Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Seems like you agree with me, so what do I have to explain.
People think money = freedom/time. So they try and accumulate as much as they can rather than waste them on material possessions that hold no equity.
Money isn't the freedom, my friend. My wife and I aren't doctors or engineers, though they've been proclaimed as the foremost successful career paths on this forum.
The lack of liability and obligation is the freedom. A lot of people don't have this freedom because they're up to their eyeballs in debt or have large families.
The reason for the faster pace is that most people Gen X and later subscribe to the 'time spent not doing anything useful is time wasted' theory. Or the 'each hour you get is like a sand in a running hourglass'.
Therefore, people are trying to make as much money as they can for the least amount of hours they can work. So, they can spend the time outside of work ... travelling and doing interesting things, or trying to improve their lives, or ... if they have kids, spending time with their kids.
I can tell you that my parents thought differently. They were more goal oriented. That goal being ... have kids and buy a decent home, and live in that home, and save for retirement, and ... well that's about it.
They expected to work as many hours as they needed to work, and free time consisted of doing family stuff and church, and ... well that's about it.
My parents enjoy traveling and experiencing things. My grandparents enjoyed traveling and experiencing things so much that they bought a really cheap place for retirement and did a ton of traveling. I think the main difference is that some of the traveling they did was a lot less luxurious. That said, many other options were not available independently 40-50 years ago. My grandmother also went to the senior center, had a garden, and did a lot of sewing. My grandfather walked 5 miles a day, read a ton of books, and also kept himself busy. My mom said that even when they did not have money, they still took a lot of vacations- mostly to state parks to stay in the cabins there. I think perhaps the scope of things people do now are more extravagant, but overall the types of things may not have changed much.
I think it comes down to the fact that genuine belief in heaven/hell or any sort of conscious afterlife is much less widespread now than it used to be. God-fearing people of the past were eager just to live a life that would find favor with God and thus allows them entry to heaven.
Today that conviction is much less common in our society, and if you figure that this life is all you have you will try to use the time you do have to maximum effect for whatever purpose you have in mind - personal enrichment, leaving a legacy, sensual joys etc.
My parents enjoy traveling and experiencing things. My grandparents enjoyed traveling and experiencing things so much that they bought a really cheap place for retirement and did a ton of traveling. I think the main difference is that some of the traveling they did was a lot less luxurious. That said, many other options were not available independently 40-50 years ago. My grandmother also went to the senior center, had a garden, and did a lot of sewing. My grandfather walked 5 miles a day, read a ton of books, and also kept himself busy. My mom said that even when they did not have money, they still took a lot of vacations- mostly to state parks to stay in the cabins there. I think perhaps the scope of things people do now are more extravagant, but overall the types of things may not have changed much.
My parents traveled too, especially nearer to retirement.
But my point was ... it was less of a race for them. To squeeze in as much life and maximize your life.
My parents were also immigrants, so that was probably part of it.
My parents have spent more weekends doing nothing than I can count. A weekend doing nothing (pre-COVID of course) seems like an absolute waste to me.
I also think my mom in particular has very few hobbies or interests, and her job sounded very boring and difficult, but is in general a very happy person.
I think it comes down to the fact that genuine belief in heaven/hell or any sort of conscious afterlife is much less widespread now than it used to be. God-fearing people of the past were eager just to live a life that would find favor with God and thus allows them entry to heaven.
Today that conviction is much less common in our society, and if you figure that this life is all you have you will try to use the time you do have to maximum effect for whatever purpose you have in mind - personal enrichment, leaving a legacy, sensual joys etc.
But if people feel inadequate for not having the latest mateial goods, is that really the advertising's fault? People pressure other people to always buy the latest PS5, Iphone, Tesla, etc
No, not directly, but we continue to advance, especially technologically (phones, cars, gadgets) to such a degree that people feel they need these items to keep up with the times - when they don't, really.
Living longer (extended life spans) may not necessarily impact ones view to 'slow' down and enjoy the ride if the perception and conditioning agents constantly bombard the individual with need to "keep up". Not everyone has a faster paced life, but the environment around them: social, physical, economic, political, may be seemingly faster due to the techniques and tools being used upon the general public and the increasing rates of technological increase and rapidness.
The baseline values and priorities in life which an individual determines as most important to themselves for a high quality of life, may counter the rapidness. For example, some sects purposely make an effort to avoid certain tools that are used to great effect by those wielding them. In other instances, I think we're seeing more of the young generation eschew certain aspects of this conditioned and real rapidness once they have reached an enlightenment. (see whistleblowers with Facebook as examples exposing the techniques).
