Evolution takes time, a long time, hundreds of millions of years.
Modern culture is changing so rapidly that the world we live in today is almost unrecognizable from the one we lived in just 30 years ago. What about 100 years ago? It was practically a different planet.
But evolutionarily speaking, we In fact nothing has changed at all.
Once we understand that, scientists say, it becomes easier to understand why humanity is struggling to keep up with the world around us, even though technology offers many objectively positive options.
This is manifesting itself in the form of an increase in mental health issues.
Mismatch occurs when our evolved adaptations, either physical or psychological, no longer match our environment.
A common example is moths, who evolved to use the moon as a guide to navigate in the dark. Today, you will see moths attracted to lamps and house lights because the invention of artificial lighting has outpaced their adaptations.
For humans, a sweet tooth was an important evolutionary tool for our ancestors who needed high-calorie foods to survive.
Today, corporations mass produce foods loaded with refined sugar and fat, knowing that we are hardwired to crave them, resulting in tooth decay, obesity, diabetes, and more.
And the modern world is full of examples of traits that could be useful but end up becoming harmful.
For example, one of the most concerning issues that has emerged recently is loneliness.
Humans evolved with the need to belong because it was safest to live in nomadic, kin-based groups of 50-150 people.
Now we live in a city where we don’t know anyone and we don’t have many friends, yet we retain an insatiable desire to belong.
Keeping social animals in crowded spaces can cause them to feel stressed from competition, which can lead to poorer physical health, including reduced immune function and reproductive performance.
Humans exhibit similar stress behaviors when living in crowded places.
Social media exacerbates problems related to social comparison and inequality. When we lived in hunter-gatherer societies, there was little to no disparity in social status.
Now we know what separates us from those who have more (or less), down to the last dollar.
Social media also presents the best version of people and makes others feel bad about their reality. We are hardwired to bridge the gap between ourselves and the people around us, but in a modern society where this is not possible, having all this information does no good.
Competition and status anxiety are linked to an obsession with academic qualifications, the race for prestigious jobs and materialism. People go into debt to appear wealthy and deal with debt-related stress and mental health issues.
The 2023 report revealed that Gen Z professionals are willing to take risks with investments such as cryptocurrencies in order to reap big rewards.
This is the same culture that encourages people to continually spend money on weight loss programs and cosmetic surgery.
But given the rising cost of living and job dissatisfaction, people are starting to respond more favorably.
The 2023 survey found that millennial and Gen Z respondents are no longer striving to achieve lofty career ambitions or dreaming of homeownership: Many of the 55,000 respondents born between 1981 and 2012 are placing more emphasis on taking care of their own mental and physical health.
This is because when competition becomes too intense, people experience anxiety and depression as internalized responses, and this tendency is more pronounced in countries with strong shame cultures, such as Japan, South Korea, and to some extent the United States.
The outside reactions include anger, cynicism, aggression and hostility — which is where “incels” come in and are one of the reasons we’ve seen such a surge in mass shootings.
Experts suggest there are ways to tune our environment to our current evolutionary state: reducing crowding, increasing access to nature, and having more time for ourselves can reduce stress and improve our health.
Taking steps to reduce consumerism and exposure to mass and social media can also help, as can choosing a job that is meaningful to you, rather than simply choosing a job that is “good” in terms of money or prestige.
Some people turn to minimalism or mindfulness to remind themselves to appreciate the beauty in their everyday lives.
You have to find a way that works for you, but at the end of the day, while there’s nothing wrong with society, we just don’t seem to fit in very well with it right now.
And understanding the root of the problem is half the battle.
If you enjoyed this story, learn more about why people often wake up around 3am and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives.
