The World Is Getting Better, But We Expect More: How Social Media and News Shape Our Perception
It’s a paradox of our time: the world is improving in many ways, yet we often feel like it’s falling apart. Why does this happen? Much of it comes down to our expectations and how information is delivered to us. Social media, news outlets, and even our natural biases play significant roles in shaping this perception.
1. The Rising Bar of Expectations
By almost every measurable standard, the world is improving. Advances in healthcare, technology, and living standards have lifted millions out of poverty and reduced suffering globally. However, as progress is made, our expectations rise. What we used to celebrate as groundbreaking now feels ordinary. When everything gets better, we demand even more. It’s a double-edged sword of human ambition.
Social media amplifies this effect. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok show us the highlight reels of other people’s lives. We compare ourselves to these curated realities and feel inadequate, even if we are better off than we were a decade ago. The constant exposure to others’ successes raises the bar for what we consider “good enough.”
2. Bad News Sells, and That’s By Design
Traditional media outlets and social platforms prioritize bad news because it captures attention. This isn’t just sensationalism; it’s rooted in our psychology. Humans are wired to notice threats more than neutral or positive information. It’s a survival mechanism that has followed us into the digital age.
This focus on bad news isn’t inherently wrong. Think of it like an alert system in engineering tools like Datadog. Alerts are triggered by problems, not when everything is working smoothly. Similarly, media alerts us to societal issues, crises, and injustices. While this is crucial for awareness and accountability, it skews our perception, making the world seem worse than it actually is.
3. The Maturity Gap in Handling Information
The problem often isn’t the news itself, but how we respond to it. Many of us lack the emotional and intellectual maturity to process the constant stream of information in a healthy way. This immaturity can manifest in panic, anxiety, or unproductive blame.
Drawing another parallel to engineering culture, immature teams tend to panic and point fingers during incidents. Mature teams, on the other hand, approach problems collaboratively, focusing on solutions and conducting retrospectives to learn from mistakes. We need to adopt a similar mindset when dealing with negative news: acknowledge it, address it, and use it as a stepping stone for improvement.
4. Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword
While social media can inspire and inform, it often distorts our reality. Algorithms are designed to prioritize engagement, not balance. Content that evokes strong emotions—fear, outrage, envy—tends to get the most clicks and shares. This creates echo chambers and amplifies negativity, even when positive trends far outweigh the negatives.
Moreover, social media fosters a culture of constant comparison. Instead of focusing on our progress, we measure ourselves against others, often leading to dissatisfaction and a skewed sense of reality.
5. What We’re Missing: Celebrating Progress
One major oversight in our culture is the lack of celebration for the progress we’ve made. News outlets rarely highlight incremental improvements because they don’t grab attention. Yet, these small wins add up over time. Consider these:
- Global poverty has declined dramatically. In 1990, 36% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty; today, it’s less than 10%.
- Life expectancy has increased. Breakthroughs in medicine and sanitation have added years to human life.
- Technological innovations have made the world more connected, efficient, and accessible.
Recognizing these achievements doesn’t mean ignoring the problems we face. Instead, it helps us maintain perspective and balance.
6. The Role of Personal Responsibility
Ultimately, how we perceive the world is within our control. Here are steps we can take:
- Curate your information diet. Follow credible sources that offer balanced perspectives. Limit exposure to sensational or overly negative content.
- Practice gratitude. Reflect on the progress in your own life and the world around you. It’s easy to overlook the good when you’re bombarded with bad news.
- Develop emotional resilience. Learn to process negative information constructively. Focus on what you can control and contribute to solutions instead of dwelling on problems.
Conclusion
The world is undeniably getting better, but our expectations, fueled by social media and sensationalized news, make it hard to see. We need to recalibrate how we consume and respond to information. By celebrating progress, handling bad news maturely, and curbing the negative influence of comparison, we can gain a more accurate and hopeful perspective of the world. The choice is ours: will we focus on the alerts or the improvements?
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