The Demands of Modern Life
Written on May 29, 2026
In my last post I discussed why, given the enormous improvements in people's quality of life over, say, the last 80 years, in countries like the UK, there appears to be so much discontent, anxiety and distress and such a vast increase in the prevalence of mental health problems. I suggested that this may be at least partly related to the increasing expectations of succeeding generations about what life has to offer and the anguish when these expectations are thwarted or unrealised.
Another, very plausible, reason that has been advanced is that the progress of modern life has imposed greater cognitive demands on how we achieve and maintain the quality of life we have come to expect. In bygone days, the skills we learned, the work we did to earn our living, and the ways we enjoyed what leisure time we had were all much more physical (and in the main simpler) than is the case today. And as I said in my previous post, impediments to what we would consider to be a good life would tend to be more at the physical level - illness, injury and restrictions on freedom.
Compare this with life today. We can pretty much substitute 'physical demands' with 'cognitive demands' in the above paragraph. So let's now consider some common cognitve impediments to achieving our goals in life: impairments in our ability to read and write, perform calculations, maintain our concentration, learn and memorise copious amounts of verbal material, and make plans, and not having sufficient general intelligence to achieve these goals.
I am not merely talking about the demands of paid employment. We are now required to undergo years of education and training before we are ready to start making a living, and much of this carries a significant cognitve load. Similarly, the skills required for engaging in the ever-widening range of leisure time activities have also become more cognitively demanding. The same may be said for essential activities of everyday living such as making purchases, paying bills, making appointments, and operating household gadgets. In days gone by, cognitive disability or inability, as described here, unlike physical disability, would be of much less consequence in the lives of most people.
Something else that may compromise our ability to achieve our expectations in education, employment, leisure and everyday living is psychological distress and disorder - for example, anxiety and depression, particularly when persistent (note 1).
It therefore seems plausible that in a society in which the requirements of leading a fulfilling life are so cognitively demanding for the individual there will be a higher-than-expected incidence of mental health problems (note 2).
Note
1. In my role as a volunteer humanist in a university chaplaincy, I support students who are struggling with grief over the loss of a loved one. Though grief is a normal reaction for anyone, it can be all the more difficult for students when they must also cope with the demands of their coursework and achieve their hoped-for grades.
2. Another possible consideration, particularly concerning young people, but one I shall not discuss here, is excessive use of IT, notably smartphones, and the rise of online social media.
Next time: More of the same.
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