If you could drop a litmus strip into the stew of modern western culture, it would reveal that the tone of modern life is anxiety. Anxiety is the verb, the vibe, the texture, the pH of our age. How did this come to pass?
I think our phones have played a significant and multifaceted role. Inequality, systemic racism, and the poison and trauma beneath the surface of our country also plays an immeasurable role.
And an underappreciated factor is that large corporations figured out that fear sells. We are being constantly marketed to with a message of: you’re not enough, you need fixing (with the product I’m selling you), and, by the way, be afraid.
Whether someone is selling you a new car, a diet program, insurance, or a high tech baby monitor, or they’re simply trying to convince you to tune in to news at 9, they’re all selling you on their product with the same platform: there’s something to be afraid/uncertain/doubtful of, and you need what I’m selling to keep you safe and okay. The rest are trying to sell you a product to soothe your nerves after being so afraid. Corporations trying to make money have turned us into a generation afraid.
