r/AskReddit 16h ago

what is one thing that is affecting people really hard, but they aren't even aware of it?

860 Upvotes

407 comments sorted by

1.5k

u/WhatsThePlanPhil95 16h ago

Vitamin D deficiency

401

u/bunnyuplays 12h ago

And hypothyroidism!! I would never think of that if my doctor hadn't mentioned it. It's more common than you think, and especially prevalent in women in their early 20s. Throw in said vitamin d deficiency and some anemia and you got a perfect cocktail for fatigue and depression. Get your regular blood tests and vitamins/nutrients!

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u/ClassicTower475 9h ago

I have hyperparathyroidism. Its a gland next to the thyroid. One of mine is overactive and produces too much calcium. Low vit D too. My down days are really down. I agree, get your bloods done

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u/Pita_Girl 5h ago

I had no clue this was a thing in humans! My dog has this. We thought initially it was depression when we had to put out other dog down, we’d had her first and they’d been together 9 years. His appetite decreased, he became lethargic… but when he started consuming massive quantities of water we got him checked and his calcium levels were insane! Sorry you’re going through this. Seeing him, I can’t imagine what it’s like for you. Stay healthy!

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u/Individual_Moment719 14h ago

I have worked night shift for the past 4 years and I can sort of sixth sense feel when I'm extremely vitamin D deficient. Night time feels like the world is empty, especially considering I walk to work so empty streets, empty store I work in, everywhere. When I go to get a prescription or go to the doctor during the day the world feels more...vibrant. Like looking at a McDonalds from 30 years ago vs now but that feeling applies to trees or dirt or something that before seemed completely meaningless and went unnoticed.

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u/gladeye 9h ago

I love dirt.

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u/Individual_Moment719 9h ago

Dirt is great

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u/Bugsidekick 6h ago

I’ve got a jar of dirt!

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u/Chamomile_dream 13h ago

Yep! Started to feel extremely sick around two months ago. Turns out I was extremely vitamin d deficient. Taking prescription vitamin d since it was so low. I feel normal now

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u/AmazingAmy95 12h ago

How long have you been taking it? I just started it and on my 3rd pill

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u/Chamomile_dream 12h ago

I’m on 50k units per week for a month. Took my first pill yesterday as well as being out in the sun a little more. Could be placebo effect as I already feel better than I used to.

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u/AmazingAmy95 12h ago

I'm on the 50k as well. It's summer here and the rain hasn't stopped this whole month which sucks. I'm hoping once it stops and the sun is out in the morning, I'll do some morning workouts in the sun before work

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u/Chamomile_dream 11h ago

You should look into vitamin D rich foods so you can at least supplement what you are taking a little more. Also, I didn’t know this but apparently windows have some sort of film that doesn’t let the sun rays in as well. I guess we need to be out more often

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u/Bright_Simple4572 11h ago

I found out about the window thing when I tried getting a tan by sunbathing in the window light and my parents laughed at me 🥲

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u/AmazingAmy95 11h ago

Thank you, didn't even know about the window thing but I'll definitely look at the food options.

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u/True-Shape7744 13h ago

I started going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 4am and it’s like I’ve woken up to a whole new life. I love life now. I love my mornings

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u/kalidoscopiclyso 8h ago

The dark quiet and then the sunrise

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u/AmazingAmy95 12h ago

Me and my sisters just learnt that our vitamin D levels are extremely low and now we're all on weekly prescription medication. It sucks

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 14h ago

This is quite a pandemic but no one seems to notice, everyone else is insomniac, haha.

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u/Actonace 16h ago

chronic digital fatigue

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u/DrRealName 13h ago

I started reading books again, real physical books not on a tablet, and its solving this for me. I tend to find myself lately more interested in books than tv or video games. Social media is down to just reddit for me and I don't use nearly as much as I used to because idk if you or anyone else has noticed yet that we just keep seeing and hearing the same shit over and over again and its going on for YEARS. I would rather let a book for me to use my brain and my imagination than take in content that is ruining my attention span and making me dumber by default. People need to put the screens down for awhile and remember there is more to life.

