Technology

I buy groceries without checking a review, try local activities without checking reviews, etc.—I'm not exactly paralyzed. But something that costs a decent chunk of money I am absolutely checking a review and I don't think that is wrong to do. The trouble with checking reviews nowadays is how easy they are to fake, how easy it is to get a genuine negative review deleted on certain sites, how a person who has it out for a small business owner can flood them with untrue negative reviews, how often they are gamed in some way such that it does not reflect the true quality of the thing…

Conversations with strangers… I'll be honest that's a hard one because I'm not good at social cues and I don't want to think I'm having a nice conversation when the other half is composing a OH MY GOD STUPID FUCKING EXTROVERTS THE WORLD HATES INTROVERTS CAN'T THEY TELL I DON'T WANT TO TALK story in their head about me (being extroverted and having autism where you suck at social cues and know you suck at social cues is not a fun combination). I learned this behavior after seeing people express annoyance about strangers talking to them. Some things are obvious, like if you're occupied with a book, but nowadays who isn't occupied on their phone? I have had plenty of situations where I was on my phone but would have loved if someone started conversation with me—but I might be an anomaly so I just keep following the social rule of "occupied = don't talk". If I'm in a space where I think someone is open to socialization I am much more likely to initiate conversation—like a party or something. I'm not afraid of "sorry, not interested," but I am afraid of "yeah I'm cool with you" (actually no I'm not but I'll never tell you I have a problem with you until I blow up about it 6 months later).

I like quick and easy access to 911 or a locksmith's number in case I leave the house and lock myself out and cannot find the spare key but there are other reasons I leave the house with a phone than risk aversion/insurance for screwups I have committed before—for directions, or because it's nice to have a thing that staves away boredom if I know I'll probably be sitting in a line for 30 minutes, or because I have a digital wallet on there that is easier to carry around than my real wallet…

The issue with those metrics is how many other things can motivate those behaviors besides being scared of everything, or factors that make what might be an unreasonable fear for most people actually reasonable for you (for example, a phobia of bees suddenly becomes a lot more reasonable if you are deathly allergic, live near them, and aren't good at recognizing their hives/are accident-prone), but I do get the core of what you are saying. A generation who is more anxious about basic everyday things, which is definitely not good.

Although with checking reviews specifically, I'd argue that given how many times companies lower quality, change stuff, pull the rug out from under you in the name of profit, people have more and more cause to try to verify they are getting something decent when they would not have done so in the past. The more you hear of people getting screwed over, naturally the more you'll check to make sure you are not getting screwed too. This increased risk aversion is entirely rational in my opinion.

There are gradients to risk-aversion, and that's certainly on the low end of the spectrum. But also, those same parents were the ones who were actively rebelling in the 90s or in the 60s and 70s, in some cases for very good causes that were worth risking injury or even a chance of getting shot.

We need those people, now more than ever. And despite it being a natural personality trait, risk-aversion is more pervasive than ever. We risk losing our freedoms to people with far more power than us, because we collectively decided that it's too risk-averse to fight.

We are frogs boiling in water, unwilling to fix our situation, because there's a risk of injury or death.

It's not just lemmy but anywhere that reasonable people have an accurate perception of reality.

The fact that you think that's sarcasm is troubling.

Name a social problem, and I will tell you how it's definitely and sanely-proven to be caused by capitalism.

Actually near nearsightedness is due to brightness levels being much indoors rather than focal points. Even on cloudy days it's much brighter outdoors. There's also evidence that natural light has a calming effect on people.

It was common for kids to have a day without being watched by parents in dense cities a generation ago.

cities aren't bad, gtfo with that suburban propaganda

not really. honestly never been much active social media. I will say this though. I was on reddit for a little while and that was bad. Never again will I go back.