Why are people these days so whiny?

I hate to break this to you, OP. There is still starvation, there's still genocide, there are still endless wars, women are still trapped in abusive marriages, people are still murdered for being gay. There are still many forms of modern slavery, and forced marriages continue to occur globally. Do you live under a rock?

Beats me, I'm a Jew. My people's affinity for complaining has held pretty steady for around 5,000 years now.

People have always bee whiny, it's just that we now have social media to air out all that noise 24/7.

People have become really soft and whiney. I notice it’s even over small physical things like weather too. It’s interesting to think about why this has happened.

R1 So why don’t the people whining about microaggressions understand this?

It's almost like you've never even watched The Gilded Age, OP. As a species, we have demonstrated a remarkable ability to endlessly discover new things to be offended by. It's basically the 6th unspoken Maslow's need.

Social media.

We reward victimization now.

Sir, this is a Wendy’s.

OP is a whiner, whining about whiners. No irony. 🤡👍

OP’s point is that there are many who aren’t experiencing anything at the level of the things he listed, but who whine about small things (compared to those things) and don’t appreciate how much better off they are compared to the people of yesteryear.

OP, is there any chance you grew up in one of those families that believed there was no such thing as "depression"--only people who weren't playing enough squash?

Modern social media, OP.

It makes people envious, even if what they're seeing from influencers is fake and a disaster for this planet.

Can't afford every fucking Leboooboooooo creepy doll? You're obviously oppressed because you're _____.

Consume, cry, and scream. That's what most social media sites are about.

OP, it could be said that you are meta-whining.

Remember Pollyanna and Covkeyed Optimist from South Pacific. These cheerful people were looked on as outliers. I think negative grumps have always predominated.

When I see someone fussing and emoting on social media about small shit, it reminds me of the scene in Spinal Tap when Nigel is on camera having a hilariously whiny tantrum about the size and shape of the finger sandwiches.

Thank God you arrived, R11, to explain it so clearly. I've got quite low IQ, like many in the Lounge, so I really struggled to understand OP's point. You're doing important work, and we dunces deeply appreciate it.

People have always whined constantly, but they used to just do it in person with family and friends. Complaining is still a pretty strong social bonding activity among my elderly family members.

It all goes back to how you were raised. If you were raised by parents who whined about things they didn't like you are likely to end up the same sort of whiner. I see that far more in people who were raised in privileged homes. People who are raised in under-privileged households tend to be more accepting of what they do have and not whine about the things they don't have. Of course there are always exceptions to those rules.

….because Oprah made TMI a virtue

[quote]Beats me, I'm a Jew. My people's affinity for complaining has held pretty steady for around 5,000 years now.

"The food here is terrible."

"I know, and such small portions."

With social media, everything is performative.

I also blame the ranking culture of social media. We’re asked to rank everything. How as your visit? How was your ride? How was your purchase? People have been trained to constantly evaluate every moment. It’s exhausting. I refuse to rank or rate anything for a company. I’m not participating in their sales algorithms.