To think the social contract has completely broken down?

Of course you can
it was a question
not an assumption

COVID turned everyone in to selfish entitled twats and it seems like manners and just general decency are a thing of the past.

social contract has gone pfffft.
it used to be

• study and you’ll have a better life
• work hard and you’ll have a decent life
• if you get ill you’ll be looked after
• vote, and you’ll influence the country
• be polite and others will be polite to you

Totally agree and also @Fruitlips you can be the happiest person and still make this observation!
I am unlucky to live in a rough area and it’s just getting worse and worse. People treat the street like a tip and the driving and parking is selfish and dangerous. Noise all night and people acting like they live in isolated mansions not terraces with close neighbours. It’s really hard and not fun for those of us who can’t buy our way out. It was still poor and rough ten years ago but people weren’t as selfish and entitled with how they lived.

How anyone who’s on MN can deny it I can’t think, given that we see it constantly all over threads - it’s not illegal, they can do what they like in their garden etc etc. Every other thread is a clear demonstration that just because you can doesn’t mean you should and yet people with continue to defend it. And these people have kids and spread their anti-social views to them.

And nothing wrong with enquiring
as if you’re unhappy in life it is not beyond the realms of possibility that you see the wider world as pretty bleak too

I think that’s a wee bit patronising. OP might be feeling negative because (1) she isn’t generally happy; or (2) this is an issue that is making her unhappy; or (3) she is deliriously happy but notices and is intrigued by this issue. She just asked for opinions. Seems logical to me 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think one factor is people (especially younger people) experiencing other people mainly as two-dimensional avatars on a screen - it stops them realising that those "characters" are in fact still people.

I sort of wish it was practicable to turn the internet off for a month or so to break its spell!

I read this somewhere, I think it’s true:

Modern relationships now operate on what might be called “calculated vulnerability.” People share enough to maintain connections but rarely enough to risk real hurt. They help others but with clear boundaries and expectations.

Entitlement is the thing. And it is exacerbated by low level aggression.
The world has gone slightly mad.

Are you happy in your personal life OP?

It has.

The sheer number of cars that drive through just gone red lights. It’s astounding.

It started with Margaret “no such thing as society” Thatcher.

I think the entitlement has reached new heights. So has chronic loneliness. It’s like people forgot to grow up. It’s far easier to live behind the screen and cry if something doesn’t go your way, just waiting for the others to solve their problems but not offering anything in return.
My daughter’s generation is the last one who didn’t have a phone/tablet since birth. She doom scrolls, but she knows how to snap out of it and meet people face to face, she’s got the emotional intelligence to process what’s going on around her, and act accordingly.

Maybe they’re all cooking something and I have no idea, maybe they’re onto something. But they don’t seem content, they seem dissociated.

It seems to me that people increasingly demand cooperation and consideration, and there's usually a big fuss about rights and what you're entitled to if it doesn't happen, or doesn't happen enough, while having a "Why should I?" Attitude if asked to cooperate or show consideration for someone else.

But then I think every generation thinks similar of the generation after them, so maybe I'm just getting old.

What's considered basic manners seems to have changed.

People having loud speaker phone conversations and watching films or videos with no headphones on a his or train would have been a notable rare occurrence just a few years ago, yet it's horribly common now.

I don’t know, I’m quite content, my children are happy, healthy and thriving, I enjoy life and generally find people pretty decent 🤷‍♀️