1mo ago

Almost half of Americans say people have gotten ruder since the COVID-19 pandemic.

www.pewresearch.org Almost half of Americans say people have gotten ruder since the COVID-19 pandemic

Many Americans perceive a rise in rude behavior, and 34% say they see it almost always or often when they go out in public.

Five years after the coronavirus outbreak, many Americans say public behavior in the United States has changed for the worse, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

53 comments

COVID, or the response to COVID, broke a lot of people's brains.
- Pretty much this.
  I worked retail during COVID. Watching people, somehow, find it within themselves to become more rude, demeaning and aggressive was awful.

Japan as well. One theory is that people realized how much nicer it was to have work-life balance and not be jammed on overcrowded rush hour trains only to be forced back to it
- I loved COVID so much, if people weren't dying and people weren't being deterred in camps (we were forcibly putting people in guarded camps like lol thats gonna be my crazy grampa story) but everything else stayed the same it would certainly be imperfect but closest we're ever moved toward a utopia.
  
  This is very much an introverted take that only sounds like utopia to the main audience on a website like this.
  Not that it didn't have upsides I just would heavily push back on calling any part of Covid or its outcome so far close to utopia.

I mean I don't know a lot of people actively wanted to kill others because they decided it was a fucking hoax and some of them literally went to their deathbeds while risking doctors' and nurses' lives via exposure to them.
Something emboldened the stupid to be monstrously pig-headed and arrogant about being stupid, and guess what, the people with an education are absolutely sick of their loser ass bullshit.
You don't negotiate or play nice with idiots whose stupidity can and will fucking kill you and your loved ones and even the ones doling out medical care to the idiots. Nah, this is the world they asked for. Done pandering to pansies who can't face fucking reality because it makes them feel stupid. Guess what, you are stupid. Get used to it, nimrod, or get a fucking education.
- Something emboldened the stupid to be monstrously pig-headed and arrogant about being stupid, and guess what, the people with an education are absolutely sick of their loser ass bullshit.
  Probably has something to do with something monstrously pig-headed and arrogant about being stupid being elected President and suffering literally zero consequences for its negative traits.
- Yeah this feels exactly how the cycle keeps on continuing back and forth. And while the start may have been legitimate criticism to awful behaviour we have a society fed by social media saying there is no such thing, just idiots who disagree.
  So, round and round we go. Pushing on the next insult to finally show those idiots we won't take it anymore and now everyone is upset with everyone.
  It takes more effort than I think anyone has the energy to, to be nice when you are hurting and angry. Especially when it's easy to see and feel like they don't deserve the energy.

Covid was the the grand reveal of what average americans actually are.
And 50% of average americans are self centered, hateful pieces of shit that deserve a fist shoved down their throat and a red hot rod shoved up their ass.
25% are genuinely decent people who would make any sacrifice to protect people they've never will, and probably never would meet.
and the remaining 25% make a big show of trying to decide between which one of these two groups of people are the actual good people. (and then, regardless of who they say or how they act, end up perfectly in line with the 50% )
- I think it was the Trump presidency, which coincided with the pandemic. Every piece of shit who rightfully kept their bad behavior under wraps was shown someone rewarded with the presidency for being an absolute human crusty cum sock and decided to go mask off. Then they banded together, like a hateful, musty pile of jizz saturated teenage laundry.
  
  100% this.
  I think it had been building for years due to ever increasing numbers of people behaving badly behind pseudonyms online but the majority of asshats still maintained the illusion of not being asshats. Trump's first ascendancy gave all those closet asshats permission to no longer care about maintaining illusions.
  
  In one respect, Hillary Clinton was right. How she named the seething mass of ignorant hatred was spot on.
  The Deplorables.
- Hey now. Some of us are rude now because we had to deal with that 50% for so many years. Eventually, we stopped asking them politely and start telling them to lick toilet seats.
- Honestly, well stated.

Customer service rep here. Can confirm.
- Not saying it’s ok to be rude or anything bad/negative but those customer service scripts or how ever they train their employees is so degrading or just plain bad and I want to drop something heavy on my toe about it. I like to heavily roll my eyes every time. I know there’s a rhyme and reason for it (not the America common courtesy BS) so I don’t mind to be educated about it. I rather people just be human and be helpful and not treat other off put .
  
  "I have a problem, you need to add a feature flag to my account that wasn't properly provisoned."
  "OK, let's check, are you on wifi? Have cellular signal?"
  "Yes, irrelevant, I need this feature code added to the account. You'll be off this call in 30 seconds and your KPMs will look amazing."
  "OK, first, let's try resetting your network settings."
  "You realize doing that erases all saved wifi networks, VPNs, Bluetooth pairings, and a bunch of other stuff that will take me hours to fix, and has nothing to do with my problem?"
  "OK, continuing on... let me send a network refresh."
  "Just look up the feature code to provision this."
  "OK, we will, generate a new eSIM."
  Most tech support calls here. Just give me admin access and I'll fix it myself. (I try to never be rude, I know they gotta follow a script but I'm hand-feeding the answer here!)

