Why were the 2000s so hedonistic and consumerist?

[CmdrShep2154]

The 2000s were a dumb decade! A decade filled with debauchery, greed, and consumerism! A decade where Americans lost their fascination in space! A decade filled with trashy reality TV and Disney teen shows that promoted materialism and a shallow worldview! The teen pop culture seemed more interested in partying than becoming smarter. Athletes and celebrities were excessively glorified.

All the smart people I knew back in the 2000s watched either Battlestar Galactica and/or Avatar the Last Airbender. Both of those shows were awarded the Peabody Award.

Why were the 2000s so hedonistic and consumerist?

Hopefully future generations will look at that decade with a feeling of disgust. Hopefully climate change will force humanity to abandon consumerism.

[s_bushido]

Yeah, and they should get off your lawn, too.

[PC2]

The 2000s were a dumb decade! A decade filled with debauchery, greed, and consumerism! A decade where Americans lost their fascination in space! A decade filled with trashy reality TV and Disney teen shows that promoted materialism and a shallow worldview! The teen pop culture seemed more interested in partying than becoming smarter. Athletes and celebrities were excessively glorified.

All the smart people I knew back in the 2000s watched either Battlestar Galactica and/or Avatar the Last Airbender. Both of those shows were awarded the Peabody Award.

Why were the 2000s so hedonistic and consumerist?

Hopefully future generations will look at that decade with a feeling of disgust.

We're not any less hedonistic, debaucheristic, or materialistic now than we were in the 2000s. We're the same or arguably more so depending on what metrics you use.

Hopefully climate change will force humanity to abandon consumerism.

Actually that won't work because consumerism is synonymous with a growth-based economic system. If any country decided to get rid of their current growth based system then they would become less competitive and experience decline as the other growing countries gain more leverage and wealth. That would then cause discontent with the voters who are needed to keep the non-growth economic policy in place over time, leading to reversal. Simply put; it's a losing strategy.

[breadisfunny]

the 1920's would like a word with you.

[Stelio Kontos]

I'm Commander Shepard and this is my least favorite shitposter on the Citadel.

[Mihalik]

Almost all media in the 90s was a product placement (handful of exceptions) or long form advertisement. Hedonism was the literal theme of the 80s. The consumerism of the 80s and 90s even produced entire counter cultural waves in the form of punks and Grunge etc.

Hedonism and consumerism is not a feature of a specific decade, it's a feature of capitalism.

[Acidbaron]

I wish there was more hedonism

[PC2]

I wish there was more hedonism

Exactly yeah, maximizing the amount of pleasure on Earth is obviously a good thing.

[Ashleyxoxo]

Didn’t you make this thread already? And the 2000s were ballin’, not like shitty 2020.

[Dwarfhamster]

Haven’t seen you in a while

[Ripster42]

But what does this have to do with ditzy cheerleaders?

They went through psychotherapy and are now consuming a shit ton. The jocks who went to psycho school are their the rapists.

[callipygoustp]

Yuppies would like to have a word with you.

[Draco-Onis]

Actually that won't work because consumerism is synonymous with a growth-based economic system. If any country decided to get rid of their current growth based system then they would become less competitive and experience decline as the other growing countries gain more leverage and wealth. That would then cause discontent with the voters who are needed to keep the non-growth economic policy in place over time, leading to reversal. Simply put; it's a losing strategy.

I think a distinction needs to be made between debt based economic growth and natural growth, while you do not get explosive GDP growth from those countries you also don't get cyclical recessions for the market to correct itself. I rather have stability because going for crisis to crisis is not exactly good for the average person long term. The competitiveness argument is detached from debt so it doesn't matter in that case either just preference of economic models.

[Mistame]

What kind of dated, nonsensical mind sees "hedonism" and "debauchery" as bad things? Pleasure, save when it comes at the expense of someone else's pain, is always good and has no "moral" relevance.

[Thereturn]

Not sure that era has ended. Turned the tv on lately?

[Kaleredar]

Does the OP think of this forum as a spot for his random musings?

[Ripster42]

Does the OP think of this forum as a spot for his random musings?

If you're looking for a tour inside the mind of a severely mentally disturbed person, check their started threads.

[Kaleredar]

If you're looking for a tour inside the mind of a severely mentally disturbed person, check their started threads.

For the most part I see in them someone with a chip on their shoulder about the past and a desire to create some form of science fiction narrative about the future, whilst totally lacking the skills, means and discipline to execute the latter goal, who apparently feels they’re pursuing those goals by creating random threads they never respond to on a WoW forum.

If it’s all a joke, I don’t get the angle. I don’t think they’re a troll; their posts are never really offensive or anything, just sort of... banal.

I think they just genuinely don’t have a clue.

[GreenJesus]

Lol another thread of OP whining about cheerleaders and jocks and other people not jacking off to mass effect aliens like he does.

[PC2]

What kind of dated, nonsensical mind sees "hedonism" and "debauchery" as bad things? Pleasure, save when it comes at the expense of someone else's pain, is always good and has no "moral" relevance.

Yeah it's kind of outrageous that people still think things like pleasure are morally bad. My theory for why that happened is that thousands of years ago when everybody was thinking in a highly religious manner they created the first memes such as "hedonism is bad" and they made the mistake of confusing that concept with a concept like "addiction" or obsession. Dionysian behaviors that were fun to the point of addiction obviously hurt survival rates and caused these closely related concepts to be conflated together. Of course in modern times we now know that pleasurable activities don't have to be addictive and destructive, they easily can be but they don't have to be.