Lately, everywhere I read, I see articles about the increased cruelty/meanness/rudeness of our modern world. Articles titled  How America Got Mean, Bad behavior at ‘Barbenheimer’ reflects a worrying trend, If you’ve felt like people are getting crueler, you may be right, We no longer know how to behave in public, and others are proliferating like Taylor Swift number one albums. And, when I read them, I think, “Yes! This is why I hate going to the movies/flying on planes/driving in cities.”

But is it true? A recent article in Nature posits no, that the illusion of moral decline is just that. Studies show that cooperation between strangers has actually increased over time. (You will NOT convince me we are much much ruder on planes, however.)

What do you think? Are people genuinely ruder than they used to be? And, if so, why do you think that is? And, for me, most importantly, what can we do to change that?