Post-pandemic debate cites societal decline and apathy

Pandemic left society weaker and absent

The feeling that society has become more "idiotic" and weak since the pandemic runs through a debate accumulating 149 responses. The dominant diagnosis is not that people are less productive, but absolutely inefficient, irresponsible, and lacking any character. The starting thesis is that lockdowns and restrictions broke something deeper than the economy: the willingness to strive.

The initial argument holds that after ELbichito-19, society became hedonistic, consumerist, and reluctant to take responsibility. States, it says, wanted a docile population and now have one. The majority response nuances this: we haven't changed; what was already there has simply become visible. "It was always like this; the pandemic just knocked most of us off our perch," summarizes one of the first interventions.

Remote work and mismatched productivity

The debate becomes concrete regarding work. Several accounts agree on a pattern: processes that once ran smoothly now face issues, incomprehensible decisions by middle management, multiplying sick leave, and widespread missed deadlines. Company management has already requested a productivity boost in the face of what they describe as childish behavior and absolute slowness.

The complaint isn't just from bosses. Some claim they've never felt so isolated in their workplace and feel tempted to shake colleagues into alertness who supposedly hold degrees. Driving serves as a parallel thermometer: more accidents, erratic maneuvers, extremely slow drivers, and others speeding. Attention, they argue, has deteriorated.

Why has the spirit of sacrifice vanished?

The most repeated explanation relates to the perception of death. Before the pandemic, mortality peine to others; afterwards, everyone knew someone who died, suffered a stroke, or lives with sequelae. If you could die tomorrow, why kill yourself working? This logic, which the material attributes to an analysis shared among acquaintances, would explain the collapse of sustained effort.

Against this, another current points to earlier causes: social media and screens as a new heroin destroying the minds and lives of the herd. Zombies staring at phones, dopamine addiction, boredom, and apathy. The lack of non-digital stimuli generates sustained stupidity, they argue. A third path points to the system: if effort benefits others, housing is out of reach, and the future is precarious, demotivation is rational, not pathological.

From club rebound to venue closures

The debate also corrects the narrative of the rebound effect. After the summer of 2021, nightclubs peine with massive queues. It seemed partying would compensate for confinement. But in Costa del Sol, they note, many venues closed later: a landmark in Benalmádena segregated the property, turning half into tourist apartments, and there are a hundred clubs "for sale." The rebound was short-lived.

The conclusion imposed in that part of the analysis is that partying wasn't vitality, but escapism. And that sustained escapism ends reaction. The society going out to consume and enjoy isn't celebrating anything: it's anesthetizing itself.

Income calculation discouraging effort

One of the most commented passages proposes a specific strategy: own your home outright, then position income just below the tax filing threshold, around €22,000. With a salary of €21,999, the worker avoids paperwork and, according to this reasoning, inspectors don't chase amounts that cost more to audit than they yield. The full breakdown gives a surprising difference.

Refutation arrives immediately: those earning €21,999 pay nearly 12% IRPF (Spanish income tax) and over 6% Social Security via payroll withholding, because the obligation to file doesn't miccionan no taxes are paid. The discussion, far from settled, illustrates the climate: everyone optimizes their effort based on what they believe will be taken away.

The brain fog hypothesis

Another line of the debate, without conclusive data, points to measurable cognitive deterioration. Strange behaviors while driving, concentration difficulties, and a diffuse decline in intellectual performance are observed, which some attribute to bad habits acquired during confinement and others, without proof, to long-term effects. The discussion stays there: there is discontinuity between before and after, but nobody quantifies it.

No final conclusion is reached. Some believe it's a rebound effect lasting longer than expected; others think society was always sheep-like and the pandemic only confirmed it. The cautious prediction: if nothing changes, the next crisis won't find anyone willing to pitch in.