People seem angrier somehow

The situation feels worse in the UK relative to other European countries because of Brexit and 12 years of austerity, where the UK was starved of investment in infrastructure and public services.

I notice that people who didn’t vote Tory/Reform/Brexit are so very angry with people who did. People try not to raise the topic too much but it is simmering beneath the surface.

There are far too many people. We’re all fighting for a little bit of space, surely it can’t end happily?

@Janebigwither exactly the way I feel, you worded it so well 💯

I have been on a few overcrowded trains in the last year and it is interesting to see how people 'pretend' as if other people are not there. I was on a train to London which was super-packed and people would push past people almost knocking them over (they were in the aisles) and it would as if these people did not even exist. Only one person said 'excuse me' - it was interesting but also a bit sad. I have noticed how people have become more entitled and self-centred as if the whole world has to revolve around them and there is no patience about anything. I was Chrismas shopping this week and we had to wait for about 10 minutes to try things on and some of the people were complaining so loudly and I felt so sorry for the people working there. No patience for queues or any minor inconvenience.

ditto

not only rude but insulting and I had been with you until this outburst

I believe Japan is culturally immersed - which traditionally, as an island, we were.

knock on effect -

I was in Frinton the other weekend with some friends. Whenever I visit somewhere like that (I live in a London suburb) it's really striking how good manners and social niceties are still upheld - people waiting for each other to pass on pavements; smiling and acknowledging each other; in-person service in shops, with staff happy to chat; cars actually stopping at zebra crossings (a novelty now where I am!); no phones blasting out loud music or people walking around oblivious with air pods in.

Personally, as a born and bred Londoner, I couldn't live in Frinton - too sleepy - but we are planning to move out soon to somewhere a bit calmer and less angry. I don't want DD to have to grow up around people who disregard others and are primed to explode at any moment. Our local high street here feels like you're running the gauntlet every time you walk along it, and I'm always relieved when I arrive home without anything having kicked off.

come to Worcestershire- really nice people, strong community spirit too. ☺️

I was just thinking today about how much more threat I feel compared with even ten years ago and I was imagining trying to explain the modern world to my granny and trying to describe the hurdles we jump through to protect ourselves from international criminal gangs. Sou ds daft to put it like that but I hesitate every time I answer an unknown number because a biut 10% of those calls are scammers. The rest are services my disabled dc needs, but each time I prove to a scammer I’m a live number, I attract more of them.

My bank asked me to email them information, while also telling me that it isn’t secure to do so.

When I’m not getting text messages attempting to rob me, I’m getting WhatsApp warnings from my dm warning me of the latest scam she’s heard about.

I hadn’t really thought about it until today but it’s actually an insidious and constant source of stress.

Lack of hope. Who thinks anything will get better on any front?
Also, everything just breaking down. Took an hour and a half to take a short bus ride through central London yesterday....overcrowding, road works, too much traffic, journey gets cut short, buses pile up in gridlock etc etc. tossed off too early trued walking.....streets were gridlocked with people too. Tiring just being right now

I notice this online, on social media etc but not in real life. People are pretty friendly and polite where I live.

I agree, it goes back long before covid. I’d agree the 90s were very different and I think that’s when the turning point happened. Too many people, too much centralisation, too much globalisation. 90s and 00s set the scene for the unfolding disaster we’re seeing now. Different places being hit at different rates. Some people are only seeing it now, but others were seeing it a decade or two ago.

Rose tinted glasses , I don't think COVID had that much effect really..now the 90's really were very different but not 4 years ago, no
.

Yes, 💯

Life pre covid feels like a dream looking back. Things changed after that, something was lost

Covid supercharged the negative impact of social media and the connected world

People eat shit processed food that does nothing to help their moods

People are poorer

The country is a mess

24/7/365 culture means nothing is appreciated

Social media created a have it all and fuck everyone else mentality

Extreme vanity

Gen Z having fewer boundaries due to gentle parenting

Vaping and high caffeine energy drinks heighten stress levels

Always feeling insecure because the synthetic online world portrays and favours perfectionism which doesn’t translate easily to real life unless you are wealthy

‘Karen’ and other derogatory names have permeated society

Celebrities getting away with murder with no comeback

Political debate that has become polarised and toxic

I think we feel overcrowded which doesn’t help. I saw a graph that showed just how many extra people we have on this island in the last decade and it’s phenomenal. People feel like they have less money in their pocket and everytime they try and go anywhere it’s packed

I think it's mainly overcrowding too, along with increasing resource scarcity. The declining public realm impacts on everyone, even those who on paper are better off. Covid obviously didn't help, but I think it also coincided with a tipping point in our population, which largely due to immigration has boomed at precisely the time when infrastructure was crumbling rapidly.

I was in central London for the first time in a while at the weekend (I live in an outer suburb) and my main thought throughout was Too. Many. People.

Too many people.

It's the vaccine and covid having effects on the brain

Very easily triggered aren’t you? This is probably how you behave in real life and that’s why you find people treat you the way they do.

I live in America, and with all its problems I can at least rely on good customer service in most places, largely due to tipping culture. I love how sweet and polite the server in the coffee shop is (and this is somewhere where customers don't tip), it genuinely adds a bit of joy to my morning interacting with her.

When I was last in London I had to practically shout my order over two servers in Pret who were chatting among themselves and ignoring me. They then had the audacity to look annoyed that I had interrupted their chat and made them do the job they're being paid to do.

But they're still poorer than they would have been / expected to be before the COL crisis. It's all relative.

If you're putting less into your investment fund each month because everything has gone up in price and you have to pay VAT on school fees etc. (I know this hasn't happened yet), you're not going to be thrilled, are you.

It doesn't excuse taking out the anger on others though, of course.

To your point, overpopulation is considered to be one of the biggest stressors for all animals, of course including humans.

The population of England has increased by 4 million over the last 10 years. It’s projected to hit 70 million by 2026.
where I live it feels oppressive, so many more people on pavements, and in cars.
Trains too are overcrowded.
Now weve stopped going to some local national trust places as it feels stressful trying to park then queue for a crowded place.