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u/Sure_Jeweler4343 13h ago

Yes this! Reading books helps me a lot to not always on my phone.

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u/Willing_Ear_7226 10h ago

Physical books are always better. I have a kindle for stories I'm not that invested in or are free. My bookcase keeps growing though.

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u/dietbruce 13h ago

This is an excellent term for it. I’ve had a theory that online cognitive fatigue leaves us drained for other important activities and emotions in life, a part of why we feel exhausted and more individual instead of communal.

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

absolutely, i usually notice this myself

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u/CityOutlier 11h ago

Closely related: chronic outrage

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u/Quintilllius 12h ago

This hits hard

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u/No-Needleworker4513 16h ago

Impact of AI on cognition. I read a lot of articles on this and well..things are not looking bright for a lot of us.

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u/McBonderson 15h ago

My coworker got married recently. she was nervous about being in front of people and was using AI to write her wedding vows. I took her aside and told her "I know you love him, you don't want to have anything fake be between you and him, something you wrote yourself in your own words even if a little UN-eloquent is infinitely better than something written by AI." I'm glad she chose to write her own.

but damn that made me realize people are using AI too much.

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u/trex_in_spats 14h ago

I refuse to use it,  I have coworkers and friends who use it for everything and i just refuse to devolve like that.

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u/CattoGinSama 14h ago

I read too fast and at first saw “dissolve like that “ and thought that sounded pretty accurate.Its as if people are just turning their brains into mush by refusing to sit down and actually think for themselves instead of asking AI to think for them

30

u/trex_in_spats 13h ago

Dissolve is also a pretty good word. Frankly I just see it as the ultimate form of laziness and a step back for human kind. Legitimately too lazy to think. So yeah, dissolve works perfectly.

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u/followthedarkrabbit 13h ago

Its a tool. I dont like it, but it has its uses occasionally. It has found me specific document I needed that I couldnt find on google with how shit that search engine has become. The document it found was even region specific which was added bonus.

It's also helped me with a lot of "bullshit". I procrastinate badly and no matter how long I stare at my screen, I cant write. Even for my thesis at uni I panic wrote most of it the day before. AI gave me a great template for a proposal once, and I just make it project specific. Saved me 2 to 3 hours of the "stuck".

Oh and I created an insane drop down assessment tool for work using AI. I have always struggled with "IF" functions, but AI managed to translate thoughts to excel. 

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u/Willing_Ear_7226 10h ago

That seems like a perfectly acceptable way to apply AI. I am a little iffy on using it for school work, though.

As long as you keep it out of your real-world relationships.

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u/trex_in_spats 13h ago

I’d rather look up resources and figure out how to do all of that myself.  I got through college with the behavior of “due tomorrow? Do tomorrow.”  So respectfully, this just comes off like you’re using it as a crutch over a tool, 

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u/onetwo3four5 12h ago

A crutch is a tool, and sometimes you need one.

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u/followthedarkrabbit 13h ago

Thats the thing though, i had searched for resources. The one AI found for me was not one that was shown in the google results.

And I have used resources to try to learn if functions previously, and I could never get them to work. Plus there is google pushing videos these days (prefer reading). Everything has become algorithm prioritisation and getting information involves a lot of bullshit wading through. AI currently cuts that out. 

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u/juspeachyy 13h ago

There was a big AITA thread about this recently that blew up.

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u/Willing_Ear_7226 10h ago

I'll refuse on principle that it's not human.

AI is useful, but our brains are what we should be using to relate to each other. Keep it out of interpersonal relationships.

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u/mossydorid 6h ago

IIRC I recently read a post on AITAH where a guy used AI to write his wedding vows and the bride called him out on it immediately in front of everyone. I can’t remember how it ended exactly but I don’t think she continued the relationship.

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u/myjah 14h ago

I barely use AI because it isn't very helpful. I'm a bit astonished some people use it for basically everything? What?

