Why are people not woke anymore?
Can someone please explain how we went from the 2020 “woke” movement to this wave of conservatism in 2025? Because honestly, the shift makes no sense to me. Just five years ago, it felt like we were making meaningful progress. People were becoming more empathetic, open-minded, and unafraid to express their identities. Discrimination was actively called out and condemned.
This shift wasn’t just visible online; you could see the change happening in real life. For example, in my graduating class, around 15 students came out in 2020, and they faced no backlash whatsoever. Acceptance became an expectation rather than a mere encouragement, as discrimination was simply not tolerated. Nowadays, around 10 of those 15 individuals deny that they ever came out, brushing it off as a joke and embracing more conservative ideals—like aspiring to have the “perfect” traditional family. There’s also the noticeable shift in feminist discourse. In 2020, it felt like nearly every young woman identified as a feminist. Now, however, we’re witnessing a tendency in young girls pursuing a "tradwife" future and anti-intellectual trends such as "girl math," where the underlying joke is that women are inherently less intelligent than men.
I genuinely don’t understand how we’ve regressed so drastically. It’s not just the past five years that feel lost—it’s like thirty years of progress have been undone. An ad promoting eugenics shouldn’t even be part of public discourse, let alone broadcasted. People who endorse such ideas shouldn’t even have a career. Don't even get me started on those podcasts where men are proudly sexist and just awful human beings. It´s simply baffling to me how someone can be so open with their hatred and not have any repercussions whatsoever.
What’s most unsettling is how quickly people, especially younger generations, have adapted to this shift. Please help me understand what social phenomenon has caused corrupt and harmful ideas to become normalized once again. They’re so shameless with their hatred, unapologetic about the harm they cause, proudly preaching cruelty without a hint of remorse.
















