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Comment by wavemode | Hacker News Reader

The subtext is that most Redditors have significantly better lives than 90% of people on Earth.

Life is bleak if you perceive it to be bleak.

You mean most Redditors live in a country with a higher GDP than 90% of people on Earth. That doesn't necessarily translate into 'significantly better lives', especially in a country with wealth gaps such as the USA has.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiymTzsZfoA

Who in the world has it worst? I want to make sure I listen to the right person.

You act like this is an enigma. Let’s start with people without college degrees and no family history of college degrees.

Surely there are people who have it worse than that, no?

It isn't necessary to identify the world's most unfortunate person to recognize that most redditors have privileged lives, yet choose to wallow in misery.

I just choose to not let what redditors do bother me.

To wit, the vast majority of them have:

- easy access to clean water

- sufficient calories

- safe shelter

- education (presumably they can read and write if they’re on Reddit)

- internet access

- free time (can’t be writing nasty comments on Reddit if you’re swinging a pick axe in a coal mine)

Many of these things can’t be claimed by millions in the world.

And yet, it’s one of the most cynical, negative places on the internet.

This is not the 1950s. Most American's have internet, where they can see average people living lives around the world. Their houses may be a bit worse, but their cars are normally newer, they have internet, they have FAMILY. They have vibrant COMMUNITY. They have free time.

Are you not agreeing with their point?

Everything you listed are reasons NOT to be so cynical

It depends on how you measure quality of life.

I can't afford the yacht lifestyle enjoyed by Jeff Bezos, so my life is ruined. #EatTheRich

More like the super rich have huge influence over politics and can buy media companies to push their preferred narrative. Elon being the most visible example.

I'm not a member of the richest most powerful group of people ever, and my government falls far short of the ideal I envision, therefore I cannot possibly enjoy my life.

Who at this point trusts any media anymore?

See, that's just using the same measuring rod. If you measure quality of life by income, yes, even poor Americans live good lives compared to the rest of the world.

There are many other factors you could evaluate it on, though, and many of them are harder to quantify. Stuff like personal agency, status, leisure time, social life, community cohesion, etc.

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