I've tried, before, to do things, and my mental state has quickly deteriorated to a worrisome point.
Do I wish I could do things? Absolutely. But my hatred of what I do, and the fact that it's the only real thing I'm good at in a productive sense, means that I've never found another outlet that I can work on and not spend the entirety of the time dwelling on how much I hate it.
So all I do is play games and watch internet videos on my off time. Deep down it crushes me that this is my life, but thus far I've managed to keep that mostly bottled up.
Our survey (size: 1, population: me) says "Yes".
> we end up with dysfunctional government.
Assuming you mean the US, you have a dysfunctional government because it was designed that way and has been gamed quite successfully by the GOP for the last 8-12 years (cf Voting Rights act, gerrymandering, SCOTUS stuffing, etc.)
Considering how long "passive" entertainment has been about, I'm going to have to say Yes.
- Streaming - Podcasts - Television - Radio - Records - Plays - Orchestras - Circuses - Gladiatorial Fights (MMA, Boxing, sword/shields, etc) - Listening to oral stories
And I know I'm just scratching the surface.
> becoming more passive, and getting wearied by the onslaught of information has not done us any favors
The phrase "bread and circuses" didn't come about in our time.
There's an eternal fight between those who the government's policies impact, and those who it doesn't affect (along with a small fringe group who get involved regardless). The affected have always, and probably will always, lament the laziness of the unaffected.
Yes! But what kind of entertainment? And how "passively"? Is reading a hard sci-fi novel or watching Black Mirror "passive", when it makes you question the nature of reality?
I wouldn't dare diagnose anyone but I can tell you from experience this is often what it is. My father for example is a highly depressed person, if he stops for any length of time to dwell on things he falls deeply into a deep depression. As a result he's learned how to add additions to the house, do his own roofing, build decks, fix his own vehicles.
He has a 1500 sq ft barn filled to the brim with tools and tractors that he uses regularly. He was a software engineer before retirement and taught himself how to use all this stuff.
He jokes about all the money he's saved doing these things for himself but I helped him inventory all his things and he's roughly spent 2x as much on tools and toys than he would have had he just hired a contractor. That depressed him until I explained that the gain he got from doing it himself off set that. Honestly, the man isn't happy unless his hands are cut up and dirty.
> variety of hobbies
That's the thing though: do people really enjoy passively consuming entertainment? I can't speak for others, but it makes a world of difference when I spend my free time doing things rather than vegging out. Maybe it's just a successful coping strategy I've developed to forget about being depressed.
I also can't help but feel that becoming more passive, and getting wearied by the onslaught of information has not done us any favors as a country. It's hard to articulate, and I'm sure there are other factors, but when people can't be bothered, or are too tired, to take an interest in their civic duties, we end up with dysfunctional government.