The Paradox of Progress

The better things get, the more we perceive threats where there are none. This is the blue dot effect and it is at the heart of the paradox of progress. Developmental psychology has long argued that protecting people from problems or adversity doesn't make them happier or more secure. It makes them more easily insecure. A young person who has been sheltered from dealing with any challenges or injustices growing up will come to find the slightest inconveniences of adult life intolerable.