Does anyone here NOT think the world was better when they were younger?

KathyB1968

KathyB1968

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Location
Washington DC area
There is a stereotype that every old person (and many middle aged people) thinks the world was better when they were younger.

I feel like I actually think the world is better in a lot of ways.

I am a bit biased because my childhood and teen years were pretty bad. I can recall some good things - toys, games, books, favorite foods, favorite shows, etc. I don't have any nostalgia factor though because of bad experiences I was dealing with.
 

I can find good things in both the past and the present. On the one hand, there are a lot of things that, while I feel nostalgic thinking about, they are improved today; such as the advances in medicine that we have as compared to when we were younger.

In the fifties through the seventies, there were some areas where women weren't allowed to open a checking account, for example. They had to use their husband's bank account.
 
I for one don't think the world was better when I was young. Back then the was the threat of nuclear war, which really hasn't changed. Middle East crisis back then...still happening. No global warming back then? It had already started, Big Oil knew about it, took steps to cover up and obsfucate.....still doing that today.
Better back then: cigarettes were cheaper!
 
I think of it in terms of trade-offs. Some things are better and some worse.
It was so much easier to work on a car engine, and a lot less expensive, nowadays it takes a computer to analyze one, but they also offer a lot of perks that are nice. Appliances were a lot simpler to operate, but they now do a lot more.

I like a computer and smart phone, but sometimes I do fondly look back at the simple life when we didn't have all the distractions we do now. Living in a vastly complex world can feel overwhelming at times.
 
As Bobcat says, lots of trade-offs. Life was simpler by far (IMO).

Today, folks get sick or broken and there is a cure or life extender or replacement part. So you tend to live longer, and that may not be all its cracked up to be.

WWII left its marks, Korea was a reminder, the Cuban missile crisis, and JFK's (and MLK and RK) assassinations kicked us in the butt, reminding us we weren't all we thought we were. And then came Vietnam, sending way too many of our young men on an extended "senior trip", which 58,500 or so did not return. And add to that the civil rights conflicts, and it was a messy, sad time.

So now we have pretty much the same, only the names and places have changed. Putin replaced Krushev, the Chinese guy replaced Mao, the north Korean Kim replaced his father, the mideast replaced Vietnam, and so on.

One thing though, back when we did not have instant news and very little "fake news" to stir us up.
 
It's a tough choice sometimes but people were better able to control their lives back then. They owned stuff. It wasn't a world of renters and people who could never own. Compared to a person's income, the cost of living was much more reasonable. People seemed entertained by less and were less stressed in life. I remember the parties my family used to have weekly and and all the relatives would come. There was lots to eat drink and smoke and everyone was happy, or seemed to be. In my eyes these were very good times and I would do without many of the conveniences of 21st century life to go back to that. :unsure:
 
There is a very definite attempt by the enemies of our country to demoralize our youth. The internet is the means by which they can accomplish this.

All the negativity that comes across social media and through the news (which combs social media for most of it's stories anymore).

Young people today are convinced they are powerless to control their lives. Higher prices are just surrendered to instead of boycotted.

Depression era people wouldn't pay more than what was reasonable for products, services, rents, mortgages..

There's no kicking back on inflation. Nothing to hold it in check.

The covid lockdown was the worst thing that's hit the US economy yet.

How can you put companies out of business and drive up their debts and not expect that to lead to incredibly high inflation?
 
WW2 was not a good time. I was 11 when it ended. Then came Korea, I never heard anything good about that conflict. I was a sailor for a couple of years in the 50s. When Viet Nam came along I had a wife, 2 kids and a mortgage, so I did not have to be a warrior.
 
OldFeller said:
There is a very definite attempt by the enemies of our country to demoralize our youth. The internet is the means by which they can accomplish this.

All the negativity that comes across social media and through the news (which combs social media for most of it's stories anymore).

Young people today are convinced they are powerless to control their lives. Higher prices are just surrendered to instead of boycotted.

Depression era people wouldn't pay more than what was reasonable for products, services, rents, mortgages..

There's no kicking back on inflation. Nothing to hold it in check.

The covid lockdown was the worst thing that's hit the US economy yet.
Click to expand...
There was some good news today concerning inflation and economic growth in the second quarter. I don't remember the numbers.
 
If I look at the past when I was a youth then I do think the past was better but that is only because my perspective of those times are from a child's perspective. I was aware of events that were going on but I was oblivious to what it all meant. When I objectively look at the past I do think that the world is a better place now compared to then.
 
What I hate most about today’s time is not even the Internet - it's the housing shortgage, especially the shortage of affordable housing.

I have said this before and I’ll say it until I die: Too many Delusionaries in Congress make public policy choices that are based on the fantasy that everyone in America comes from a relatively middle class, kind, supportive and loving family. Whenever they make a policy, like ignorning creating more affordable housing for the last 40 years, they tell themselves people can just double-up and live with family but they never, NEVER bother to research that fact and measure the health or wealth of American families.

They also never bother to research what that condition does to young people starting out - how does it demoralize the young if they feel forced to live with parents until they are 35? They don’t bother to research.

Second thing I hate the most about today is the Attitude of Victimization adopted by many groups.

I will not write this here, out loud, but I can write you a list of all the racial groups in my area and list for you the ways in which they feel victimized by American Society, and that includes White people.

Everyone is a victim now. Everyone is feeling sorry for themselves. Even the wealthy - if the wealthy own only two homes they will whine and moan about the taxes on those homes, or how they’d really like to own three or four because, “My brother has four so why shouldn't I?”

Nowadays we’re even told by the popular news media that we’re supposed to feel pity for billionaires, as if life has victimized them in some way too. Call me stubborn but NO! No, the billionaires do not get my sympathy. I don’t give much sympathy to the millionaires either.

Anyway, that's one part of today’s society I really hate - the “I'm a victim” trope now adopted by every group. IDK but I don’t recall a lot of self-pity when we were young. If life was difficult, you just had to sink or swim, not cry out to the world that they had to feel sorry for you because of this that and the other thing.
 
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chic said:
It's a tough choice sometimes but people were better able to control their lives back then. They owned stuff. It wasn't a world of renters and people who could never own. Compared to a person's income, the cost of living was much more reasonable. People seemed entertained by less and were less stressed in life. I remember the parties my family used to have weekly and and all the relatives would come. There was lots to eat drink and smoke and everyone was happy, or seemed to be. In my eyes these were very good times and I would do without many of the conveniences of 21st century life to go back to that. :unsure:
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It sounds like you had a pretty good childhood. It seems to me that most people who had good childhoods see the past as better.

My folks didn't have any parties at all, getting enough to eat was sometimes an issue. At home my mom was always stressed or worried. She put on a fake smile when she went outside.
 
The world has always been as the world is. When you are young you are less aware and naive. as you grow older, you experience more and learn how the really is. This is subjective to individual experiences.
 
As a kid, I had a less structured more independent life than most of today’s young people do and I’m thankful for that.

I believe that independence and freedom to fail or test my judgment helped prepare me for many of life’s larger challenges.

IMO social media and 24/7 cable news coverage has caused more and more people to fear the terrible consequences of what might happen or
could happen even though they might have a better chance of being hit by lightning.

Today many of us allow the Boogeyman to steal the joy and spontaneity from our lives.

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