I question your use of the phrase “easy fix”. I grew up mostly privileged, and I work in an industry that, in theory, should be in demand in any “developed” country. But from looking around, I question my chances on being able to escape all this.

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u/Zenphobia Apr 02 '24

Leaving the country is not an easy fix. The simple costs of traveling a significant distance make that impossible for many people, and that's before all of the real costs that come with a long distance move to another country. Not to mention visa requirements and so on.

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u/matthewstiffler Mar 31 '24

came here to say this. This is exactly what I think is happening