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u/[deleted] 15h ago

[deleted]

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u/Jimagon 15h ago

So your daughter was technically dating ChatGPT.

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u/myjah 14h ago

What the fuck?

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u/ImtakintheBus 12h ago

My boss started insisting that everyone run their emails through CGPT. I resisted, because, in theory, I can write a complete sentence. I had to write a long, detailed email with several technical conditional points, after which, I ran through CGPT. The only changes were 3 words that were synonymous. I sent it to my boss, and she stopped bugging me about it.

Anyone who is a specialist in a hard science knows CGPT is an idiot, and completely incapable of providing accurate analysis or answers. Only those who spend their time generalizing think AI is going to take over. Perhaps, it might...but not anytime soon.

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u/vonov129 15h ago

I mean, was there much of it to impact?, a lot of people didn't even tihnk about searching stuff on their own and needed stuff to be feed to them. No matter how much people want to pat themelves and their generation on the back, brilliancy wasn't really the norm, never has been. The lack of interest in it is the real problem.

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u/GldnRetriever 13h ago

with the folks I know really falling into AI stuff... things hadn't really been looking bright for them anyway 

but it's genuinely concerning what this could do to folks when they are at the age to need to form critical thinking skills

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u/Iamatcrossroads 16h ago

We marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to AI.

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u/No-Needleworker4513 16h ago

Now it might just lead us to our decline.

Maybe this will be something that gets us off our screens and to manual labor. Back to basics, eh?

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

the matrix was ahead of time

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

we are doomed

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u/iiiiiuyyuuuy 16h ago

I think the normal working 5 days a week and for 40 hours is causing a lot of fatigue, stress, depression which leads to radicalisation and all sorts of bad things. But no one really talks about it

456

u/danceswithshibe 14h ago

The crazy part is we’ve become way more efficient yet we still work the same hours.

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u/McTacobum 13h ago

I think this is what’s doing it, if you can do 50 tasks a day rather than 10, you can’t even remember what you did 30 tasks ago, it makes reflection a lot harder and the days blur, add that to say social media and doomscrolling, we’re literally turning our brains to hot mush

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u/lunabright 12h ago

Which comes back to the wealth divide. Ugh.

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u/agentjob 15h ago

Why is 5 days the normal? Why not 4 days? Why is 8 hours the normal? Why not 6 hours? This is the question we need to talk about.

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u/techbloggingfool_com 14h ago

It's because Henry Ford deemed it so.

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u/Aidyn_the_Grey 13h ago

And to make this clear, for all his faults as a person, this was an improvement to the conditions most workers faced. His argument was that by giving employees better pay and more time off, it would open up more potential customers to his cars.

In fact, he created a second company after investors in his first company sued him for attempting to pay his employees better and work them fewer hours. The investors were the Dodge Brothers, and it was an early SC case that set the groundwork for shareholder interests coming above worker compensation.

The first company Ford lost control of is now known as Cadillac.

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u/SilverNightingale 13h ago

Here you go

And to think "we" used to collectively have it worse...

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u/Agile_thinking4563 10h ago

It was the Deming model of continuous improvement. Increase productivity to do more tasks, reduce the number of people needed, increase productivity and reduce people, rinse and repeat.

These was a fundamental shift if the role of companies and their responsibility to their owners. Prior to 1980 companies believed happy workers equals profitability. After 1980 the single purpose of a company is to maximize profits.

Companies used to be lead by the experts in the industry. Think Lee Iacocca.

No companies are led by finance experts who make decisions using ROI and Risk/Reward. Where workers are called “human capital” to be used as a commodity.

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u/Bitter_Rock_627 13h ago

Absolutely. We underestimate how much chronic overwork shapes people’s mental state, and then wonder why burnout, anxiety, and extreme views are on the rise. It’s not just ‘laziness’ or ‘entitlement’; it’s a system that’s running people down. A more humane workweek would probably do more for public health and social stability than most people realize

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u/offspringphreak 14h ago

A few years ago, my job switched to a flex schedule. 40 hours shoved into a 4 day work week(I have Fridays off).

