flailing
"beset by difficulties" -- merriam-webster.com
Behaviors
disciplinarianism
Discipline for the sake of discipline, often without explanation or reasonableness. An inflexible, hardnosed commitment to "discipline is a virtue."
trying to make the unreal real
Request: seems to be a common way we deceive ourselves
stand one's ground
"To refuse to yield, compromise, or be belittled" -- thefreedictionary.com
doing something for the sake of calibration
Modifying behavior as informed by consciousness calibration.
preferential treatment
Request: treatment of one individual or group of individuals in a matter that is likely to lead to greater benefits, access, rights, opportunities or status than those of another individual or group of individuals
resigned to the fact
to accept a bad situation that cannot be changed -- merriam-webster.com
day drinking
"On average, the time from first to last drink on day-drinking days was three times greater than on evening- or nighttime-drinking days" --newswise.com
asking to "like, comment, subscribe" on YouTube, etc.
Request: content creators ask the audience to like and subscribe to the channel for the YouTube algorithm... Perhaps due to the ~190 YouTube algorithm, they're playing the game at that level?
beat the system
"To circumvent rules, regulations, or conventions, usually by finding loopholes" -- wiktionary.org
hot take
a "piece of deliberately provocative commentary that is based almost entirely on shallow moralizing" in response to a news story, "usually written on tight deadlines with little research or reporting, and even less thought" --wikipedia
snobbism / snobbery
posture of looking down on those perceived to have inferior or unrefined tastes
lost in thought
thinking about something and not paying attention to one's surroundings -- merriam-webster.com
splitting hairs
"To make or focus on trivial or petty details, differences, or distinctions." -- thefreedictionary.com
self-satisfaction
"a usually smug satisfaction with oneself or one's position or achievements" -- merriam-webster.com