The Who Cares Era

Perceived Rise in Apathy and Mediocrity

• Many describe a “who cares” culture: workers doing the bare minimum, shoddy construction, poor public services, indifferent cops, sloppy service jobs.
• Others push back: this has long been observed (Peter Principle, old bureaucracy jokes); what’s changed is scale, visibility, and tools to half‑ass.

Economic Incentives, Stagnant Futures, Late-Stage Capitalism

• Strong theme: it’s rational not to care when wages stagnate, housing is unattainable, and job security is low. Extra effort often yields “more work, same pay.”
• People cite 2008, wage stagnation, offshoring, and financialization: productivity gains and low interest rates benefited capital, not labor.
• “Act your wage” and “nothing matters” attitudes are framed as survival responses to degraded social contracts and rising inequality, not moral failure.

Phones, Social Media, and Attention Collapse

• Many blame smartphone and social media addiction for pervasive distraction at work and in life: garbage collectors, delivery workers, hospital staff, even parents at playdates glued to screens.
• Others note this predates social media (TV, mass media) but agree that constant engagement erodes attention, safety, social skills, and capacity to care.

AI, Slop Content, and Dead-Internet Vibes

• AI-written supplements and resumes are seen as the logical endpoint of ad-driven, SEO-maximized media: content optimized for clicks, not meaning.
• Some argue AI just makes existing “slop” cheaper; the real problem is a system that rewards volume over truth and depth.
• There’s anxiety about AI being used primarily to cut jobs and replace craft, further weakening incentives to care.

Work Structures, Bureaucracy, and Loss of Pride

• Large organizations, public and private, are depicted as short‑termist, metrics-obsessed, and hostile to craftsmanship (ship fast, patch later, defer real fixes).
• Bureaucratic drag (permitting, understaffed departments, union stalemates) explains slow projects as much as laziness; yet citizens experience it as “nobody gives a damn.”
• People report that loyalty and overperformance are punished or exploited, encouraging checked‑out behavior.

Counterexamples and “Bike Shop” Jobs

• Commenters note pockets where people still clearly care: trades in some countries, passionate small shops (bikes, instruments, outdoor gear), some tech niches, serious podcasts and investigative work.
• These are often passion-driven, small-scale, less financialized roles where autonomy and identity are tied to the work.

Meaning, Burnout, and Selective Caring

• Many say there’s simply “too much to care about” (news, wars, politics, climate, endless content); emotional bandwidth is finite, so apathy becomes self‑defense.
• Some advocate caring deliberately—in one’s craft, community, or relationships—as a kind of rebellion against a system that makes indifference the easier, more rational choice.