Thomas Curran

So, and how, and how that, how that looks like in practice, uh, is obviously free things like advertising, right.

That makes us feel like we constantly need to have more, be more, do more, uh, and all the rest of it.

And that's obviously that hasn't changed for many decades, but what has changed recently, cause you've got social media.

which is an advertising device in every other way, except that we're the content creators and it's with us 24 seven.

So we're pumping out images of perfect lives and lifestyles that create this kind of aura of perfection.

And everybody has this life that I want and I can have it and all the rest of it.

And into that kind of vortex of discontent comes targeted advertising, which is

uh just same as analog advertising you know you're sitting in the middle of a football game you don't want to see the advert of you know the uh whatever the tag dads are these days normally involve a blue pill in the middle of a football game but you know you don't want to see those things you know sometimes it's like you know oh bloody hell like this is uh i came here to watch football but now i'm being told that i need to have this or look this way or appear somewhere whatever

And it's the same as social media.

You didn't go to social media for the targeted advertising and all the rest of it and the products to tell you how good you could or should be.

But you are and you're in there and you are.

But it isn't just advertising that kind of creates the consumption.

It's also

Uh, workplace these days are a lot more insecure, so that makes us work a lot harder.

So the gig economy, hustling, grinding, all these things, uh, given it, give a sense of apprehension and we're not doing enough.

You know, fake it till you make it sort of mantra.

Um, and obviously schools and colleges, you know, they've become way more competitive and young people are put under a lot of pressure these days to Excel.

Cause it's very important to get into the best universities to get the best job.

So I think is this so many different factors, David, as your question, I couldn't pinpoint one particular thing, but.

I would say if you want to get really at the root of it, you have to look at the ways our economies are structured and why it's so important in today's economy to feel not enough at every moment.