What Would You Change About Modern Society?

Posted on

by Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle

I often find myself pondering about modern society. Even as a Millennial, I think I’m objective enough to say that there are a lot of problems with modern society. For starters, the “Get Rich Quick” mentality has taken over where many young people don’t want to work hard and make short term sacrifices for long term gain. This culture is further cemented by the fact that we see so many young people doing seemingly minimal work with maximal return e.g. the Tiktokers and social media influencers who sometimes make six figure incomes without much talent or qualifications. I’d love to see people get proportionally rewarded for their effort, talent and qualifications, as opposed to how risqué they’re willing to act on social media to secure the bag.

Before we get into the article, please subscribe for new adventures.

Daily writing prompt
What would you change about modern society?
View all responses
We need more time for leisure.

Secondly, modern society encourages us to consume more than we create, and not only is this over consumption killing our planet, it is killing us. There are actually many people out there who would rather die than getting caught in the same outfit twice and there are people who purchase a whole new wardrobe for every vacation. There are people who would rather put themselves in debt to keep up with appearances like owning brand name products, when experiments after experiments have shown that many people often can’t tell the difference when the labels are switched.

There are people who will spend hours passively consuming content by scrolling frivolous social media content instead of practicing rewarding hobbies such as reading, writing or even perfecting a skill which could earn them money or at least bring them happiness. Instead, they are up-to-date on all the latest celebrity romances and feuds. I choose to be blissfully ignorant of what everyone except my loved ones are up to. That way I have time to create and live a life which is meaningful and filled with lots of moments, and not things. Tunnel vision creates more time for leisure.

Collect moments, not things.

Thirdly, I wish we’d be less worried about our appearances. I still find it shocking and extremely sad that people are that unhappy with their bodies that they’re willing to spend thousands on surgically editing their noses, lips, cheeks, jawline, tummies, breasts, butts and even their vulva to fit beauty standards which change ALL the time. Unfortunately, so many people are losing their lives or getting serious complications in the process. Not to mention, the skin bleaching industry, tanning industry, weaves and extensions industry, you name it. In a world where it’s profitable to hate your body, it almost feels rebellious to love my body as it is! We’d be a lot happier as a planet if we learnt to love our bodies as they are. I’ve made peace with my “flaws”.

Lastly, I wish modern society would focus on the basics necessary for a wholesome life. Having more convenient healthy food options instead of junk food, more exercise instead of finding more ways for us to move less, and more time off to spend with our loved ones instead of having to spend all our waking hours at work to make ends meet each month. On that note, inflation and the real estate market need to SLOW DOWN! Everything seems to be climbing more than our salaries, further adding to the stress, traffic and bustle of modern day life.

Wrap Up

Well, those are my thoughts on what I’d change about modern society. Do you agree with these points? What else would you like to change? Share with me in the comments below. On another note, I’m so happy for more free time to write. I’ll enjoy it, and the blog traffic, while it lasts, ha!

‘Til next time.

Find Elle on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and Amazon.

Published by

Unknown's avatar

Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle

Adventures from Elle is a travel blog for locals & visitors who want to experience the best of Jamaica, one adventure at a time. The blog is curated by Dr. Rochelle Knight, an internal medicine specialist and published author. She began the blog in 2016 as a medical student & wants to see the world, starting with her home country. Purchase her book 'SIGHTSEE JAMAICA' on Amazon and join her in Jamaica!

77 thoughts on “What Would You Change About Modern Society?”

  1. Totally agree with you all all points, Rochelle. We need to go back to a much simpler life when a healthy body was not similar to a pencil-thin, weak body. I think just by eleminating junk food and addictive drinks, we can regain our health.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. One thing I would change is the constant need to figure out and beat algorithms. Social media suggests videos and posts I’m not interested in, and it takes more effort to find what I am interested in reading or watching. Another would be updates in technology that I don’t need so I don’t waste time figuring out how to get my computer back to the setting I like.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. This is true, and I really think it’s strategic on their part to keep us glued in for longer. The more time we spend scrolling while trying to understand and master these almost weekly changes, means we can be fed more ads to make them more money. It’s sometimes so exhausting! This is a change I’d love to see too. Thanks for reading

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Couldn’t agree with you more on these points! I agree that overconsumption– whether of social media or material things– is ruining us mentally, and it’s no wonder that articles our future generation (Gen Z’ers and after) are considered the most socially-isolated generation among others: (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.21744#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20recent%20research%20among%20gen,generations%20(Cox%2C%202022).) What I’d also personally change about modern society would be the prejudice and intolerance for disenfranchised groups (e.g. minorities in race, religion, class…), as life’s too short to be concerned that certain groups are “threatening” your existence; we’re all just trying to get by and have a happy, fulfilling life, no matter what happens!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. This is so true! What a sad reality. We have social media to make us more connected yet we are more disconnected with each other and our humanity more than ever before. Also, you’re right. The world needs a lot more love and compassion, especially for people who have different backgrounds and those who history or circumstances have left disenfranchised. We’ve made some progress but we still have a far way to go. ❤️ thanks for reading dear!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You are 100 percent right.. internet giving more friends from all world. but in real life we don’t have a single true friends… It’s better than to have one single best friend more then 100 friend on social media

      Liked by 4 people

  7. I love this post! To capture all your points quickly – elegance tends to transcend trends that come and go so it’s sad some people spend so much money to change their appearance when it might not necessarily even benefit them in the long run (like health complication or shifting beauty standards). Creating is food for the soul and I’ve noticed people who consume more than they create seem to be exhausted and less optimistic about life. And getting rich at all seems to be a big value for people, especially for millennials and older Gen Z people. It could be a trauma response to inflation, recessions, and a fear of never having enough, but chasing money always seems to lead to unhappiness.
    Great post. ❤

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Thank you so much! You’re so right about creating being food for the soul. Having an outlet does so much for our happiness. It’s basically nourishment. Lastly, those points about why getting rich seems to be a big deal for Gen Y and Z seem about right. However, unfortunately for many, it’ll just be like getting caught in a rat race. Humans can’t be satisfied, that feature is inate but it’s draining us. Slowing down, making peace with the present + enjoying life with what we have at every stage seems to be the key to happiness. Thanks so much again for reading & leaving this thoughtful comment ❤️

      Liked by 2 people

  8. And the most addictive form of content is what floods many of us nowadays; videos and they keep making the curation and algorithm exciting! I’ve uninstalled some apps only to install again because of this ish too. Thanks for sharing Rochelle! I enjoyed your mention on the proliferation of Get Rich indoctrination

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Thanks Erico! We definitely live in frightening times. That addictive nature of social media is also why I limit myself to Instagram. I use Facebook just to share my articles on the browser version but I don’t scroll there. I had a Tiktok account at the start of the pandemic and deleted it about 2 or 3 months in. Definitely not heading back there! Or whichever new platform eventually emerges. One social medium at a time for me (WordPress is too wholesome to count as social media, ha). Thanks for reading!

      Liked by 2 people

Enjoyed this post? Add your thoughts.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.