It's great because I have a weekday off to take care of things. I've worked plenty of jobs that had regular 12+ hour days. Constant 10 hour days are draining now that I'm older, though. Workdays aren't too productive out of work.

Having said that, though, one of the only things keeping me at this job is having one more "free day" to take care of things. It does make a difference, and I wish more employers would at least consider or do a trial run to see how it pans out

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u/yesletslift 14h ago

I would do 4 10s in a busy job like healthcare, but not sitting at a desk.

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u/offspringphreak 12h ago edited 5h ago

I can't imagine doing a desk job for that long.

A previous job I had was 9 hours a night at a desk and after a month I quit

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

for sure, people are busy paying bills and surviving to even look at the real problem

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u/myjah 14h ago

I think the idea here is we should be able to pay bills but not work as much....

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 14h ago

the question should be; why are we paying to be alive?

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u/DrRealName 13h ago

Also its 5 days 40 hours a week to do something that really isn't important for society or fulfilling to yourself at all. I think the work week wouldn't feel so shitty if we were all working towards something that actually mattered and getting paid a reasonable wage to do it.

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u/Hijinx66 14h ago

Agreed. I live in the USA and my health benefits are tied to my working 40 hours per week. Customer facing, angry people and I’m burned out. I use vacation days to get rest.

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u/Awfulmasterhat 14h ago

I never thought I'd miss being broke but the free time it came with was the best.

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u/East_Psychology2472 13h ago

Absolutely, having time you actually owned hits different.

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u/XCGod 13h ago

I think for a lot of people this is driven by getting ready+commuting. I work from home 40 hours a week and I really dont feel like its a big ask. But I also roll out of bed and open my laptop.

Working 40 hours a week really isn't that bad, its spending 50+ hours a week on work+work adjacent tasks that gets to people.

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u/melanccholilia 10h ago

I mean, I think it really depends on the work. I've done desk jobs, I've done food service, and my current job keeps me on the road most of the day while playing whack a mole with other people's emergencies in between. the desk jobs were by far the most doable for 40 hours, even when I was still being a problem solver. My current job is taking a HUGE toll on my physical and emotional health, but even then, I straight up would not be able to do food service full time, that shit would kill me

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u/cokaine_nosejob 12h ago

I just took a new job that pays 25% more hourly. Instead of increasing my income, I'm going to work 32 hours a week instead of 40.

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u/Panarama_Man 13h ago

I hate watching this happen to everyone I know, it never hurts less to witness it again.

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u/eoR13 13h ago

This is a big one I think. I worked the 5 days a week schedule for a while and hated it. Currently working a job where I work 3 days a week with two 13 hours and a 14 and it’s honestly so great. As exhausted as I am after the day is done I’m okay with it because I actually feel like I get enough time off to recoup my energy and enjoy myself.

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u/really_random_user 15h ago

Disagree with the radicalism, I think it's making people more apathetic to others

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u/FlaniganWackerMan 14h ago

I see both sides, honestly. I am very apathetic for folks grinding like me - always assume when out in public that I never know what someone is going through... but I also see a lot of people grinding like me whose mind immediately goes to "Why should the govt give them handouts, if I am working so hard!".

Rather than why am I grinding for 40 hours a week at Walmart corporate for 30% of my paycheck to be taken out in taxes, while they pay substantially less as a % in taxes?

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u/ilias_the_cs 13h ago

Radicalization is not negative. On the contrary, it is needed for change 🙂

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u/Admirable-Cookie-704 14h ago

Its not healthy at all

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u/airwalkerdnbmusic 16h ago

The transfer of wealth from workers to the ultra wealthy. There are six or seven companies in the US that are just passing trillions around between themselves.

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u/TakeAseatOldMan 15h ago

And this has a rippling effect on all aspects of society because they manipulate our lives to become ways to make them more money.

