Is the world getting worse than ever?

Only when it is dark enough can you the stars. -MLK

Dark in this case means perception, so when you get on the trail of looking at all the worst of the worst trends and instances, eventually you'll start to see and appreciate the little things that matter that in turn lead you to perceive things aren't so bad. It's too easy to get down with everything being served to us by the media, but it's also easy to stay blinded by the light of ignorance, gotta find that balance.

"We live in an age where conflicts are growing, war, corruption and corporate profiteering reign supreme. Our health is deteriorating, disease is everywhere, and values are all but lost."

This age must be the age of the entire human history, because these sort of things have been happening all the time in different corners of the planet. All you can really do is change yourself for the better thereby affecting the environment and those around you, you can even pack up and go across the planet to help out those in need as well. It's very easy to make a difference in people's lives, but to change entire systems like the political or financial is just like a dog chasing it's tail.

Thanks for raising this Manu The idea that the world is getting worse is ancient and pervasive. There's little doubt that modern media has exacerbated the phenomenon too. George Gerbner described it as Mean World Syndrome within the context of his cultivation theory.

In light of the facts, the idea doesn't really hold up which is partly why we have found new things to worry about. Overpopulation (and its associated environmental impacts) are perhaps the most insidious of these. For several generations our education systems have told children that they are guilty of being born and that almost everything they do harms the world.

We then wonder why mental and emotional wellness has deteriorated in the so-called 'developed world'. We are our own worst enemies - just not necessarily for the reasons we are told.

The environment is, and should be, a massive concern for us but having those as respected as Sir David Attenborough calling humankind 'a plague' (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/9815862/Humans-are-plague-on-Earth-Attenborough.html) isn't exactly constructive

No the world is not getting worse. It is only technology that makes it seem so. All of the things going on in the world have been going on in the world. " there is nothing new under the sun." comes to mind here. I think this applies to Human Kind and interaction, and the planet. Yes we have environmental concerns, and it is taking a long time to get people to acknowledge it, but changes are being made. People are becoming more and more aware of what is going on around them, and are now starting to speak up. Look at the Native Americans in North Dakota.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/18/north-dakota-access-pipeline-protesters-indigenous-site

As stated several times already in this thread, we hear more news,and that news is dramatic. If you look a little harder you can find the uplifting stories. Don't lose hope.

I think it depends a lot on your own perspective of the world.

If you are fearful, pessimistic, and angry, you will see the world as threatening, negative and hateful.

If you are optimistic, joyful and beautiful, you will see positivity, happiness and beauty.

I, for one, prefer to focus on the good things happening in the world, and so, I feel that things are getting better all the time. There may be some hiccups from time to time, but overall, definitely getting better.

We all see the world through the lens of our own experience and opinions, but its up to us whether we see through rose-coloured glasses or old horrowshow 3D specs.

I agree with others that it's not so much getting worse as we are becoming ore aware. A prime example: Islamic wars have been going on far longer than any of us have been alive. It just shifts in how things are played out. The Crusadesqere largely similar to what we have today- we've just evolved tactics, strategy and reach since that time frame so the scale is bigger, but not necessarily worse. It's proportionate.

We now have the ability to talk with people we never would interact with regularly, shared experiences become more engaging, and allow people to form revolutions for change when it's apparent there is a problem.

In many respects it's a good thing, in others (terrorism) it's terrible. But it's the nature of the beast- as the good grows, the evil should be expected to equally grow until one finally wins.

“It is said that what is called "the spirit of an age" is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world's coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation.”
~Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. There will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.”
~Yamamoto Tsunetomo

“There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.”
~Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Silas Mercury wrote: When a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic non-politically experienced billionaire is running for President against a liar who is just as bad as him, when British people start talking like said billionaire saying 'We need to make Britain Great again' and leaving the EU, when people start to hate Muslims because of terror attacks, when it is only 15 years since one of the worst tragedies the world has seen, when there is a race war in the Land of the Free, when children are starving, drowning, dying. The world itself is dying. People soon will be replaced by machines. Humanity is dying. And yet you say the world is getting better. Fools.

the reason that most of what you say is wrong is because you have no sense of history and no understanding of the ways humans and human civilization has developed over the ages

if you would dedicate yourself to learning about our biological evolution as tree-dwelling primates into anatomically modern humans, (and understand how other primates treat each other) and how our societies began as tribal (and what we would call "primitive" but no means "stupid") hunter-gatherers, and became gradually more and more sophisticated over time, and learn about the ways of ancient civilizations and the ingenuity and cruelty of the ancient world,

in short: if you would become a student of history and resolve yourself to accurately understanding humanity's origins and progress, not only would you be enriched as a person, but your world views and your competence as a citizen would be greatly enhanced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMBJ87ZTuJY

Well...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ramBFRt1Uzk

It's already been said in different ways, but my opinion is the world isn't getting worse, bad people are just getting louder.

If you look through history, there have always been terrible people with a lot of attention. Look at the Second World War for example: Adolf Hitler was without doubt one of the most evil people to ever walk this earth, and he was in charge of the country and was responsible for thousands of millions of deaths! The only difference that we see between them and now is that we can see that the reign of evil came to an end.

But if we were in 1942, we would think it would ever end, and today is very much the same. Eventually these people will come to an end; as we all do. And eventually new people will replace them! It's just how it works and it's only different now because their voices are getting louder.