Why Are We All So Depressed?

I was surfing through the web when I saw something in my YouTube recommended. It was a snippet of a Joe Rogan podcast titled, “Why Are So Many People Depressed?” They talked about the health of many people, how society worked, and a plethora of different topics.

And it made me think…why are we all so depressed?

Society is Rapidly Changing

Sure, back in the ’70s we thought that we were all going to be flying in hover cars and create time machines in a Back-to-the-Futuresque setting. However, it doesn’t mean we aren’t in the biggest societal shift not seen since the Renaissance and Reformation period of history. And the thing is, it’s all happening much faster.

In the ’90s, you were lucky to find someone with their own personal computer. Now within just a couple decades, you’d be surprised to find someone who doesn’t have a phone and at least a combination of Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok.

To find a partner, you had to go out to the local bar or find an event in your area in order to have a chance. Now you can go on Tinder, Bumble, Match, or any other dating site and find someone. There are even sites for specific individuals like Christian Mingle!

We have the power to find any data that we want, get any goods we demand, and connect with as many people as we wish. We are living in undoubtedly good times.

And yet, we’re shrouded in this massive cloak of depression, anxiety, stress, compulsory decision-making, and an unlimited amount of sensory overload. We can’t focus, nor can we enjoy life with everything going on around us. What is going on?

Technology is a big issue

Now I know what you’re thinking. “This is such a baby boomer comment.” But let it sink in. Once you start pondering the correlation between technology and depression, it makes sense.

A vast majority of us (myself included) have grown used to looking through our feeds and engaging in drama or negative news. Hell, there’s even a new phrase for it. “What’s the tea?”

We’re also very much attached to likes on posts. There’s just something about it that stimulates the brain and gives us serotonin. We actually subconsciously freak out when we don’t reach a certain number of likes. I’ve noticed that as well, and I never used to care about that.

Technology has become an echo-chamber for everything. It is the biggest blessing that also looks to be a huge curse as well. If your favorite celebrity gets into trouble over a rumor-driven controversy, they’ll get a million dislikes on their new videos they post on YouTube and lose hundreds of thousands of subscribers at the same time.

Just look at the self-made beauty guru James Charles. During his time when he had beef with beauty personality Tati Westbrook, he lost a million subscribers on YouTube in 24 hours before anyone heard his side of the story.

Politics Has Caused a Huge Split

In my 21 years on this earth, I haven’t seen society more split than it is right now. With president Donald Trump in office, there has been more mudslinging and corruption than I have ever seen in government. People are more divided than ever in this regard.

One day you hear about Antifa attacking conservatives in places like Portland, Oregon. Then the next day you hear about a group of Trump supporters somewhere in Alabama or Texas telling Latin Americans to “get out of our country”, even though some of them are probably third-generation Americans. The US economy seems to be doing better than ever, yet we are so divided despite this. Talking politics has become almost taboo depending on the group you’re around.

People have become seriously depressed and angry over President Trump’s election, and this civil unrest in the world of politics has spread throughout places like the countries within the EU, Russia, the Middle East, and Venezuela. It doesn’t help that there are very few media outlets without an agenda on either side of the political spectrum.

The Education System is Expensive, Anxiety-inducing, and Obsolete

Oh man. Don’t even get me started on this. Look, I’m a dropout, but not by choice. I went to a private college, which was dumb on my part. It was so expensive that I couldn’t afford continuing my schooling in the middle of my junior year. Yet if I had gone on, would it have been worth it?

I’ve talked about this in an earlier article of mine, but there are so many people who worked so hard to get that business degree who ended up being baristas at a coffee shop or a host in a restaurant. They were told to get an education and get a job. Well, this wasn’t what they expected. And I figured out an issue.

Do a simple Google search for job offers. I remember for the heck of it looking for jobs as a writer or an editor. Most of them require a bachelor’s degree and three years relevant experience. I even typed in “entry level writing jobs”. The first ten job offers required a bachelor’s degree, the same three years of experience, or even both. How are you supposed to get a good-paying job when you have your degree but no experience in your field?

I ran into an insightful H3H3 Podcast video that made me think about all this. Is college even worth it anymore? Is it worth being tens of thousands of dollars in debt just to end up working at a place that you’re lucky if you get minimum wage for your work? Is it worth it living in a hole-in-the-wall studio apartment just hoping to get a job opportunity?

Society Has Not Caught Up with Technology

Societal norms are still stuck within the past century. Get good grades, go to college, get a degree, get a job, get married, get a house, start a family, work hard, retire. It’s just not that simple anymore. Things have become more complicated.

Jobs that require a degree are becoming automated if they haven’t been already. That piece of paper that you went $40,000 into debt to get that says some institution can confirm you can officially do “that one thing” may not even be useful within the next decade.

When you think about it, some of the richest and most influential people in the world dropped out of college. Two names come to mind right away: Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, and Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook. They are billionaires that decided college wasn’t best for them, and look at them now.

I’m not saying if you drop out you’ll become a millionaire. But there are people out there like Gary Vaynerchuk and Casey Neistat saying that if your passion doesn’t necessitate further education outside of high school, then you probably shouldn’t go.

Most people also can’t afford families, especially millennials who find themselves within these situations. How can you raise a family if you can’t pay off your current debt?

All of these societal norms put pressure on us to try to get a handle on things we cannot control. And I could go on and on about this, but I’ll split these sub-topics into different articles. I believe this is necessary.

So, how do we get out of this depressing rut?

Take your extra time and figure out what you really want from life. Did you go get a business degree for the advertised “easy job opportunity”, but you wanted to be a writer instead? Spend a half an hour a day writing about stuff. Anything. That’s what I do here on Medium. If something comes on my mind and I think it’s a good article to share, I just write away.

If you went for a business degree and you really wanted to do something in business, try doing freelance work. Maybe you want to be a marketer. Maybe you’d like to be an entrepreneur. Find out what niches you’re into and make it a profitable business. It’s easier said than done, but if you’re having troubles anyway, what do you have to lose?

Do what you need to do get a shed of happiness or hope in this seemingly depressing world we live in. It’s your time to shine for once. Don’t let a rainy day bother you. Work to get that sunshine back in your life.