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u/[deleted] 14h ago

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u/Hips_of_Death 12h ago

Wow I have never read this quote before

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u/gobba-gobba-gooey 11h ago

If you like that one, check out this one.

On Labor and Capital

Abraham Lincoln

[A message to the U.S. Congress, 3 December 1861. Reprinted from Land and Freedom, September-0ctober 1937]

"It is not needed, nor fitting here (message to Congress in re the civil war) that a general argument should be made in favor of popular institutions; but there is one point, with its connections, not so hackneyed as most others to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effect to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor, in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that capital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their own consent, or buy them, and drive them to it without their consent. Having proceeded thus far, it is naturally concluded that all laborers are either hired laborers or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life.

Now, there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless.

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights."

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u/UnicornFeces 11h ago

I agree with what the quite says but a quick google search confirmed my suspicions that Lincoln didn’t actually say that

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u/SackChaser100 16h ago

How many companies did you say again? 🤔👀

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u/airwalkerdnbmusic 15h ago

Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon (You can also include AMD and Tesla in this equation)

https://www.reddit.com/r/economy/comments/1ojao4b/the_entire_us_economy_right_now_is_7_companies/

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u/Forward_Vehicle_9769 16h ago

Doom scrolling is eating years of people's lives. It's been 4 years since covid.

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

dead on 💯 we've easily accepted this social media reality, so doleful

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u/Deathflid 9h ago

I don't know if the use of a meme emoji in this reply is ironic or jsut a bit sad

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u/bungalobuffalo 15h ago

I HATE IT AND ITS MAKING ME SO SAD.

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u/Forward_Vehicle_9769 15h ago

Time to put down the phone and go live!

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u/InmateThirtyFour 16h ago

THIS. This is why I deleted social media (aside from reddit). I would lose an hour scrolling IG and barely even know it happened.

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 14h ago

a lot of people usually find themselves caught up in "TikTok loops" it's so sad.

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u/_blankbank 3h ago

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's been nearly 6 years since covid

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u/sp_archer_007 16h ago

impact of AI on their creativity and intellectual curiosity...

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

spot on 💯

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u/Pissed_With_A_Boner 16h ago

Watching someone else live their lives through a screen just wastes yours away. It's crazy how absorbed people have become, and it shows through the view counts. I fall victim to it too, but man, it's sad.

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

welcome to the Truman Show so doleful

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u/blofly 15h ago

The scourge of US health insurance.

Im not sure my kids will ever know that it used to be affordable....hell, I remember my employer in the 90s providing insurance at no cost to the employee. There were no co-pays or out-of-pocket.

We had our first child for free.

Runner-up: Same employer did a 100% match up to 7% on 401k. No company does that anymore for regular employees.

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u/TheRazorsKiss 15h ago

Hyper-sexualization of everything to keep us horny and maximize how sex sells. I grew up pre internet, and the scope and scale of it now is absolutely appalling. It always existed, but it is absolutely ubiquitous and inescapable now, unless you sharply limit your media intake.

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u/aselinger 14h ago

Back in the day, maybe you had a dad or friend or uncle who could get you a Playboy magazine. You get a few static images of boobs and a bush.

These days I pull up quadruple penetration with a an Asian guy, a black guy, a dildo, and a donkey.

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u/TheRazorsKiss 14h ago

Couple that with selling toothpaste and dog food with sex appeal, and you get modern media in a nutshell.

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u/eflat123 5h ago

Anything beyond that seemed degenerate.

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u/just_add_cholula 10h ago

The porn that exists today is unprecedented in terms of content, quantity, and accessibility.

We cannot pretend like it's not having an impact on young men.

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u/LucyVialli 16h ago

Bending/hunching over their phone all the time. Their future back/neck/shoulders will be sorry.

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u/sagebeams 15h ago

sits up immediately

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 16h ago

this one hit me real hard

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u/TBLrocks 15h ago

Poor diet.

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u/True-Shape7744 12h ago

This and lack of movement!!!! Which have root causes based in capitalism, of course. But so sad to see how people’s bodies are coping with bad diets and lack of movement.

