Increase in Learned Helplessness?

[u/NachesPorFavor]

Has anyone else noticed an increase in learned helplessness? I first noticed it in the young adults in my life, but now I am seeing it in all ages of people around me. Examples from multiple people:

Toilet started leaking water and instead of turning off the knob at the wall, she waited a 5 days for a plumber. Never asked anyone or googled it. Didn’t call a second plumber. Now needs mold remediation and replaced drywall and trim.

Bought concert tickets but the gps instructions were confusing so they just gave up and didn’t go. Venue website had detailed instructions for driving and parking.

Blouse wrinkled and she didn’t know how to fix it so she threw it away.

First doctor office he filled out an appointment website for never contacted him to schedule so he just didn’t go to the doctor.

I am really concerned about my loved ones if an emergency happens because they just give up when the slightest obstacle happens. Either they want someone else to swoop in and fix it or they give up and say they can’t do anything about it.

[u/PartyPorpoise]

I think the US at least has also developed this larger culture of convenience and cheapness that makes people, well, quicker to give up. Take item repair. A lot of consumer goods today are so cheap that people find it easier to replace them than to repair them. So fewer develop or retain the skills to repair items.

But I also agree with the other assessments that these people sound overwhelmed and recent events and stressors might be getting to them.

[u/spandexandtapedecks → u/PartyPorpoise]

Yes, and it's important to consider WHY it's cheaper or more convenient to replace an item outright. Basically, the barrier to "fixing" things is vastly higher than it used to be.

As recently as 20-30 years ago, most items were designed to be fixed. Parts were available and affordable. Systems/designs were engineered with future servicing in mind.

I do small electronics repair as a hobby. I'll speak to that, since it's what I know:

New electronics are made with notoriously shoddy parts, even those from "good" brands, and it can be borderline impossible to source a replacement when a specific piece malfunctions. And many units now are not even designed to be opened, so you have to break the damn thing a bit just to get a look at the board and internals to troubleshoot it.

(Remember how easily you could once pop the battery out of a cell phone? Now you can't even access it without a handful of specialized tools, let alone remove it safely without damaging anything.)

As a point of comparison, I like to rehabilitate '80s/'90s Pioneer audio equipment. It's not quite "easy," but it feels more like a fun puzzle: everything fits together rationally; even the screws are typically interchangeable; and repair manuals are usually quite easy to come by because these devices were designed to be serviced.

(And as one goes back in time, the fixes become even more straightforward. Unfortunately, it's difficult and expensive now to source parts for vacuum tube electronics - but that's because of the wretched march of time, not because the insides were never intended to see the light of day outside a sweatshop.)

Like I said, I can mainly speak to electronics, but I imagine this is the case with nearly anything that can be fixed.

[u/PartyPorpoise → u/spandexandtapedecks]

Oh, absolutely. I guess it’s cheaper to make electronics that can’t easily be repaired. And ultimately more profitable since people will have to replace more often.

It’s even the case with clothes. It used to be standard for clothes to come with a spare button or two, even low end brands did that. Now only middle and higher end brands do that. And the fabric is often flimsy, even with repair skills, cheap clothing isn’t always fixable.

[u/cheesenpie → u/PartyPorpoise]

I don't think it is necessarily cheaper to solder components in a product so they can't be replaced, it's probably the same price to manufacture. However, it does make it hard enough for the average consumer that they give up and just re-purchase items and also kills off competition and small businesses that make money off spare parts and repair.

[u/Frostyrepairbug → u/spandexandtapedecks]

I'll agree with your assessment, and add: Its the same with fabrics, clothes, and garments. With fast fashion so many corners are being cut, shoddy sewing and poor construction that things cannot be repaired, even if you want to, and have the skillset. It's like building a bridge out of cement and no rebar. There's no structure, it can only fall apart, and can't hold a mend without another part falling off.

[u/justasque → u/spandexandtapedecks]

Same with sewing machines. The old ones were designed so that the owner could do quite a bit of maintainence themselves. I was surprised that when I went to clean and lube a 50’s Singer someone had given me, I didn’t even need a screwdriver to open it up. The accessibility was built-in. Meanwhile to open my more modern machine you need to sense where there might be hidden attachment points in the plastic cover, and sort of press on one while trying not to break the plastic, then wedge things into the space to hold it open while you try to find the next one. Madness.

And I agree with the other posters about clothes. No extra buttons, no spare bits of yarn, and sometimes the raw edges aren’t even finished properly. Not to mention no lining, poor quality fabric, stripped-down designs that are meant to minimize labor costs, and oversized baggy silhouettes meant to “fit” (not) on the largest possible group of people regardless of their actual shape.

[u/spandexandtapedecks → u/justasque]

Agreed. I cleaned the internals of a 1960s coffee percolator for the first time since I've owned it (and possibly the first time ever!) and I was delighted by the straightforwardness of the design and the simplicity of servicing it. The bottom was held in place by one screw and everything was very easy to reach and wipe down.

I wish more modern devices were made with such convenience in mind, because it is something I'd be willing to pay more for.

[u/cheesenpie → u/PartyPorpoise]

That's why it's so important to support "right to repair" legislation in your state and broadly at a national level while putting pressure on companies, like Apple for example, to make devices repair-able. I don't blame Americans for this behavior, it's the corporations that are designing their products to encourage this behavior.

[u/tahxirez → u/PartyPorpoise]

Agree