Why is everyone so angry?

Why is everyone so angry?

It is likely an unanswerable question.

Likewise, it is probably also impossible to gauge whether people are collectively angrier today than in the past, but E. Scott Geller, a longtime professor of psychology, says our shared circumstances, especially related to the COVID-19 pandemic, play a major role in the current prevalence of the feeling.

“We’ve been very frustrated,” said Geller. “When we get into routines, we can predict what is happening. It’s the perception of control. When you change the context in which we live, that can get frustrating, and frustration leads to aggression.”

Not only have many people’s routines been altered by COVID-19, Geller also believes the necessity of wearing face coverings when around others indoors has also had an impact.

This combined frustration can lead to aggression and then to negative actions. Social media has provided a somewhat consequence-free way for people to both negatively use that aggression, while also fueling more of it.

“In the good old days, if you had something negative to say, you had to say it to others to their face. And that prevented us from saying certain things,” Geller said. “We don’t have to be held accountable for our negative comments and that promotes more negative comments. People who join us and say, ‘yeah, I felt the same thing,’ and all the sudden we feel a sense of solidarity with the negativity.”

“All of this helps create a lack of empathy and ultimately, has led us to becoming very self-serving and independent,” Geller said.

“The best you can ever be is not to be self-actualized, but self-transcendent in that you go beyond yourself for someone else,” Geller said. “If we can move from valuing independence to interdependence – if we develop the mindset that nobody can do it alone – we’re going to be nicer, kinder.”

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