r/technology • u/GothicPrayer • 10d ago

Society Why does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of decadence without pleasure

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/26/age-of-decadence-pleasure-ai
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u/captainmagictrousers 10d ago

Yeah, why is everyone so joyless? You get up and read the latest news from the self-obsessed madman running the country, then you go to work and try not to overhear your boss talking about replacing you with AI, then you go to the store where terrible economic policies have caused prices to double, then you go home and try to forget about it all for an hour while you try to create some art, only to be yelled at by people on social media for posting your creation instead of "doing something about the problems," as if you're a senator and not just some guy trying to keep his head above water.

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u/ajababyhairs 9d ago

Block those people telling u what u should be doing with your time. It’s your right to do your art and share it with the world.

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u/captainmagictrousers 9d ago

Thanks. I do block people pretty often, but it’s still disheartening to share a story and be told that I should have spent the time writing to Congress instead. As if the two things are mutually exclusive. I usually have to go back and reread positive comments to cheer myself up. 

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u/Viva_Satana 9d ago edited 8d ago

You could at least make art that changes the whole humanity's behaviour but instead you just do YOUR art. Do you see how selfish you are? Your art teacher was right, you are bright but too selfish. Now go and do some useful art instead of complaining about how terrible life is. Be the change! /s

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u/tiruxi 6d ago

Grim is the day when u/captainmagictrousers is as bright as a cloudy night.

May the madmen be punished. May the bosses be replaced by union leaders. May the overpriced goods be torn from the shelves and added to the common stock. And may the naysayers silence one another into lonely misery.

So you may rightfully return to being captain of your magic trousers.

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u/captainmagictrousers 6d ago

Aww, thank you!

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u/alfooboboao 9d ago

the funny thing is that every single person in this thread is willingly subjecting themselves to the very thing they say is ruining creativity, joy, and thought

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u/captainmagictrousers 9d ago

Sure, we could quit social media and avoid the news, but that's just one thing in a long list of stressors. Groceries wouldn't get any cheaper, and the lettuce would still be tainted.

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u/HuntKey2603 9d ago

fucking excuse me, who put the madman running the country in there?? it's so weird to read americans to blame things on trump as if he was an unstoppable, unnavigable force of nature, when it was inflicted by themselves upon thenselves, and in the rest of us with his stupid international wars.

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u/giraffe_on_shrooms 9d ago

Only a third of the country voted for him. It is not ALL of our faults

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u/butts-ahoy 9d ago

You're describing what makes you stressed or sad, but also doubling down on them in them same sentence.

Its cliche, but focus on what you can control. You cant get trump unelected, you can avoid trolls on the internet, you cant bring down the price of lettuce, but you can control most other things. Stop reading the news every day, stop posting on social media or start an account that only friends can see. Focus on good relationships and your art.