--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern…" description: "\"“There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern people. Those little moments of goofiness that used to make the day pass seem to have gone. Life's so serious ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg" --- # There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern people. Those… ![“There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern people. Those little moments of goofiness that used to make the day pass seem to have gone. Life's so serious now. Maybe it's just because I'm with an older gang now.[...]I mean nobody even has hobbies these days. Not that I can see. Husbands and wives both…” quote by Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg) > ““There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern people. Those little moments of goofiness that used to make the day pass seem to have gone. Life's so serious now. Maybe it's just because I'm with an older gang now.\[...\]I mean nobody even has hobbies these days. Not that I can see. Husbands and wives both work. Kids are farmed out to schools and video games. Nobody seems able to endure simply being themselves, either - but at the same time they're isolated. People work much more, only go home and surf the Internet and send e-mail rather than calling or writing a note or visiting each other. They work, watch TV, and sleep. I see these things. The world is only about work: work work work get get get...racing ahead...getting sacked from work...going online...knowing computer languages...winning contracts. I mean, it's just not what I would have imagined the world might be if you'd asked me seventeen years ago. People are frazzled and angry, desperate about money, and, at best, indifferent to the future.”” [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote laments modern life’s loss of light‑heartedness and genuine connection, replaced by relentless work, digital distraction, and existential fatigue. **In simple terms:** People have become overly serious, isolated, and focused on work and screens. Key Takeaway Prioritize play, real conversation, and personal hobbies. Themes modern life isolation work culture digital distraction loss of play existential fatigue Mood reflective concerned critical Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - family gatherings - community events - digital detox retreats - creative workshops - mindful breaks Key Concepts consumerism technological alienation social disconnection Questions to Reflect On - How can you reintroduce spontaneous fun into daily routines? - What small offline habits could rebuild genuine connections? A Different Perspective The critique may overlook that some find meaning and community online, and not everyone feels the same level of stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/) [Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Husbands And Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husbands-and-wives/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Little moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-moments/) [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Video games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video-games/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [We are the angry and the desperate, the hungry, and the cold, we are the ones who kept quiet and always did what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rise-against/we-are-the-angry-and-the-desperate-the-hungry-and-the-cold-we-are-the/) [Rise Against](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rise-against/) > [When you see government leaders really bullying business, you know that government's economic policy is failing. They get angry and they get desperate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/when-you-see-government-leaders-really-bullying-business-you-know/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [“My mind then wandered. I thought of this: I thought of how every day each of us experiences a few little moments that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/my-mind-then-wandered-i-thought-of-this-i-thought-of-how-every-day/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [It's modern day. It is modern day. Some of the cars are older but it is absolutely modern day. There are modern cars in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-farmer/it-s-modern-day-it-is-modern-day-some-of-the-cars-are-older-but-it-is/) [Todd Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-farmer/) > [“Modern people are just like ancient ones, only more numerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/modern-people-are-just-like-ancient-ones-only-more-numerous/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [It is especially difficult for modern people to conceive that our modern, scientific age might not be an improvement over the prescientific period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/it-is-especially-difficult-for-modern-people-to-conceive-that-our/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-modern-people-think-of-miracles-as-the-suspension-of-the-natural-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Modern people are only willing to believe in their computers, while I believe in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-robert/modern-people-are-only-willing-to-believe-in-their-computers-while-i/) [Alain Robert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-robert/) > [“modern people think that any one who makes himself slightly uncomfortable in public will immediately be uproariously popular.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/modern-people-think-that-any-one-who-makes-himself-slightly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Modern people are calibrated for a whole different level of danger acceptance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/modern-people-are-calibrated-for-a-whole-different-level-of-danger/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [modern people have seen too many chemicals and are ready to go back to eating dirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/modern-people-have-seen-too-many-chemicals-and-are-ready-to-go-back/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“This is the only period in all human history when people were proud of being modern. For though to-day is always to-day and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/this-is-the-only-period-in-all-human-history-when-people-were-proud/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“It was possible to look at actual smartphones and tablets and laptops that had been manufactured on Old Earth. They did not work anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/it-was-possible-to-look-at-actual-smartphones-and-tablets-and-laptops/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Perhaps these ancient observatories like Stonehenge perennially impress modern people because modern people have no idea how the Sun, Moon, or stars move. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/perhaps-these-ancient-observatories-like-stonehenge-perennially/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Perhaps some day, modern people will learn that mystery is not the prison of the mind of people, it is their home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-farrell/perhaps-some-day-modern-people-will-learn-that-mystery-is-not-the/) Walter Farrell ## More by Douglas Coupland > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [The future and eternity are two entirely different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-future-and-eternity-are-two-entirely-different-things/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“But Dag, for all of his efforts, might as well have been talking to a cat. Our parents’ generation seems neither able nor interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/but-dag-for-all-of-his-efforts-might-as-well-have-been-talking-to-a/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Negative? Moi? I think realistic might be a better word. You mean to tell me we can drive all the way here from L.A.