Why does everything feel so different now?

I think as more people have more online access than ever before, they are falling for a facsimile of connection, and disregarding real life connection. Phones are the opium of the masses. People are now so busy chasing the next dopamine hit that they'll ignore their own partners and children to scroll away.

Covid only solidified that earlier than it would have probably happened anyway.

I do think things feel different - and all a bit 'meh'. No definitive musical feel to any decade since the 2000s, no real fashion styles since then, just stupid fads like those Stanley cups, and plastic-looking eyebrows. But you can wear your clothes from the 2000s and no-one would think you were retro-looking like you would have looked if you'd worn your 80s clothes in the 2000s, for example.

I kinda think the theory is true - the world is a simulation, and it ended in 2000 - all that's left is the decay and glitching before it conks out completely.

mobile phones are the reason.

Nothing is different and, on the whole, people's behaviours never change.
Maybe you spend too much time on social media, OP, so try coming off it maybe?

I saw something on social media saying that is it normal for people to feel different for some time after world wide incidences/pandemics. They saw similar issues after the Second World War and previous pandemics. We are living in post-Covid times. Many people lost family members. Many people lost their jobs and/or fell on hard times. Work has changed for many people. I work in the NHS. In my speciality, we are still dealing with a backlog of patients who need to be reviewed, low staff numbers and capacity. There’s no clapping or banging of saucepans for us any more, it’s some praise and a lot of criticism that things aren’t done efficiently enough (we are not an emergency service). It’s quite disheartening.

We are in a very individualistic society of me me me. We also have every numpty online thinking they are the font of all knowledge of any given topic. Very me me me, very isolated society.

Well I feel the same as before. And I love that social media (Facebook, for oldies like me) keeps me connected to people I can't meet up with.

If you're feeling disconnected from people - connect with them!

Althoug, OP, I suspect it might be more of a life stage for you, than global angst.

Yes I feel the same. I feel a lot less connected to the people who really know me. Long term friendships which I felt were rock solid before the pandemic have become sporadic contact. Everything is so expensive now weekends away to see people or have days out together and even just dinners or drinks are few and far between. And we do less as a family so it feels like there's not much to discuss. It feels like we're all on a work/school treadmill with little to look forward to.

How old are you OP? Were you in your early or mid thirties, and now you're nearing forty?

Yes, I sometimes used to talk to my FIL about it. He died 5 years ago aged 90. He just used to shrug his shoulders and say that's how it is, nothing stays the same. What can you do but get on with it? He was unfailingly pragmatic and philosophical no matter what life threw at him. He was lovely.❤

Life moves so much faster now with social media, AI etc. I definitely feel that the older I get the more out of touch I am.

I wonder if you ask older generations they may have felt the same with the invention of the internet, smart phones etc.

Yes!!! That's how it feels.

You need to turn off the socials and the news. Allow yourself 10 mins max a day to catch up then go do something else. It is a really effective coping stratergy for me. There is so much stuff going on not nice in the world its easy for us to overload and worry. You have to learn to switch off and enjoy the here and now with those who are most important to you . Thats my way of thinking and dealing with it. Theres bugger all I can do to stop Iran firing missiles to day or Russia doing the same so grab a coffee and go sit in the sun! It sounds heartless but its all I have.

I suggest you don’t fall down the rabbit hole of AI by listening to the Godfather of AI episode on the Steven Bartlett podcast. Woah that made me feel really weird today. I have no idea what this world will feel like in ten years time and I think that might be part of the problem. Rapid societal change and not much of it for the positive.

I still think we're getting over the strangeness that was the COVID years. Social skills are a bit of a use it or lose it thing and honestly I think a lot of people have lost it.

Personally I'm trying to reach out to people that I still have connections with but I suspect I might have to try and accept my social world is smaller now.

Yes, I feel as though we are on a precipice.

Me neither

It really isn't.

I totally agree, nothing has felt right since 2020.

I feel as though all colour has gone from life, all joy, and I am just marking time, somehow. Friends seem lacklustre, even old reliable ones of many years.

It’s very hard to explain, and I have given up trying to talk about it to people who don’t understand my concerns. Keeping busy takes my mind off it, but the worry about what the future holds is never far away. Strange times, I think.

You're just feeling a bit down, OP, and projecting. Nothing's changed. Most of us are incredibly lucky to live in this country in this century.

No, its just the lens you're looking through, enjoy your life

The last few years have felt odd. I can't shake the feeling that the world seems to be collectively holding its breath.

I think people have become more selfish and more aggressive since Covid.

But I also think the way we use social media has changed, it has become a lot more algorithm driven and a lot of the personal connections have gone into more closed channels. We seemed to post a lot more publically before. Now I would really hesitate before putting certain things on FB because of the fear of judgement. I do think algorithmic content has made us feel more separated from each other and that has exploded since 2016 and especially 2020 onwards.

I think we have less time, less money, and everything costs so much now. A quick dinner to a catch up with friends is now quite expensive so are fewer and further between

The pandemic seemed to rupture a lot of social connections and established things and it seems like not all of them have recovered.