I always knew deep down inside that most people are shit head assholes.
Covid brought me a lot of validation in those feelings.
The other thing people are missing is that Covid came about during trumps presidency and it was Trump that TRULY showed me how fucking abhorrent a huge amount of people are in this country.
As a result I have a lot less respect and regard for the common person.

America has hollowed out its public school system, and then wonders why products of that system have reduced in quality?

32% say it’s sometimes acceptable to play music out loud
I can't say I'm surprised by the revelation that 32% of people need to fuck off and die, I just didn't think that it would br for this.

Its all the drain bamage.

People have been saying that the world is getting ruder for thousands of years. I didn't see anywhere in the article where they compared this finding to that baseline.
- https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/new-data-reveal-reckless-driving-has-increased-post-pandemic
  https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/202407-AAAFTS-Impact-of-COVID.pdf
  https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/11/20/what-the-data-says-about-dangerous-driving-and-road-rage-in-the-us/
  https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/auto-motor/driving-habits-post-pandemic-are-getting-more-dangerous-446360.aspx
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2046043024001047
  Reckless driving, impaired driving, lack of seatbelt use, driving without a license, and road rage are easily documented antisocial behaviors ("rude") and they have increased. Numerous studies have covered the increase in dangerous driving behaviors since the onset of COVID and they have only decreased slightly since.
  
  Mr. Snot Flickerman with the receipts!
  
  The new one in my current city is also driving without a license plats to not get charged at the tolls and being able to avoid dashcams in accidents...
  Saying it out loud it's more like the rules don't matter because of a lack of enforcement from digital systems being easily exploited.

I always felt it was because of 'social norms' (the unwritten non-laws we all conduct ourselves by) have eroded away in the age of Trump, enhancing the normal angst the two 'culture war' sides have for each other, releasing people from acting civilly with each other. Throw in the new age of corporate 'conflict bots' on social media, and things get amped up even more.
_This _comment _is _licensed _under _CC _BY-NC-SA _4.0

Everybodys got their head shoved up their ass.
Main character syndrome is rampant.
- "What do you mean five people got here before me?! I NEED my coffee!"

No. Started before pandemic.
Been brewing for 100yrs or better.
Largest recent notable change was when Chump gave permission/encouragement to "people" to be public assholes starting the Cult of Chump.
And it's gone downhill from there.
- I thought you were talking about the old T-shirt company.
  https://www.etsy.com/listing/1840456509/vintage-90s-chump-gear-i-like-winning?ref=sr_gallery-1-1&pro=1&frs=1&content_source=93222733223bdbe139c3033c95b2b897367d3712%253A1840456509&logging_key=93222733223bdbe139c3033c95b2b897367d3712%3A1840456509

I'd definitely agree, especially regarding driving. Last summer I was talking with my insurance agent, and wondering why auto insurance rates were going through the roof, to which he responded that accidents are surging. I live in a small town, and haven't really seen to much of an increase. Then I went down to visit my mom last weekend, and holy shit now I know what they're talking about. People driving like absolute lunatics, much worse than when I lived down there, especially during rush hour. Another side note, COVID broke people experiencing concerts. It used to be people dancing, moshing, singing along, etc. Now, people just stand there, usually on their phones, and look at you like a nutjob if you dance. I saw David Gilmore at the Hollywood Bowl a few months ago, and aside from people talking straight through the show (which happened even before COVID because people have always sucked), most of the crowd was sitting still in their seats, and the people behind us got mad when we were standing. It was weird. Like I know that Gilmore attracts an older crowd these days, but still, it's David freaking Gilmore.

I’d walk that back to the first trump campaign. That’s when assholes decided it was ok to come out of the closet and abandon all pretenses at having any objective reasoning behind it. The whole “snowflake”, “liberal tears”, and “fucking the country up is ok as long as it pisses off the libs” thing really got rolling.
Don’r forget, we had trump convoys harassing people, nazis at protests starting fights, laws made so that it is ok to run over protesters…. Yeah, the shitty behavior thing was in full swing prior to Covid.

I don't think people have been parenting at all for over thirty years and as a result we have become a nation of self unaware entitled shitbags with IQ's in the double digits at best.
Idiocracy is fucking real life.
- It doesn't help that our public education system has been purposely dismantled over that time as well
- It sure does feel like that sometimes. Maybe to much emphasis on childhood being never over and western society viewing childhood as a period free of consequences, as if that could ever be true. As if they front load heaven for afluent people and suggest it could be permanent if only they believe in it and pay up.
  But unfortunately they aren't stupid. Self unaware people can be shockingly smart and think themselves in the right crowd through brazenly dumb logic.

Because of COVID, or just within the last few years? I'm not sure the rudeness was caused purely by the pandemic, because gestures broadly

Well that’s rude of them to say…

Tons more road rage

I have much less tolerance for morons.

They also can’t fucking drive to save their own lives and are constantly checking their phone at red lights.

This it’s me so let me explain. First of all fuck you, second I don’t owe you shit, third get the fuck out of my way and I won’t have to be rude bitch