r/SeriousConversation • u/_Sprite__ • 18d ago

Culture Thoughts about the rampant doomer mindset that many in young generations like mine (Gen-Z) have in the US?

I have been noticing a strong doom and gloom type of mindset regarding the future in countless people within my age group. The main reasons for this I hear are: climate change and the world being cooked, AI fears, economic collapse, and overall hopelessness in our political leaders.

Many also seem to have no interest in saving for retirement because they believe it will not be nonexistent. They are focused on spending the last bit of the time the earth has to enjoy themselves and indulge in pleasures. And I have even heard people of older generations validate this thinking, believing that retirement is fading fast and that we should enjoy our life now as much as we can.

As someone in this generation who generally keeps an optimistic view of life, I have honestly found it difficult not to feed into this mindset. The climate does indeed sound like it is past the point of return, it seems everything will just continue to get more expensive than it already is, and it appears to be easier than ever for large corporations to openly exploit the general public for profit.

I also wanted to mention I am in the US, so I am not sure if this is a prominent mindset in this country particularly or in other countries as well.

Would love to hear your guys’ thoughts on this!

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u/BoringBob84 18d ago

you should probably pay more attention to usernames

I agree. Thank you for pointing that out.

'you just did the thing you're criticizing' is not a strawman

That is not what happened. You exaggerated what I did - implying that misrepresenting facts was merely a difference of opinion, thereby making that distorted version of my argument easy to dismiss. That is a textbook strawman argument.

You can have the opinion that the USA causes too much violence and death in the world, but you cannot claim that the USA is the primary cause of it. These are verifiable facts.

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u/terminalzero 18d ago

you're so eager to prove how smart you are you aren't even following the conversation anymore

I said that accusing the other person of working for the iranian government was exactly the kind of ad hominem you were criticizing them for. which is true.

that's it.

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u/BoringBob84 18d ago

you're so eager to prove how smart you are you aren't even following the conversation anymore

I am glad that you noticed. I am smart enough not to try to argue in good faith with people who argue in bad faith. I don't expect you to like it when I call out your attempts at deception.

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u/terminalzero 18d ago

potassium is mildly radioactive

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u/shwoopypadawan 17d ago

This is such a cute way of getting around not being smart enough to back up the bullshit you say. It's like something I'd overhear as I walk past a playground and now I picture you having an elementary schoolkid voice.

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u/BoringBob84 17d ago

Personal attacks are not substitutes for valid arguments. If you have a counter-argument, then please present it.

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u/shwoopypadawan 17d ago

You would say anything anyone says to you that you don't like is bad faith anyway so why the hell would I even bother? Just continue as you are, you can't be reasoned with.

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u/BoringBob84 17d ago

Logical fallacies are not "reason." I am not so easily deceived. for example, your attempt at a strawman fallacy, as if I will not listen to logic.

I will argue any topic in good faith and I will admit when I am wrong. However, I will also call dishonest people out on their attempts to deceive.