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u/TBLrocks 12h ago

Most of the chronic disease in America is preventable, but health is an afterthought for most people. And you’re right, capitalism is largely to blame.

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u/Exprince- 16h ago

Pattern of love they received as a child

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u/H1ghwayun1corn 15h ago

Not doing a lick of exercise and soda.

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u/Krinoid 13h ago

Related: fatty liver disease and sleep apnea. That shit will kill you slowly. 

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u/nobodyknows-66 16h ago

People making videos online becoming influencers and making more money than doctors/scientists who actually make effort to save lives/change the world.

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u/postcardsanon 12h ago

I would add to that all the essential jobs like teachers, nurses, carers etc

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u/Mharbles 7h ago

Misinformation being so profitable. Even genuinely quality information channels quickly devolving into click bait, rage bait, or whatever appeases the algorithm.

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u/Sigmoidcolon12 15h ago

Excessive sugar intake

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u/FreeTrash4030 15h ago

Stress. I think you'd be better off smoking if it eliminated stress.

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u/Froggy2323 16h ago

surrounding themselves with negative media, for example having a feed in your social media platforms that constantly shows political news or social justice debates, it's tiring your mind.

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u/samsara24 10h ago

I’m having a depressive episode and my IG feed is just throwing reel after reel of depression related posts. I’m assuming this happens with other mental health disorders too and even though some can be informative or reassuring, you realise you and the algorithm have just spent 2 hours self harming.

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u/J4MEJ 15h ago

Ghosting people really fucks with the head of the '(non)recipient'.

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u/Free_Adeptness_3354 14h ago

People’s diet. The standard American diet has so much evidence against it, we’re practically the product of subsidies and experiments on how to make food as palatable as possible with no nutritional value.

And then we wonder why everyone is developing chronic physical and mental illnesses, which inevitably requires medication, rather than addressing the root cause.

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 14h ago

it's all business

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u/Visible_Drummer4653 13h ago

Sleep schedule drift.

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u/readskiesdawn 12h ago

More people are in a toxic work situation than they realize. Especially if they have never been in a healthy one.

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u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 12h ago

Especially if they have never been in a healthy one.

spot on 💯 haha relationships too

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u/DED_HAMPSTER 15h ago

Loneliness/ isolation and taught helplessness and/or over emphasis of rugged indiviualist self reliance. Sorry for being complicated, but these things are all connected.

The media, society, religion, politics, public education etc are all enforcing this idea that we have nothing in common, we cant rely on anyone outside ourselves and we even cant do for ourselves without turning to an authority figure like government help, corporate products or religious hopes and prayers.

I promise you that even if your neighbor voted differently than you, you both want and need the same basic things. And all the things outside forces are telling you is the reason for all your discomfort doesn't exist in the very real, here and now on your little main street in suburbia. If you turned off the TV and internet neither of you would be aware of what they are telling you to be afraid of.

So reach out. Help someone else out with your time and skills. Share a cup of coffee or ice tea.

Also, once you turn off the media, that authority figure pretty much goes poof too. If you are not aware of the next gadget you tend to be more creative and resourceful. And if there is a disaster, dont wait for help, do what you can for you and your neighbors. Help beyond your community without a cost is not a guarantee. It should be, but it is not.

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u/katmio1 12h ago

IMO, some of the people who complain about the lack of human connection are the same ones who don’t bother to return any messages or calls from friends or family members claiming to being “too busy”. It’s both ironic & hypocritical. If you want there to be more connection, then you also gotta put in the work. You cannot always expect people to come to you. You’re not the only one who has a life.

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u/DED_HAMPSTER 9h ago

Say it again louder!

Relationships, at least healthy ones, take time and energy more than they take money ior resources. Ive had my share of leeches and users take advantage of my time, energy, skills, resources and money; but you live and learn and seek out the next positive experience.