1) Building upon a few things already mentioned is that many young (and old) have been conditioned to constant stimulation and distractions via the major programming tools of society (media), or choices in the form of non important things, (bread and circuses) so, they can be put into constant hamster wheel / fire drill mode to make you feel the 'created' need to buy something to make your life better. A good take on this is comedian George Carlin's bit on how we have "The Illusion of Choice" on important things (leaders, policy - limited if any real choice) but a bombardment of choices in things of no significant impact on our lives (hundreds of various brands of pick a consumer item). This is the organized chaos corralling effect of elites trying to farm humanity for their benefit.
Think George Orwell's Animal Farm i.e. "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others". This constant observed duplicit-ness leaves many spinning faster on their hamster wheel without realizing they are chasing something unattainable. Others learn to step back, take a grander "view" (think of The Nine Dots exercise) and proactively choose to shut off some of the negatively impacting programming they are being subjected to.
2) The disconnect from depth of values (whether family closeness, religious 'family' et al) has many seeking it in the latest shifting sands of media created whim (flashpoint issues). Thus, they are 'conditioned' to need constant stimulation / experience, or, in many cases, distractions from their current mundane lives.
3) There is the variance among individuals in their desire for - let's call it, "life Cycle Speed". Some are the 'I want to experience as much as I can in my lifetime on earth to do so' or, the others may be the type who are more easily contented without lots of external stimulation.
4) The issue raised about money is, as modest mentioned above, mostly about freedom from having to be bound to do things we don't want to, or that runs contrary to our true held values. I believe it was Gen. Colin Powell who called this having F U money. So that, when one is asked to compromise on something of importance or to subjugate oneself to someone else's interests, you can walk away more readily.
I think what has happened overall, is more a loss of introspection as to how to find one's "happy medium". People that have grown up with mass media as their primary conditioning agent(s) and the excessive amount of choices at a young age leads (IMO) to an overall less contented and more anxious mindset in many realms of one's life cycle. They probably cannot comprehend finding self enjoyment / contentment in a leisurely non screen dominated form of entertainment.
You know it got me thinking seeing that one thread about why are people more depressed than 100, 200 or 500 years ago
I mean even relationships don't last a dime these days, they been turned into a rat race thanks to commercialism, capitalism and social media
Faster than who? If you mean olden times, it's because of the advances that allow us to spend less time for subsistence tasks (like hunting & gathering & growing food and clothing). In olden times, a group of men would spend all day hunting for supper, and women in some countries even today spend hours grinding grain to make flour to use for meals, etc. They had to make their clothes, starting with prepping the hides of the animals they'd killed to eat. They worked more hours, possibly, but on fewer tasks. Now, we stop at the store for food & clothing, and have hours to spend on other tasks that push us forward as the human race. Time for engineering, architecture, space travel, knowledge and education, higher level thinking, cleaning, etc.
I don't know that people are more depressed now than 500 years ago. It's possible we're less depressed, actually. People just think that's a "condition" now, maybe, whereas it was just considered the grind of life getting to us...which may have been considered normal. Also, we have more time to sit around and think about our lives, our goals, etc., and get depressed about it. Depression that's caused by chemical imbalance no doubt existed in the old days.
Also, we're more isolated, now, which can lead to depression. In olden days, family members tended to live together much longer than now. And stay connected, particularly since they stayed in the area more often than now. Now, people go off to different geographical areas to pursue their goals, and are not able to spend time with family on a daily basis, preventing the support system of family (some families aren't supportive, though, and are dysfunctional).
As for the rat race, that's because of large corporations, I guess, who squeeze every extra hour from their workers. But people can choose who to work for. And it's not a rat race in all countries (like Switzerland, Sweden, and others). It's better now, though, IMO. People are more able to choose their goals and pursue them, particularly minorities and women. Progress can be both good and bad, I guess.
The reason for the faster pace is that most people Gen X and later subscribe to the 'time spent not doing anything useful is time wasted' theory. Or the 'each hour you get is like a sand in a running hourglass'.
Therefore, people are trying to make as much money as they can for the least amount of hours they can work. So, they can spend the time outside of work ... travelling and doing interesting things, or trying to improve their lives, or ... if they have kids, spending time with their kids.
I can tell you that my parents thought differently. They were more goal oriented. That goal being ... have kids and buy a decent home, and live in that home, and save for retirement, and ... well that's about it.
They expected to work as many hours as they needed to work, and free time consisted of doing family stuff and church, and ... well that's about it.
Society becoming more sedentary kinda defeats that theory, no?
I'm content living in a small house and last time I had a vacation was almost 10 years ago. I went to Germany and Switzerland to visit my family.
I love nature and "vacation" daily in the forest/at the ocean. I walk, sit on the bench and listen to the silence. I don't care about what other people have. I never cared. I mind my own business.
I keep it simple, I read, knit, love my family and friends. My cat. I meditate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
