Has conflict turned into entertainment?

[LightAngel]

Because drama has become an unhealthy addiction to some people.

Peace feels like a void. When someone is used to chaos, quiet feels like something are "wrong" so they fill it with shit instead of something productive.

This is again another way to kill humanity and their potential!

What's interesting is that some people don't even realize that they are caught in the cycle - they just feel "bored" when things are peaceful, so they unconsciously stir something up.

[sahgwa]

It's like conflict has turned into entertainment, and negativity spreads faster than anything meaningful.

Outrage gets attention, kindness gets ignored, and the loudest voices drown out the ones trying to make things better.

Meanwhile, real suffering is happening in the background.

Creatures are being used and abused.

People are hurting quietly.

Humanity feels like it's being pulled into something darker (not by a supernatural force), but by an appetite for chaos and distraction.



I am not talking about people from this forum because I feel most of us here just want to find the truth, and I think that is beautiful.

I would argue that the world has always been this way.
Conflict has always sold. Remember the Coliseum? 

Now it's just more INSTANT and in your face in the media.

But, we live with FAR less ACTUAL violence in our lives than anyone did 200 years ago or older.

[argentus]

Part of it -- the attraction to conflict -- is us, how we have evolved as a society and people.   

Item:  Reality TV.   All these programs that have become popular.   Why are they popular?  Answer:  If there were no conflict, no strife, they would be boring.    That is the juice that draws us.   I don't want you all to think I hold myself above it.   I'm just the same;  it hasn't been so long ago that my Darlin' was watching 'Housewives of New Jersey' and I commented that it would be much more popular if they'd go to the ground now and then, with ripped clothing and everything.   The real base of people, or at least of myself.  

I think it roots in our feeling of vulnerability and helplessness.   I think we see these things and compare them to ourselves, and feel glad that we aren't in that particular shit.   I don't know about where you live, but where I live, when somebody dies, everyone seems to want to distance themselves from the conditions that caused it:    "Oh he died of a stroke.   You  know, he was so heavy."  or "The cancer got him.  You know he smoked most of his life."   

Most of us are frightened creatures, not so far as we would wish from the cave-dwellers who shared our genes so many hundreds of thousands/perhaps milllions of years ago.   Some of us, regretfully, take comfort in the measure of other people's grief that doesn't applly to us.  Yet.  I think we are much less evolved than we would care to examine.  

There have been various forays into "good news" networks/channels.   None of them have been very successful.   Why?  I cannot answer that.   

Every morning, I watch KGO channel 7 San Francisco.   I enjoy the local news, even though it is nearly 3,000 miles away. I enjoy Drew Tuma, the local weatherman, for his humour and his ability to relay complex weather ideals in lay language.   I also watch BBC and Newsmax.    I toggle between all three for 1/2 hour, and then I'm done with the news.   I feel almost as if it is my obligation to bear witness to history unfolding.  I hit the wall much sooner than I used to.   I can take only so much. 

Selah.

[LightAngel]

We are wired to notice danger, but we are not meant to live in nonstop drama!

The mind can be trained to look for progress and hope.   

What we focus on becomes the world we experience.

Choose the things that lift you, not the things that drain you. 

[Blackfingers]

Started in the Vietnam conflict where footage was used to create a narrative.PR goes back a looong way though.

[andy06shake]

Started in the Vietnam conflict where footage was used to create a narrative.PR goes back a looong way though.

That war was pivotal because TV brought the graphic footage and carnage into people's homes.

Which pretty much helped shape public perception of the conflict in near enouth real time.

[andy06shake]

We are wired to notice danger, but we are not meant to live in nonstop drama!

The mind can be trained to look for progress and hope.   

What we focus on becomes the world we experience.

Choose the things that lift you, not the things that drain you. 

I suppose from a psychological perspective.

Negativity bias makes us notice threats more.

We can't always avoid conflict through.

Not if we wish to see the world for what it is.

And that's a battlefield....not a playground.

[Shadow]

Now it's just more INSTANT and in your face in the media.

Very true thanks to social media and the toxicity it creates.

But, we live with FAR less ACTUAL violence in our lives than anyone did 200 years ago or older.

Also true, but it does feel like humanity is devolving.

[andy06shake]

Also true, but it does feel like humanity is devolving.

Feels a bit like one step forward...two steps back these days.

At least where certain aspects of life are concerned.

I mean, when I was a lad, we were promised Moon and Mars bases by now in the books and magazines. LoL

What did we get....Tinternet.

Canny complain i suppose, as it did open up the world and bring down certain barriers.

But it also put some up, and changed the world, arguably for the worse in certain respects...

[quintessentone]

We are wired to notice danger, but we are not meant to live in nonstop drama!

The mind can be trained to look for progress and hope.   

What we focus on becomes the world we experience.

Choose the things that lift you, not the things that drain you. 

I do sometimes wonder about whether living in any societal framework does indeed mean for us to live in a constant state of stress. Some stress is good as it elevates our energies, whereas other types of stressors are unhealthy. Throw in the realization of the horrors of war, one's powerlessness to control government missteps, and its direct or indirect effects felt in one's life along with the day-to-day stressors then we are or can be overwhelmed and dragged down even further.

----------

"Yes, societal frameworks create stress by establishing structural inequalities, cultural expectations, and institutional demands that individuals must navigate.  Sociologists define stress as an imbalance between social demands and individual resources, meaning that one’s position within the social hierarchy directly influences their exposure to and ability to cope with stressors. 
Key mechanisms through which societal frameworks generate stress include:

• Structural Inequality: Disparities in class, race, and gender determine access to resources like healthcare and economic stability. Marginalized groups often face "minority stress" from systemic discrimination and lack the social capital to buffer against chronic stress. 
  
• Cultural Norms and Conformity: Societal pressures to conform to rigid standards of beauty, success, and gender roles create internal conflict and anxiety. The expectation of constant productivity or adherence to traditional milestones can lead to burnout and feelings of inadequacy. 
  
• Institutional Demands: Institutions such as the workplace, education system, and family structures impose specific roles and expectations. For example, the "second shift" of unpaid domestic labor for women or the pressure on students to compete academically are institutional stressors embedded in social organization. 
  
• Social Hierarchy: Lower socioeconomic status is linked to higher exposure to environmental stressors, such as neighborhood violence and food insecurity, creating a cycle where disadvantage leads to chronic stress, which in turn can exacerbate mental and physical health issues. 
  

Ultimately, stress is not merely an individual psychological response but a socially mediated phenomenon shaped by the broader dynamics of power, inequality, and cultural expectations." (LLM)