On the one hand, humans are hopelessly optimistic and overconfident. On the other, many today are incredibly negative; everyone is either anxious or depressed, and EY has devoted an entire chapter to “anxious underconfidence.” How can both facts be reconciled?
I think the answer lies in the notion that the brain is a rationalization machine. Often, we take action not for the reasons we tell ourselves afterward. When we take action, we change our opinion about it in a more optimistic direction. When we don’t, we think that action wouldn’t yield any good results anyway.
How does this relate to social media and the modern mental health crisis? When you consume social media content, you get countless pings for action, either in the form of images of others’ lives or catastrophising news. In 99% of situations, you actually can’t do anything, so you need a justification for inaction. The best reason for inaction is general pessimism.
On the one hand, humans are hopelessly optimistic and overconfident. On the other, many today are incredibly negative; everyone is either anxious or depressed, and EY has devoted an entire chapter to “anxious underconfidence.” How can both facts be reconciled?
I think the answer lies in the notion that the brain is a rationalization machine. Often, we take action not for the reasons we tell ourselves afterward. When we take action, we change our opinion about it in a more optimistic direction. When we don’t, we think that action wouldn’t yield any good results anyway.
How does this relate to social media and the modern mental health crisis? When you consume social media content, you get countless pings for action, either in the form of images of others’ lives or catastrophising news. In 99% of situations, you actually can’t do anything, so you need a justification for inaction. The best reason for inaction is general pessimism.