Why is everything so superficial in American society?

What is wrong with this society? Most people are fake and empty... it makes me wonder if they even have any insides. Things that are hugely popular aren't deep at all... What has gone wrong here? It is very depressing.

@thegerg: Which is what?

Just remember:

I'm having a good time living here.

@Master_Live: Beautiful.

Empty in what? Cite an example.

i agree. examples would be good. what's not "deep"?

@jun_aka_pekto: Facebook for example. MANY People post pictures of them smiling or at a bar drinking, their cars and what they are eating. Those things are fine to talk about sometimes, but that is ALL they talk about or share. The problems of the human condition, or even the beautiful things about it are rarely, if ever discussed. Similar things happen at many jobs... it's all about making money... what it feels like to do these jobs is never taken into consideration. Who someone truly is never matters... it's all about how much money can be made. Conversations in most place are also largely meaningless... its like hi how are you... and talking about the weather or what Byoence? is wearing. Of course there are exceptions, but this is what I mean.

@SaintLeonidas: Thinking this is funny is also a good example of what I am talking about. It has no substance.

You are right, what you are saying has no substance.

Yeah, no

USA is more superficial than other societies.

If you're going to mention FB, don't limit it to American society because other societies are guilty of it as well, some even more so than American society. I know plenty of Americans who don't use social media because they're simply too busy with life to spend time in FB and other social sites.

My FB "friends" consist mainly of family and friends in the real world. We use FB for small talk. We save the deeper stuff when we visit each other in the real world or when we chat on the phone. I don't mind the small stuff my relatives post because these are their daily doings that I'd see if I was home with them. They're clear across the other side of the US and overseas (mainly from my wife's side aka in-laws). FB is the easiest way for us to keep track of each other. If we need more, we either call each other or do some VOIP.

Perhaps, it's different if the meaningless talk is from someone online you've never met in the real world. I don't know because I don't make (FB) friends with anyone I've never met in the real world.

Yes, your're such a deep individual to judge an entire society based on facebook and casual conversations.

Go away

I doubt it. You can't even talk about your own.

No "superficial" societies, just superficial people. Superficiality is an inability to see deeply into something. Certain aspects of popular culture definitely lack a self-critical apparatus, but that does not extend to an entire "society" whatever your definition of that "society" is. Moreover, the US is a country of 300million people, to boil it down as "Facebook" or "Friends" is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not even an American and I would say this is a gross troll-baiting understatement.

*addendum, DonQuixote, are you tilting at windmills? Have you just got me to follow you, like a dopey Sancho Panza into your fallacious straw man argument?

Generalizations are bad.

@JangoWuzHere: It applies to a huge number of people. I have spoken to many people who deal with hundreds of people do to work/school that confirm this. I have also read/seen what is made very famous in terms of entertainment. Millions of people are involved in these things. Of course there are exceptions. Maybe you should go away.

Because the United States is the most medicated country on the planet.

Depression hurts, Cymbalta can help.

@false6hepherd: I admit there are exceptions... read my post before this one.

Oh look it's the dude that is so edgy he spends all his time bashing the US.....you know what they say about those that protest too much. As for the topic.....the OP is rather superficial. And generalizations......really dude. If you're not part of the answer then you're part of the problem.

Try again later....

superficiality is at the heart of everything arbitrary, which is pretty much all cultures and societies and languages and customs

people post pictures of themselves on their Facebooks always acting happy, it's a sign of social affluence, such behavior actually can achieve the desired results of appearing to be fun and happy, which in turn draws people toward such individuals

So...are you including yourself? Are you also one of the superficial ones, or are you under the impression that you are one of the "deep" people who isn't "fake and empty"?

So...are you including yourself? Are you also one of the superficial ones, or are you under the impression that you are one of the "deep" people who isn't "fake and empty"?

It's because you're all selfish pricks.

If i would live there i'd kill myself

@LJS9502_basic: I said there are exceptions... and no I am not superficial... largely at least. Also this stupid idea that a lot of you have that goes something like, "OMG HE SAID something bad about the USA let's ignore what he is saying because he insulted our beloved country" is well... ridiculous. What I am saying is OBVIOUSLY a real issue. I don't hate the USA... I grew up here and I am trying to make it better.

Oh for fucks sake.....no one needs your excuses. Here's a newsflash for you....other countries really aren't that different....at least comparable first world countries. Stop whining. Generalizations are never reality. They fit a small percentage of a population and the ignorant latch onto it as fact.

