The human brain evolved for life in a small tribe, not for an endless social media feed and daily “polycrisis.” Scientists from Singapore have explained why this mismatch is fueling an epidemic of anxiety and burnout. Their work was published in the journal Behavioral Sciences.
The core idea is straightforward: the human brain was shaped over hundreds of thousands of years within small groups, where threats were physical and easily identifiable, and competition remained within a familiar circle. Over the last 200 years, the environment has changed dramatically—while the brain has stayed the same. Environmental psychologist Sarah Chan from the Singapore University of Technology and Design and research psychologist Jose Yong from James Cook University in Singapore call this phenomenon SEMCH, or the Social Evolutionary Mismatch and Competition Hypothesis.
The main trigger is social comparison. Before the internet, people compared themselves to a few dozen acquaintances. Today, they constantly measure their success against thousands of others on social media, including celebrities and strangers. The brain perceives this as a threat to status and responds with chronic stress. At the same time, the “polycrisis”—the simultaneous impact of climate disruptions, economic shocks, and the rapid spread of AI—intensifies the effect, creating feedback loops: anxiety leads to burnout, burnout fuels economic stagnation, and stagnation breeds new anxiety.
The authors do not advocate for abandoning technology. Their key practical takeaway is that cities and digital platforms should be designed to reduce the feeling of competition rather than amplify it. More green spaces, fewer comparison metrics. The next step involves field experiments to measure how much the environment actually influences people’s psychological well-being.
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