All great empires eventually fall. We only hope it doesn’t happen in our lifetime. Some signs portend an impending collapse of society, and it may fail sooner rather than later if we don’t make changes.
Here are the top signs that point to a society on the decline.
Shorter Attention Spans

People seek out short tidbits of information. Sound bites lack nuance, and the ever-decreasing attention spans mean people will lose the ability to think critically about the information they consume.
Attention Seeking

The rise in social media apps like TikToks highlighted an inherent problem in humanity: the never-ending desire for attention and validation. We learned that people would do almost anything for a brief few seconds of internet fame.
Accepting Lower Standards

Standards everywhere are lowering, and people just shrug and take it. Our leaders are atrocious, our jobs treat us poorly, and we receive subpar service when we try to enjoy ourselves. The bar has lowered nearly everywhere we look.
Dumbing Down the News

The 24-hour news cycle turned news into infotainment. It now caters to the lowest common denominator and twists the truth in the never-ending quest for views and profits.
Shopping Carts

The true test of compassion is whether someone will return their shopping cart. There are no stakes in it. No one gets in trouble for leaving it in the parking lot. But a good person will always return it because it’s the right thing to do, while a selfish person doesn’t care and leaves it be.
As more and more shopping carts litter parking lots across the US, we realize we’re suffering an endemic of selfishness.
Wealth Disparity

The gap between rich and poor grows ever wider while fewer and fewer people hoard all the wealth. Society will not survive if the trend continues.
Loneliness

Humanity thrives on connection, yet we all seal ourselves away into our homes. The internet made everyone lonely, and no one knows how to fix it.
AI

Artificial intelligence is still so new we don’t know how it will impact society. However, we’re already seeing the possibilities with the strikes in Hollywood. How will society adapt if AI replaces the creative geniuses responsible for advancement?
Making a Living

As the cost of living steadily increases, pay remains stagnant. Millions struggle to stay afloat, teetering on the brink of disaster. We can’t maintain this delicate balancing act forever. Something will eventually have to give.
No Empathy

It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. People have absolutely no empathy for anyone else. They refuse to step into someone else’s shoes and consider their experiences. Instead, it’s I, Me, Me I. People only care about an issue when it directly affects them.
No Personal Responsibility

There was a time when people held themselves accountable for their own actions. Now, they point their fingers everywhere else, trying to blame anyone and anything they can.
Climate Change

As summer heat waves intensify, fires ravage forests, and hurricanes decimate entire cities, more and more people become displaced. Food supplies tighten, and power grids push to their limits.
The looming climate disaster and our refusal to do anything in preparation highlight our position as a society on the decline.
Rise in Fascism

With a declining standard of living, many are looking for a “strong man” leader to protect them. These “strong men” typically make promises they don’t intend to seek in their desperate grasp for power and control.
We’re seeing a rise in authoritarianism across the globe.
People Can’t Afford Kids

Even people who want children can’t afford to have them. When basic biology gets put off, you know society is on the decline. Here’s the truth about why young folks aren’t having kids: they can’t afford it.
All The Propaganda

Propaganda surrounds us. It attempts to sway our thinking in both mundane and critical ways. Here are some examples of propaganda we see every day.
America’s Very Real Poverty Trap

We often think of third-world countries when we talk about poverty, but it’s thriving right here in the US.
Here’s the truth about America’s Poverty Trap.
Source: Reddit