Comedian gets serious on why Millenials say life hasn't felt like 'reality' since 2020
He also shares tips on how to return to reality.

Mike Mancusi shares why life doesn't feel real anymore.
Comedian Mike Mancusi struck a chord on TikTok and Instagram with a post explaining why many people, especially Millenials, think life hasn’t felt like “reality” since the beginning of the pandemic four years ago.
"The cause of this phenomenon is the fact that we're not living life in reality anymore," Mancusi claims. "2020 smashed our existences into our phones and into the digital world and we are no longer existing in our physical space.”
He adds that our lives now feel more like a "video game" and that we're exposed to all of the "awful things that everybody across the entire world deals with all the time” instead of being concerned with things in our “circle of influence.”
“We are still organic beings and our brains have been completely connected to this artificial device. ... We'll eventually be cyborgs,” the comedian said.
Life hasn't felt like reality since 2020
@mikemancusi Life hasnt felt like reality since 2020 #existentialcrisis #existentialism #existential #2020 #technology #millennials #millennial
He adds that even when we break out of our digital routines and go on vacation, our phones are still top-of-mind. We fear we’re missing out on something on social media and feel pressured to take photos and share the trip online.
"We are no longer actually living life in our physical space, we are living it through the phone. This is why life does not feel like reality,” Mancusi said. “Life just seems to disappear when you are trapped in a routine ... a routine of our brains being completely connected to whatever is happening within this device."
Mancusi’s bottom line is simple: You're addicted to the phone. Return to your physical spaces.
Upworthy spoke with Mancusi and he shared his thoughts on how people can break the cycle of smartphone addiction and return to reality. He believes that we are all suffering from some form of smartphone addiction.
"[Smartphones are] an addiction that has caused a lot of change in your brain chemistry. The process of adjusting your behaviors can be long and challenging. If you've been scrolling your phone endlessly for 4 years, the process of getting back to the real world is not going to happen in 3 days," he told Upworthy.
He believes that smartphone addiction is incredibly challenging because, much like food addiction, it's impossible to go "cold turkey."
"People need to re-adjust their relationship with their phones and incorporate strict limitations," he told Upworthy. "For example, I won't scroll between the hours of 9 and 12 a.m. Any time I go out to dinner with my wife, I won't bring my phone. When I take the dog to the park, I won't bring my phone. I'm blocking Instagram access while I'm at work."
In the end, Mancusi believes that we need to retrain our brains to find joy in our physical lives, which have been diminished by the quick and easy dopamine hits we get from our smartphones.
"Your brain has been wired only to get joy from an unhealthy thing," he told Upworthy. "It has been intentionally altered by tech executives. Re-training your brain to enjoy your physical space is a process that will take time, but for those who invest in it, it will pay off in the long term when you align your happiness with healthier, tangible things. Find the things that you love to do in life and re-train yourself to love them again."
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."