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/negative-moi-i-think-realistic-might-be-a-better-word-you-mean-to/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [It was pivotal in making you but you don't remember it. Or do you? Do we understand the events that make us who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/it-was-pivotal-in-making-you-but-you-don-t-remember-it-or-do-you-do/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Your ability to rationalize your own bad deeds makes you believe that the whole world is as amoral as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/your-ability-to-rationalize-your-own-bad-deeds-makes-you-believe-that/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“I like to go beach-combing, and I like to find interestingly shaped rocks. When I really get into the groove I start finding beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-like-to-go-beach-combing-and-i-like-to-find-interestingly-shaped/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“You know, Dag and Claire smile a lot, as do many people I know. But I always wondered if there is something either mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-know-dag-and-claire-smile-a-lot-as-do-many-people-i-know-but-i/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Brain research tells us that only twenty percent of human beings have a sense of irony, which means that eighty percent of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/brain-research-tells-us-that-only-twenty-percent-of-human-beings-have/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I keep vampire hours, going to bed at 2 A.M. and waking up at about 10:30-11 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-keep-vampire-hours-going-to-bed-at-2-a-m-and-waking-up-at-about-10/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Anna-Louise leans over and whispers in my ear. "This is so surreal," she says, "I think I'm turning into a melting clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/anna-louise-leans-over-and-whispers-in-my-ear-this-is-so-surreal-she/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [When you grow up these days, you're told you're going to have four or five different careers during your lifetime. But what they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/when-you-grow-up-these-days-you-re-told-you-re-going-to-have-four-or/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) [Explore all 704 Douglas Coupland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More Consumption quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [“Truth is commodity in political consumption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/truth-is-commodity-in-political-consumption/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Is the minor convenience of allowing the present generation the luxury of doubling its energy consumption every 10 years worth the major hazard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/is-the-minor-convenience-of-allowing-the-present-generation-the/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [The obsessive documentation is itself adjacent to hyper-consumption in our society. The desire to just have everything all the time and adjacent to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-leo/the-obsessive-documentation-is-itself-adjacent-to-hyper-consumption/) [Ted Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-leo/) > [Over-consumption is a cancer eating away at our spiritual vitals. It distances us from the great masses of broken bleeding humanity. It converts us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/over-consumption-is-a-cancer-eating-away-at-our-spiritual-vitals-it/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is a very effective way to raise awareness and consumption of two vital food groups that are sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dean-crapo/the-fresh-fruit-and-vegetable-program-is-a-very-effective-way-to/) Michael Dean Crapo > [On the whole it may be observed, that the specific use of a body of unproductive consumers, is to give encouragement to wealth by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/on-the-whole-it-may-be-observed-that-the-specific-use-of-a-body-of/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/gentlemen-comrades-do-not-be-concerned-about-all-you-hear-about/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [We are being conditioned, as a population, to never wait, to never delay our gratification, to accept thoughtless, constant consumption as the new norm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/we-are-being-conditioned-as-a-population-to-never-wait-to-never-delay/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [Americans don't eat horses. They are not raised as food animals and they are treated with chemicals that render them unsafe for consumption. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/americans-don-t-eat-horses-they-are-not-raised-as-food-animals-and/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/you-might-think-of-consumption-as-a-fairly-passive-activity-but/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [“Every society clings to a myth by which it lives. Ours is the myth of economic growth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/every-society-clings-to-a-myth-by-which-it-lives-ours-is-the-myth-of/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-cannot-control-your-own-population-by-force-but-it-can-be/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“The regular consumption of amino acids improved my health.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-regular-consumption-of-amino-acids-improved-my-health/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [At the outset of the creation of the euro in 1999, it was expected that the southern eurozone economies would behave like those in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-outset-of-the-creation-of-the-euro-in-1999-it-was-expected/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) [Browse all 771 Consumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern people. Those little moments of goofiness that used to make the day pass seem to have gone. Life's so serious now. Maybe it's just because I'm with an older gang now.[...]I mean nobody even has hobbies these days. Not that I can see. Husbands and wives both work. Kids are farmed out to schools and video games. Nobody seems able to endure simply being themselves, either - but at the same time they're isolated. People work much more, only go home and surf the Internet and send e-mail rather than calling or writing a note or visiting each other. They work, watch TV, and sleep. I see these things. The world is only about work: work work work get get get...racing ahead...getting sacked from work...going online...knowing computer languages...winning contracts. I mean, it's just not what I would have imagined the world might be if you'd asked me seventeen years ago. People are frazzled and angry, desperate about money, and, at best, indifferent to the future.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Coupland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern-people-those-little-moments/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consumption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern-people-those-little-moments/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/douglas-coupland-305_consumption_there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern_1420139.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a hardness I'm seeing in modern people. Those little moments of goofiness that used to make the day…” — Douglas Coupland", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Douglas Coupland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There's a hardness I'm seeing in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern-people-those-little-moments/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/there-s-a-hardness-i-m-seeing-in-modern-people-those-little-moments/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```