I hear people say all the time about how bad things are now and how worse people are in terms of their behavior. Young people are disrepectful, people are lazy, violence is up, etc.

Do you think this is really true? And, I don't mean just looking back 50 years. I mean looking at human history as a whole. Are we really that different?

yes I think the more advanced technology gets the more people will use it to cause harm

my dad says its a sign of aging when you start complaining about the behavior of the younger generation

I think thru out history we got better at some and worse at others. Overall our tolerance of others that are different from ourselves, I think still plain sucks. We've gotten over some issues, only to create new ones.

Humanity has always been pretty evil, violent, and lazy...it just shows more now because of technology...as I've always said...I'd rather be in a room full of lions than a room full of humans...you know what your gonna get with the lions

I wrote a philosophy paper on this once and I shared your opinion.
The professor did not agree with me at all.

in my opinion he didn't have to agree he was there to grade based on the assignment

Yes I do agree...to a degree...
Looking back 50 years yes...looking back farther than that no some of the most violent times in history took place many many many years ago....Then we got better....now we are getting worse i think the biggest change that has happened is a decline in the family system and morals...but that's jmo

In general, since the population has grown so much, and people are more mobile and more busy, I think people, not just young people, have become more rude, more short-fused, and have more expectation of instant gratification.
One obvious situation is like right on HERE, or any social site. People will say and do things they wouldn't have even conceived were it not for the anonymity and non-personal touch, the lack of consequence or being known locally for such words or acts.

I like that

I dont know if i can add anything to it

the last ten years have been one of the most peaceful decades in human history believe it or not. less people were lost because of war and conflict, the crime rate continues to decline and regardless of the present economic condition of the world the average human has more wealth than ever. go back to the "good ole days" if you choose. i like it here.

I think everytime we figure out a way to make something faster, people get more and more impatient and rude.
For example, it used to take months by horse and buggie to get across the country... now people are PISSED if their flight is delayed an hour. or God for bid you make the person behind you at a stop light wait more than .05 secs before you start going. They'll blow the horn at you. Or they'll cut you off, flip you off, speed, etc etc. In turn, that pisses off the person that got flipped off and cut off, and it just spirals from there.
With the loss of patience comes the attitude. If more people made a serious effort to slow down, wait their turn, not feel they're entitled to more than anyone else is, I think people's behavior would improve dramatically.

we need more professors like yours.

Idk what side of the planet you're living in but mine isn't so pleasant.

i took a horse and buggy cross country and was pissed the whole trip.

was it uphill the whole way?

technology helps people likewise. Not a big part of advanced technology is used by the very bad. Really evil people tend to just improvise fairly simplistic measures to inflict harm.

truth be known it was my ex that was pissed. i was just miserable. she said we didn't spend enough time together. i disagreed but hey, whatever makes a lady happy right? wrong.

wherever i am life is pleasant.