Depends on your perspective.

I know the more I’m on my phone, and the more social media I consume, the more I feel that way. But when I actually get out into the world and meet people and do stuff.. it’s not nearly so bad.

And it’s cheesy but: “grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

The world, is full of goodness, hope, progress and humour. But, you need to accept that in between all the media (news) that focuses on the negative, and bad noise. Look at a parent playing with a kid, look at a kitten, look at a doctor, look at a teacher. Saving, creating, improving lives, in spite of the negativity of the 'press'.

The trick is not to think about it.

I stopped following the 24 hour news cycle a some time last decade and my quality of life improved radically.

I curate what I read myself, with RSS feeds, Reddit subscriptions and whatever happens to get to the front page of Hacker News =)

I don't need to know up to the minute death tolls from COVID the war in Ukraine or the latest natural disaster. I don't need to know which politician lied this time and what their opponent said to that. Knowing that doesn't bring anything positive to my life.

(I also find it fascinating that Gen X is completely forgotten in this discourse, like the OP did. It's just "Millennials and GenZ" for every debate)

This comment is filled with replies from obviously privileged people. I’m very glad there’s people who can look at the world and still think it’s more good than bad, and I sure hope those are the majority, but that’s simply not the case for everyone. Some people unfortunately live with fear not because they read too many news, but simply because the world is hostile to them, and we have to acknowledge that as well.

The world is generally a better place than it has ever been. That trend seems to continue.

"The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better."