For most of human history, people lived in small enclaves and were typically surrounded by others very much like themselves. Social comparisons with little variation are unlikely to entail great psychological risk. Research suggests that the diffusion of television in the second half of the twentieth century dramatically increased the intensity and negativity of social comparison, as it brought vivid evidence of varied and more-affluent lives dramatically different from one's own. One study found an increase in criminal larceny as television diffused across society, awakening an awareness of and desire for consumer goods. A related issue was that increased exposure to television programs depicting affluence led to "the overestimation of others' wealth and more dissatisfaction with one's own life."

Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Cap…, loc. 1471