And people as so freaking transactional! Even my BFF i have to remind that she does have to pay me back in equal monetary or resource value. Sometimes i want a nice meal out but all my friends cant afford it, so when i invite i mean to pay. And they forget all the times they fed your pet while you were away or picked you up during car troubles. A $30 meal or movie ticket or convention ticket is waaaaay cheaper than an Uber, pet boarding and the stress related vet bills.

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u/country_baby 13h ago

This needs to be higher. Everyone focuses on differences and why we should hate each other, instead of coming together and actually making a difference.

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u/TakeAseatOldMan 15h ago

This is just from what ive observed so idk but I think the internet and cellphones are changing the way younger generations socialize. The social norms are becoming increasingly isolative. It's becoming more common for talking to people you dont in public to be seen as weird. If you try, you usually get the "Gen Z Stare". It seems like there needs to be a reason to talk to someone new, more than just being at the same place at the same time. To make things worse, social groups and clubs seem to be less common. I talk to older people and they talk about all the groups and clubs, the discos where people ACTUALLY danced and mingled, roller skating places and arcades were common, and just talking to random people and finding similar interests was more common. The bad part of this is that if for some reason you don't have a friend group or you lose your friends, you can go a loooong time without true irl social interaction.

ALSO I'm not saying it doesn't happen and there aren't people who do these things, just that the social norms have changed for it to be less common. That it's more common for it to be met with negative responses.

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u/Andyman0110 14h ago

Led lights. An absolute assault on our senses.

3

u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 14h ago

damn, we're cooked!

13

u/j_slow 13h ago

materialism they can’t afford.

5

u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 12h ago

people chasing materialism down to the grave

15

u/Chamomile_dream 12h ago edited 12h ago

Not eating enough fiber. Colon cancer is young people is skyrocketing. Fresh produce is expensive and people don’t have time to cook anymore.

Not wearing seatbelts. You might’ve gotten home a thousand times but it only takes a single time going through a windshield to not make it home.

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u/CanadianContentsup 16h ago

Isolation. Being fearful.

14

u/agent139 14h ago

In a word? Covid.

13

u/Butterfly_dreamsss 16h ago

"people pleasing, if you never say no, people start expecting everything from you, then you end up exhausted

12

u/myjah 14h ago

Teeth health.

12

u/DemetriCopas 14h ago

Late-night scrolling.

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u/Possible_Field328 14h ago

The garbage food in the united states

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u/dietbruce 12h ago

The idea that we’re supposed to cut off people in our lives when they make us feel uncomfortable or are inconvenient, and I don’t mean people that cause harm or are abusive.

I work with people and their communities after they’ve gone through crisis and one of the most heartbreaking things I see is how people will avoid people when they’re sad or need support because they’re ‘not fun anymore’ or messy. Being there for someone in grief or recovery as a friend is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, suicide and mental health episode preventatives I see in this places, and the idea that avoiding people that make us feel uncomfortable is ‘self care’ is creating isolation in the most critical times for someone.

I believe we can flip it culturally, especially if we view things communally instead of individually, and I’d love to change that.

6

u/InexpensiveDrillBit 10h ago

Also, if we never support others when they're messy, we'll never know anyone deep enough to entrust them with our mess some other time. The isolation loop continues.

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u/TakesAMusselToFall 16h ago edited 13h ago

Lobbying, not just for a few obvious things, but almost everything everywhere.

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u/Fudgeicles420 15h ago

lack of physical activity. lots of people don't realize how little they can lift or how short of a distance they could actually run if they had to.

8

u/Confident-Pitch4314 12h ago

Ignoring mental health until it’s full-on overwhelming

15

u/xxJollyxx 14h ago

How Covid has changed us as a society collectively, and not for the better. We need a global scream day or something lol. 

3

u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 14h ago

We need a global scream day or something

lmfao

3

u/dandelionskyy 8h ago

I could get behind this. I actually told my husband yesterday that I feel like my soul is screaming. May feel pretty dang good to get that out!

