[PragmaticPulp]

> Personal tragedy used to be unbelievably common for humans. Just consider the sheer number of childhood deaths before the year 1800.

While the troughs of that sorrow are undoubtedly deeper, childhood deaths in your family weren't a 24/7 stressor.

I think the issue is that people can log in to Reddit, Twitter, or even any news website and receive a constant stream of tragedy, bad news, and worry. It's no longer an exception, it's the everyday experience available on demand.

I see this come up in extremely online young people I work with: They're always invested in a new tragedy or catastrophe or drama or concern somewhere in the world, but those worries disappear and get replaced with a new one as soon as the news cycles shift. They weren't actually invested in it, they were just reacting to what they put in front of their eyes for hours per day.

[MrLeap]

This probably depends on the parent. One of my older brothers died when I was in 3rd grade. After that, the head vice was pretty much constant until my mother kicked me out at 14. Things rapidly improved after that.