@lamprey263: Yeah people get attracted to fake personas... and on some level they must know that... they like that because many people can't face anything real and intense. Being delusional is easier. Those people who constantly do that aren't showing the depth of their character... if they even have any. We can't achieve intimacy and meaningful relationships being like that.

@LJS9502_basic: Why are you so angry? I assume because you are probably part of the problem I am talking about. Also mentioning other countries is completely irrelevant... I never brought that up. Also... AGAIN I said there are exceptions, and I explained how an enormous number of people are implicated. It is not a small percentage of the population. If anyone is ignorant it is you. Before you answer this in a fit of senseless rage... think... and try making some sense. Alright go!

I'm not angry. I dislike stupidity.

@LJS9502_basic: Well you are being stupid... so clearly there is some self hatred going on here as well as senseless anger. I wish you the best. My uncle is a psychiatrist... I can get you a discount on therapy sessions if you want.

This thread topic feels half-baked and insubstantial. You're making a huge generalization based on your own personal experience as opposed to any real, useful evidence for support.

I guess you don't travel much, do you? People are superficial all around the world. The US is actually lenient when it comes to appearances. I've been living outside the US for over 5 years now. Whenever I come back to the states for Christmas and summer vacation I get reverse culture shock by the amount of slobby looking people in America. People in other counties put much more stake into their looks and appearances.

@thegerg: I said EVERYTHING as an exaggeration to illustrate the point. I amended my statement.

"liberal" government.

There are some people who are hopelessly shallow but I've found that most people have something to say if you engage them in meaningful discussion. Strangers always seem more superficial because you don't know enough about them to make them real.

You know this isn't exclusive to the US

Generalizations are the height of stupidity.

Many Americans are raised to be superficial. They're raised to think they they need to drive a nice car when they grow up, that they need to accumulate more "things" to be happy. Literally, there's nothing more important to many American women than how much money you make - how you treat her isn't half as important, as long as you buy her anything she desired. It all boils down to this: America is a culture of consumption. People around here are petty and prefer having nice things than having strong and important relationships with other people. Same thing with Facebook, many girls these days would prefer to have 100's of Facebook friends than a handful of real life friends who are honest with each other. I hear never-ending tails of girls who are supposedly "best friends" do nothing but talk mad shit about each other when they aren't hanging out together. It's more common in America these days for someone to enter a marriage if convenient, and leave it if convenient, than to actually enter a marriage with intention of spending the rest of their life with that person. Welcome to Western Culture breh, before you know it, the whole world will be engulfed in it, thanks to our good friends in the UN and Europe.

wow

@LJS9502_basic: Is this your way of apologizing?

Rephrased it, but my point still stands. Many women (most?) dig money and good jobs above all else.

Want to test my theory? Make a PoF account and give yourself any prestigious profession, I promise you will receive infinite amounts of attention. Make the same PoF account but change the job to "cart pusher", then compare the amount of women who want to meet you.

P.S. I've already tested this before, so you don't need to, but I can tell you the results if you can't take a guess...

Hell - you can test this on a personal level. Any guy who has been on enough dates knows how much further a date will go if you offer to pay for the entirety of it versus never offering to pay at all. Girls generally don't like equality - they much prefer to be taken care of, because there are men who will take care of them. Women who insist on paying their half and being a completely individual are much harder to find. If what I was saying weren't true, rich guys would have a much more difficult time finding women, but they have no difficulty at all. Rich guys typically have more choices of women than they know what to do with, whereas a poor guy would have a much harder time gaining attention from a woman.

Your theory is PoF? That's just about the trashiest dating site there is.

Also, you are taking online dating way too seriously. Everyone is guilty of being superficial on there because how the heck can you know someone through a small block of text and some basic facts about them.

My theory is based upon common sense, experience, and years of observation. What I posted was just an experiment - you're the one taking it too seriously lol, it proves exactly what I said it does. You can pretend women don't care about money, but as a fellow male, I'm telling you that you're going to have an easier time meeting women if you make more money. That's just how life is. Deny it all you want, but you're denying something that's more or less commonly known by everyone.

And there are probably a dozen more trashier dating sites, I can list them if you want. There are all types of women on PoF, a good portion of the people I see on there are UW graduates - anything but trash. It's a decent way to gauge how much attention someone is capable of getting from females, even if the attention is only on the most superficial level. And I'm not exactly sure why you figure women are more guilty of being superficial on dating sites than in real life...gee whiz, I wonder if it has anything to do with people being more honest on the internet...