Or maybe the negativity of social media and the popularity of sad music isn't the cause, but the effect? People listen to sad music because they're sad. The news is negative, because the world is going to shit. People "glorify" depression, because they're depressed. A meme about depression might seem like glorification, but it's probably just be a way for depressed people to connect. What you call glorification, could just be people sharing their experiences with people who feel the same way.

Never considered that. However, the question still remains: how did we get here and what caused this trend?

i think we can confidently say it’s certainly not because of a “generation of pussies”

>loving the rain cause muh depression

I live in Oregon and I do love the rain. Maybe I am secretly depressed ;-)

I'm in my mid to late 30s and I'm with you on agreeing with Clint Eastwood. I used to joke that I'm 30 going on 60 (with many friends in their 60s and 70s), but these days I've updated the terms so the kids can understand and say that I'm a transboomer.