Pretty sure things were just as shitty in 2017

Maybe sites like Twitter were, but it wasn't EVERYTHING like it is now. There just wasn't so much hateful speaking. There wasn't so much tribalization, otherization. Sure Reddit sucked but it wasn't hateful. Now it seems everything is full of unnecessary snide comments about whomever is perceived as the out group or other tribe with no self awareness of the ugliness of the comments. Educated conservative university professors I once admired, supposedly compassionate liberal entertainers I once enjoyed have all been infected by ugliness. Even music making websites with zero politics in the discussion just full of hate for no reason. Everything is just gross. It seems no one sees each other as human anymore. You know you are missing something when Liberals are hating a pot smoking, Bernie Sanders voter because he has pot smoking Art Bell type discussions with people and Conservatives are adopting him as one of their own. It's just pure tribal at that point. Seriously, WTF world is this?

I think it's strange and sad that I should find the society I've returned to more full of anger and hate and with less compassion than prison.

I actually distinctly remember that the internet started to deteriorate rapidly the year Trump got elected because he completely took over social media and the news cycle. He was the topic in all comment sections, even when you watched a video on completely unrelated topics, or read a technical subreddits. It was crazy. At the end of his election, Trump was banned from social media, and I feel like there is some fresh air now in the internet. There's still some lingering stench for sure, but I think you were actually "lucky" to miss the worst of it all.

Agreed...The Joe Rogan thing is crazy (assuming this is what you're talking about).

He gets lumped in with Conservatives because EVERYONE must be lumped in to the left or the right these days.

You can't be in the middle anymore.

Yeah that one I really really confuses me.

Joe has not stood still since 2017 either, he profits off the outrage just a much as any other media company that makes money from viewers or listeners.

His podcasts used (going back a bit before 2017) to be chill conversations ranging from interesting to bonkers depending on the guest. He is consumed by politics now unfortunately, and it just gets tiresome.

Joe Rogan is very well paid to have his opinions. I do wonder who is paying him though; it can’t just be Spotify.

Seems like OP would disagree with you strongly and had a rather intense reaction to the state of media in 2022. Do you have anything to offer a counter opinion?

Not the poster, but I concur that things weren't all that different in 2017. I would say that OP's reaction is caused by selectively remembering the state of the world. Living in the environment where mass media is ubiquitous, you don't quite realize just how bad things are or the negative effects it has on people. You only become aware of that after being removed from it for a period of time (e.g. being in prison) and then getting reintroduced to it.

As a counterpoint, most living in a given system rarely notice even significant changes when they happen gradually over months and years. Being removed from a place cuts you off from being a part of that, when you return all the changes will hit you at once full force. But someone who never left will just shrug their shoulders and go "haven't you heard?". It can't seem so strange to them because they've been conditioned into it, it's become normal.

I hear similar stories from people who move abroad and return, I wouldn't simply dismiss them.

Cable news has always been terrible during my periods of awareness. The pattern of always breaking news filled with outrage. The term outrage porn was coined in 2009. It's been obvious to me for a very long time that it's garbage and not worthy watching.

2017 is a small step backwards. Most mainstream forums are pretty shit at any point in time.