Comparison as a side effect
A guy or a girl thousands of years ago in nomadic tribes only knew about 200 people in their whole lives. That’s was their pool for checking their place in the tribe.
Fast forward to the era after the advent of agriculture, and people still knew around 200 people but they now had someone they did not know ruling over them with a large wealth gap and social standing difference. Even if they knew few people, they could compare themselves with people they did not know, yet who were relatively close by in their vicinity.
And now, in our current era, most people again know only about 200 people in real world. Some more in the online world. But social media has broken down the barriers of geography for connection. And the side effect is that anyone can compare their own position with a random person around the globe, who they will never meet and never even come closer in some area. Yet, the mind will look at their glamorous photos and videos and yearn for all the things and experiences it does not yet have and lament at the miserable life you are leading.
What a time to be alive!