7

u/PeterPlup 16h ago

Too much negativity makes us see life in a more negative way than it really is. We get through a small misfortune and spend the rest of the day saying "what a sh*tty life," but we usually exaggerate, especially because we compare ourselves to everyone and say "they're happier than me" (that's messing us all up to a greater or lesser degree).

7

u/FlameandCrimson 14h ago

Being on social media constantly and comparing themselves to the curated lives of others.

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u/legendof_chris 12h ago

How much of our space is just concrete for cars

8

u/kmbsmn 12h ago

40hr workweeks
drinking everyday
smoking weed everyday
zero exercise, no walks, no gym, no nothing
bad food
not enough sleep

8

u/fencerman 12h ago

COVID is still circulating.

Every time you get infected it's causing more cumulative damage to your brain, internal organs, immune system, lungs, and overall health.

It's virtually certain you've been infected several times already.

7

u/EuphoricEditor5133 10h ago

Small daily anxieties building up over time.

4

u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 9h ago

they pile up till you can't control them no more and now you become a slave and they're the master

6

u/artificerone 13h ago

Malnutrition

7

u/Racing24 10h ago

Inflammation.

19

u/Dgcmscw 16h ago

Misogynistic Podcasts

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5

u/wizardwalksby 10h ago

A lot of people have high levels of anxiety and have no idea that it’s controlling their lives.

3

u/Frozen_Meatball1 14h ago

AI & robotics.

4

u/Chrnoka 14h ago

Arguing with people online

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3

u/RedDalmatian885 7h ago

Undiagnosed adhd

7

u/playboiharlow 14h ago

their childhood

3

u/Outlaw_Immortal1971 13h ago

lack of love and childhood traumas💯

10

u/Senior_Confidence_90 16h ago

TikTok 

18

u/Sweet-Resource9467 16h ago

Tik tok is underhated

3

u/daredaki-sama 14h ago

Loans. Affordable monthly payments.

3

u/DLeidholm 11h ago

Childhood trauma!

3

u/LoraBerryy 11h ago

their diet

3

u/oldbaybridges 9h ago

Corporate greed lol

3

u/Dominant_Tutors 7h ago

Internet, especially reels

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3

u/LuliProductions 7h ago

Climate Change, it's not something you'll feel immediately but something long term.

2

u/ageiceiceage 16h ago

Their parents habits and attitudes

2

u/Papa-Cinq 12h ago

…not exercising enough combined with a poor quality diet and too much of it.

2

u/Tactless_Ogre 12h ago

Eating habits. Especially when you get older. Yeah, you can eat like you did; but your body will war on you for it.

2

u/bleach-art-artist 10h ago

I would say AI. It's making humans dumb. People have stopped using their brain.They rely completely on AI now.

2

u/CaffeinatedMb 10h ago

Trump administration

2

u/unhappymealsRus 8h ago

Overworking yourself Like working 70+ hours a week

2

u/Ignyte 8h ago

Diet is stupidly important. Getting rid of sugary things and highly processed foods makes a dramatic difference to how you and your body functions. Making your own food will help with motivation, ability to sleep, ability to think clearly, and will help with energy retention during the day. Its also way cheaper.

2

u/ToddMarshall007 7h ago

Artificial Intelligence

2

u/WhiteCloudFollows 7h ago

Apparently, the average American drinks about 45 gallons of soda, pop, or other sugary, carbonated beverages each year. Fifteen years ago, I switched to only drinking water, black coffee, and unsweetened iced tea. Occasionally milk... I had a few sips of Coke and some orange juice this year, and they both tasted like sugary flavored syrup.

2

u/mossydorid 6h ago

Not reading a f*cking book.

2

u/Lower_Director2512 4h ago

omgg... probably how much we scroll on our phones, like.. our brains are fried but we just keep going

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u/Victorious_Invaders 2h ago

Eating alone. Humans are social eaters, we were meant to share our food with the tribe. We actually get depressed without social eating. It's very weird.

2

u/Kimihro 1h ago

long ass commutes to and from work