Why does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of decadence without pleasure | Michèle Mendelssohn and Charlie Tyson

Illustration: Guardian DesignView image in fullscreen Illustration: Guardian DesignThe featured essaySocietyWhy does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of decadence without pleasureDecadence in our era comes in technologically mediated forms, emptied of desire and obsessed with self-optimisationMichèle Mendelssohn and Charlie TysonSun 26 Jul 2026 09.00 EDTShare@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format("woff2"),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff)…

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