For more than two decades Americans have consistently expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the nation, according to Bruni. Bruni referenced a Gallup polling data showing that since 2004, a majority of Americans have said they are unsatisfied with how the country is headed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most recent one is that only 26% of Americans are satisfied,\u201d Bruni said. \u201cSo, only one in four Americans basically feels good about our land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He argued this dissatisfaction is reinforced by the modern media environment we live in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say about us that we have a word called doomscrolling?\u201d Bruni said. \u201cWe encourage ourselves to see the world so darkly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This constant exposure to negativity can shape how people see one another, according to Bruni. When individuals believe resources are shrinking or the future is bleak, they are more likely to have a competitive mindset.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bruni shared a story about a friend who once looked out of a window and saw a bird sitting outside. Instead of appreciating the moment, he started to think about climate change and human\u2019s role in harming nature. Bruni said this instinct shows how negativity can affect simple experiences of appreciation and replace it with a sense of scarcity.<\/p>\n
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\n Megan Walsh | Elon News Network <\/p>\n
Journalist and New York Times bestselling author addresses audiences in Whitley Auditorium about his book “The Age of Grievance” on April 9.<\/p>\n
Bruni contrasted this with a more optimistic look, which he said encourages cooperation and teamwork rather than division between people. Much of his mindset is influenced by social media, especially among younger generations, he said. While policy changes are often discussed, Bruni emphasized the need for better education about how these platforms shape behavior in young people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Drawing from his experience as a professor at Duke University\u00a0 Bruni said how students often feel pressure to respond to major events online, even when they lack the full details.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou feel like if you don\u2019t say something, people think you don\u2019t care,\u201d Bruni said.<\/p>\n
He said these habits are not intentional, but rather a result of how platforms are designed. Social media algorithms can reinforce beliefs and limit exposure to different perspectives.<\/p>\n
Beyond media consumption, Bruni said to shift priorities to civic care.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot live on some level apart from society,\u201d Bruni said. \u201cYou have to ask yourself all these things I\u2019m doing in my self-care, self-maintenance and my self-optimization,\u00a0 what am I doing for civic maintenance and civic optimization?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2376e60a-84f1-4742-bf6f-b00c639e1257.sized-1000x1000.jpg\")
\n Megan Walsh | Elon News Network <\/p>\n
ENN’s Miles Hayford sits down to interview New York Times bestselling author and journalist Frank Bruni before he delivers the James P. Elder Lecture on April 9 in Whitley Auditorium. <\/p>\n
For attendees, the message ultimately felt hopeful.<\/p>\n
Rosalind Pope, a local resident, said she expected a more negative tone but left encouraged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was going to be all pessimistic,\u201d Pope said. \u201cActually, we\u2019ve come away with some feeling of hope.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cecelia Thompson, an Elon alum who works in civic engagement, said the concept of civic care stood out most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always talk about what\u2019s good for ourselves, and we really need to be thinking more about what\u2019s good for our community and the spaces that we live in,\u201d Thompson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bruni wanted the audience to know that to shift the tone of public life, it has to begin with individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecide not to be that person who always sees things most darkly,\u201d Bruni said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dystopian worlds have defined modern culture, through survival dramas like Squid Game to zombie-filled television shows. Some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":{"0":"post-191712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-headlines","10":"tag-new-york-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}