The idea that the masses in society have become mentally (and physically) weak because of the declining amount of time and quality of sleep they get.
In the Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn says, "sleeplessness befogs the reason, undermines the will, and the human being ceases to be himself, to be his own 'I.'"
Instead of Soviet-era prisoners, imagine the modern society in which the majority lack sufficient sleep. The main difference here in modern society is that the sleep deprivation process is not physically enforced by the regime, but its rather determined by the choices of the individual. These are choices that individuals make that can impede their sleep. Commonly we see people consume products (fast food, caffeine, etc.) and use technological devices (phone use late at night) that will harm their sleep schedule.
Was it ever really normal for kids in school to have only a few hours of sleep until recently? Of course not, but the use of addictive substances and devices recently has allowed this to happen. The result of sleep deprivation from these products on a mass scale is that people are much more susceptible to deviate from societal norms because they lack the agency to maintain them. With people lacking the willpower to maintain societal norms, this serves as an excellent opportunity for regimes. Regimes will then craft narratives for the weak-willed people, and these people will naturally incorporate these ideas within their moral framework.
In the Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn says, "sleeplessness befogs the reason, undermines the will, and the human being ceases to be himself, to be his own 'I.'"
Instead of Soviet-era prisoners, imagine the modern society in which the majority lack sufficient sleep. The main difference here in modern society is that the sleep deprivation process is not physically enforced by the regime, but its rather determined by the choices of the individual. These are choices that individuals make that can impede their sleep. Commonly we see people consume products (fast food, caffeine, etc.) and use technological devices (phone use late at night) that will harm their sleep schedule.
Was it ever really normal for kids in school to have only a few hours of sleep until recently? Of course not, but the use of addictive substances and devices recently has allowed this to happen. The result of sleep deprivation from these products on a mass scale is that people are much more susceptible to deviate from societal norms because they lack the agency to maintain them. With people lacking the willpower to maintain societal norms, this serves as an excellent opportunity for regimes. Regimes will then craft narratives for the weak-willed people, and these people will naturally incorporate these ideas within their moral framework.
"That dude's life is literally just a 3-hour sleep schedule with a diet consisting of Cheetos and Sprite... and he is surprised he has low energy and feels depressed. He is the epitome of someone living under a Societal Sleep Psychosis."
by schizo.lounge February 4, 2022

When two people spend a lot of time together and begin to develop feelings for each other. But they actually are just assuming society's view on relationships. That people are suppose to be in pairs. So two good friends think they're in a romantic relationship.
John and Jane are both unemployed, so they have a lot of time to spend together. They start getting feelings that they mistaken as romance. They start really dating, get jobs and realize they were suffering from societal familiarity disorder (SFD)!
by TheGoonies February 7, 2014

Or S.A.; When a major, unexpected, unfortunate event happens, which was caused by hatred and or corruption, it usually prompts the government and various populations in society to quickly mobilize to address the issue that caused the event occur, even if relatively little is known about the problem. The result of this mobilization is an avalanche of social, economic, and or political changes and reform efforts meant to prevent the issue from reoccurring and or to make it less severe when it does occur. The event produces many consequences, some are noticed immediately, while are others don’t get quite so much attention until a later point in time.
An example of a societal avalanche is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. When the oil spill happened, governmental agencies from numerous countries found in and around the Gulf of Mexico rushed to try to clean up the oil spill. People volunteered with various environmental organizations to save as many of trapped fish, birds, and turtles as they could. Many members of the public, environmental groups, and local fishing companies pushed politicians to pass stricter regulations for companies drilling for oil offshore, pass policies to get the U.S. to get more of its energy supply from more renewable sources that are safer to employ, and pass laws to provide financial relief to the local fishing companies that were negatively impacted by the accident. An investigation from BP and the U.S. government later revealed that lack of regard for safety policies and the rushed, cheap construction of the rig were responsible for the accident.
by Vanguard 1998 April 5, 2021

or ISVEE; The process where, after somebody dies, society and the government value the person who died less as time passes by. The more time that has passed since the person died, the less society and the government value them as an individual. How rapidly this process occurs depends on how important society viewed the person as being, how they died, and how many close friends and family the individual had.
Person 1: Isaiah was nice guy. Its a shame more people don't remember who he was and how much he helped this community. Its only been five years since he died.
Person 2: Yeah. Unfortunately, a lot of people have forgotten about him and value him that much anymore. He is a victim of the Individual societal value erosion effect, which is very unfortunate.
Person 1: I agree with you there.
Person 2: Yeah. Unfortunately, a lot of people have forgotten about him and value him that much anymore. He is a victim of the Individual societal value erosion effect, which is very unfortunate.
Person 1: I agree with you there.
by Vanguard 1998 January 23, 2021

You aren't socially rewarding anybody. I think that is not only the single most offensive way of structuring a society but serves no purpose other than to condition people to accept servitude. You know that right? That isn't a thing.
Hym "That sounds like some ignorant conservative shit. You aren't 'Societally Rewarding' people when they exchange their labor or advance or they 'succeed in general'. That's not a social reward. People try to treat it that way. As though success is a societal reward. They do the same thing with sex. But their behavior in no way needs to be concordant with any consistent behavioral ethic. They can find vague, amorphous predictors. And sure, I'm sure the data on the predictors is accurate. But that's not the point. Who has the sucess is irrelevant. That it's FRAMED as a 'Societal reward' is the issue and what's more interesting is what I think is WHY it's framed that way. The success isn't enough. They want to DESERVE it. So... It's societally framed as a reward. So that people are motivated to strive for success. So that what they succeed, they get that release of dopamine and continue to strive. It's a 'Skinner Box.' (In abstraction obviously). A conceptual machine much like my Chaff grenade or my money generator. A lot of things are treated like Societal reward. Association. Sex. Success. A portable skinner box sold to you buy society. You carry it with you everywhere you go and then blame social media while you mash the button. But I've said this all before."
by Hym Iam August 23, 2023

The Societal Trinity is a occurring phenomenon in that give enough time every society will create some form of sword, doughnut, and alcoholic beverage.
by EvilR1chMan2498 April 4, 2024

e-mail and online society provides a safe haven for delinquent freaks, outcasts and downcasts from the dow jones, dutifully fulfilling a social purpose and thus succeeding with this where other applications dismally failed.
by Hercolena Oliver May 26, 2008
