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> # We Talk Friday
>(WTF)


This is a semi-regular series that I will run on Fridays to hold discussions on a current topic from the week gone. The aim is to keep them light and conversational, though some might be heavier - regardless of the content topic itself though, just have some fun engaging and discussing with whoever happens to put in the effort in the comments section below. 

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![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/tarazkp/24244EyKB5fGbSRESyfpXiVkUGEF5f4jkHg5wLr3aCnxJHMWkMJNJ8FAA2wAL2GnpEUPH.png)



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# We Talk Friday Ep. 7: Cost of Dying Expenses

I was looking for something funny this week for We Talk Friday, but let's face it - not too much funny stuff is going on. Lets and lots of stupid stuff, but very little funny. Though, the AI video trolling the US with ["stereotypical Americans" working at sewing machines](https://www.tiktok.com/@axiang67/video/7490539237108878634) brought out a chuckle. For the most part though, it is pretty much doom and gloom for ordinary people, including myself.

Like I read a story of an Australian father in his thirties who committed suicide after his mortgage has increased so much. Now, he had mental health issues earlier, but it makes me wonder the impact that all of this is having on the more fragile minds of today. And yeah, I do think we are more fragile, because we have been conditioned to be more sensitive to our emotional state - which is a good thing - unless we become too sensitive, like a car alarm that goes off every time the wind blows.

While suicide isn't laugh out loud funny, I think that it is becoming more acceptable these days as a means of dealing with an unsatisfying life. I know, that doesn't sound right, does it? But if you consider how exposure normalizes conditions like violence or sex, it seems that daily there is another story in the news of *influencers* who are offing themselves for whatever reason they might have had at the time. Remember, these people are influencers - meaning that they *influence* their audience. 

And these kinds of people "supposedly" have the kinds of lives that other people want to have. So if that isn't even good enough to live for, what hope do the rest of us have - the ones with mortgages and final reminder letters in the mail? How many people will be overwhelmed, especially since the social ties are weaker, and people have less familial and friend support around these days. 

What is there to live for, if we lose access to the things we have been conditioned to believe are important for a good life? Money might not buy everything we need, but it is the medium we use to get most of the things we need, even if we don't actually need it. What happens when we feel that because of this inability to provide enough financially, we lose our sense of self-worth? What happens when the guilt of not being able to provide for a family gets too much?

> How many are close to that line in the sand now? 

It is impossible to know, but I suspect that the last decade and a half and the next to come will go down in history as the worst period for our mental health as a species ever. Though, this is already the case, isn't it? Has there ever been a period in history where such a large percentage of people are considered mentally ill in some way? Has there ever been a period in history where there is such a percentage of children considered mentally ill?

> Mentally ill children, become mentally ill adults.

Of course, that isn't a certainty, but it does have a very high probability. And the social culture and technological landscape we have created in the quest for higher profits for corporations, has done the mental (or physical) health of our species no favours. For a few decades now, I have been predicting mental health issues based on our consumption habits, and unfortunately, my predictions are being proven quite correct. 

>The more time we spend mindlessly consuming, the worse off we get. 

And "worse" seems to be another area we are being conditioned to accept, to normalise. We are being engineered to do with less, expect less, and accept less possibility, even while those corporations are milking more profits for themselves. Education levels are degrading, access to healthcare is degrading, employment opportunities are degrading, and our purchase power is degrading.

>For the average person, what is getting better?

Humans need a sense of progression and advancement in life, and maybe this is why more people feel they are *better off* dead.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]


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***Past Episodes:***
[Episode 6: Abuse Me a Little More](https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@tarazkp/wtf-abuse-me-a-little-more)
[Episode 5: No Humour Here](https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@tarazkp/wtf-no-humour-here)
[Episode 4: Your Country Sucks](https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@tarazkp/wtf-your-country-sucks)
[Episode 3: Collapse is Inevitable](https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@tarazkp/wtf-collapse-is-inevitable)
[Episode 2: Show me the money](https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@tarazkp/wtf-show-me-the-money)
[Episode 1: Strange bedfellows](https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@tarazkp/we-talk-friday-pilot) 




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