6 layers of humanity's predicament
the dynamics driving modern malaise
There’s a habit I’ve come to favor when I’m feeling overwhelmed or directionless. I sit down with a pen and paper and jot down every single thing weighing on my mind — large or small. Small like feeling disappointed in my sugar consumption or Instagram use or being overdue on calling my Grandpa. Big like feeling unfulfilled in my career, disconnected from close friends, or not practicing what I preach.
Why do I do it? It’s helpful to look at it all in one place. And nearly every time, I’m struck with the same impression – “no sh&t you feel overwhelmed, look at everything bouncing around in your head.”
Today I’m doing the same exercise but for our lovely and lost society at large. My most concise look at why things feel both obviously broken and impossibly fuzzy.
#1 | attention capture
The dynamic: Our attention is now a core input to the economy. While Big Tech cashes in on our eyeballs, we’re experiencing massive information volume without any corresponding ability to make sense of it.
How it lands: Fractured focus, constant stimulation, burnout, and a diminished ability to think deeply or sit with big stuff.
#2 | social fabric erosion
The dynamic: The structures that historically created belonging — extended family, religious community, geographic stability, third places — are dissolving faster than new ones can emerge.
How it lands: A feeling of loneliness despite “connectivity.” Digital connection promised to fill the gap but mostly just amplified the hollowness. As social primates, we’re deeply nourished by human-to-human interaction, but it’s tougher to come by.
#3 | meaning infrastructure withering
The dynamic: The systems that historically answered “why am I here?” and “what matters?” have lost their grip. Organized religion, yes — but also the broader cultural narratives that gave life shape and purpose.
How it lands: People feel untethered, searching for purpose in work, endless consumption, political identity, or optimization. The “good life” we’ve been sold hasn’t proven out.
#4 | institutional trust issues
The dynamic: Every major institution (government, media, medicine, education, finance) has revealed its dysfunction, corruption, or decline in recent memory. With no obvious repair mechanism, it’s hard to find something to hold onto.
How it lands: People don’t know what to trust, so they either retreat to tribal information bubbles or check out entirely.
#5 | pace of acceleration
The dynamic: Technology evolves exponentially, but humans adapt linearly. We haven’t even fully metabolized the internet yet, and AI is already here. Social change compounds faster than our wisdom can form around it.
How it lands: Constant disorientation. Inability to develop stable norms. The future feels both inevitable and unknowable while the pace creates a sort of permanent whiplash.
#6 | economic anxiety
The dynamic: The social contract (”work hard, build a life”) is broken. Housing is unaffordable, retirement uncertain, healthcare precarious, wages stagnant… but the system presents itself as functional. The game feels rigged or off course, but we just keep playing.
How it lands: Grinding anxiety is core to normal life. The “pursue your dreams” narrative collides with “I can barely afford rent.”
Why list it all? Seeing it in one place might help us feel more grounded in what it means to be alive right now — and give ourselves room to breathe through a genuinely turbulent time.
Hope naming these things helps.
If not us, who?
j