Why Is Everyone Killing Themselves?
Hangings, etc..
shareDoing a quick google search, it certainly is shocking how much the suicide rate has risen in the last 20 years - 30% to be exact here in the US. For me, the most shocking with Anthony Bourdain.
shareI had a cell phone store in 2004. I have documented in my journals the pattern of its downfall, and not just in the US, but even in "third-world countries" I visited, or countries I lived in overseas during my backpacking travels... Social interaction and cultural exchange had been dying out, so I don't even have an interest to travel anymore, considering its very expensive. I rather spent it on something else..
I'm a curious person, but this started by circumstance. 20 years ago, it was the hot thing, so I started selling phones on ebay, saw success, and then managed a few stores until I was sure I could start my own store. I needed financial partnership, and had a friend in high school was always interested. It did well, but it wasn't worth my soul, my life (working 7 days a week, open to close). So I was aware of it then, and when customers would go nuts if their phone was turned off for 2 minutes, or if they couldn't find a simple function, they did not act normally. I can remember the face of one who walked past everyone in line, holding her phone at me and saying "I need this for my kids" and have observed, and once you could access internet on your phone.... downfall. But of course now its a bit too late. I was watching the NBA game on ABC, and if you did, you heard them say how bad it was for SOCIETY (and the game).. And those who knew better thought they'd make ALL the money they could exploiting the problem until it flipped.. Just like the opiate thing. Now the money is "curing" the same people they got hooked.
Movies -- CGI, re-makes, business models, trivial and gossip, tokenism, exploitation using sex and violence (instead of love, romance and justice). Just look at the knuckleheads who run the industry (Harvey Weinstein) and many others. Music has also been replaced by fake drum-machines, auto-this, auto-singing, apps, computers which is why you'll hear about an "artist's" social media than whatever they do. Removing the human dynamic makes things soulless, and it seems to set our goal posts for morality. Decadence.
Add that to a new online ego, which seems to be more important to others. For 99% of human history, we communicated face to face, and now its almost reversed. Less empathy, bad social skills, and a lot of mental problems as a result.
Lack of human interaction is definitely one of the top theories. Another one I hear a lot is loss of hope, which is also tied into the drug epidemic. People just aren't making it nowadays and are either trying to blunt their pain with drugs/alcohol or just end it all together. Something like 1 in 6 Americans are on medications for anxiety, depression, etc. That is not ok. Back in the day, you could support a family on minimum wage. Today, you would barely scrape by taking care of yourself and it wouldn't even be a dignified life. I also think the the cost of a college education is fucking ridiculous. The average person can't afford it and the ones who can are still stuck with debt into their 30's. Many people aren't even given a chance. .
shareThe people who are already wealthy, or born into wealth, become addicted to building that wealth for no real reason. Less fluidity for the economy and for the not-wealthy.
The rest are born into a life where they are told the sky is the limit.... turns out that sky is falling and that limit is crashing down on them. The pieces of the pie are practically gone.
So when the disillusionment hits, people will indulge in what they can.