the point of comparison is that things are stagnant or trending downwards compared to the past.

But the comparison is a load of steaming shit that you made up and cherrypicked because you feel like the world is going to shit and want a reason to wallow in it. You can't blame everything wrong on a far away, nebulous state of decay while rejecting anything that's going well because it's far away and nebulous.

You should go address whatever is actually upsetting you, rather than seeking out reasons why it's okay to mope. Or if something bad has happened to you recently, go actually be sad! Indulge it, listen to emo music, write bad poetry - living out your sadness is good for you. Inventing a world to live in that's constructed out of that sadness is not.

And if you don't know what to do - go have a picnic, then go join an organization that actually does something.