Yup, this. I'm pretty sure depression and suicide rates have skyrocketed in older children and teens as well.I don't agree. I grew up in the 90s/early 00s and I think growing up now would be harder.
I'm surprised that this seems to be true.Yup, this. I'm pretty sure depression and suicide rates have skyrocketed in older children and teens as well.
I was kind of a loner in HS too, and OP has a point about libraries I suppose. That was where my small circle congregated. I also had a penpal from France, I think it would be harder to troll someone with a 2-month at a time correspondence, haha! AOL had just popped on the scene in 11th grade for me, so I was kind of online (1998) back then. But these youths got bullies in every facet of life, I would say.Oof, it got too real.
I admit, I would've liked a decent smartphone when I was a kid even in HS the ability to chat with int'l friends would've made school a lot less lonely. Also, switch.
To all: please help those in need when you can. If we can get them to see that it gets better, we can do so much good.
And we're done here.
From a consumer point of view, I guess this is true...but uh, I'm not sure anyone who says that kids don't know how good they have it nowadays has a grip on the reality of what today is really like
Add to that the fucked economy and the social pressure ofTrue, social anxiety and depression is worse than ever. Social media enabled bullying is a lot worse than what we went through.
Also future generations are inheriting a planet that is fucked by the boomers.
They're all going to burn, choke, or drown to death in the next 50 years.
This.
Add to that the fucked economy and the social pressure of
"you should finish college with a bachelors in 4 years"
"You should be living on your own by 18"
Etc etc
anyone born in the 90s and forward is struggling, add to that how irresponsible "grown ups"/boomers have been with the pandemic, I'm surprised suicide numbers aren't over the roof
You're really missing out on the Nordic model where people do indeed live on their own post-high school.finishing college in 4 years and living on your own by 18 were social pressures in the '80's and 90's too. If anything I feel it is more accepted to live at home longer now than it was 25 - 30 years ago.
I think boomers and college age adults are the irresponsible ones during this pandemic. I'm quite proud of gen x (my gen). We seem to be taking it seriously.
Equating the impressiveness of accessible technology with quality of life is like referring to high stock index numbers as "a good economy."
But streaming is better than ever tho?Idk maybe it's just me but 2020 is not the year to float this particular belief in any capacity.
Like, this is incredibly spot on.You underestimate the pleasure of having something AFTER you WAITED for it.
You underestimate the pleasures of dreaming about something - the road, not the destination - and overestimate the pleasure of instant gratification.
You underestimate the evil of ingratitude that can show up once people have everything they want instantly.
You underestimate the toll of negative, depressive folks on internet forums like this one can have on young people.
Yeah, this is how I feel. I feel bad for them. I kinda feel like I won't be out of here before the horror is felt (80s kid). Heck just hearing that Wall Street began trading water futures as a commodity made me feel like I had to go grab a ice cold glass to cherish it while I could, and I did.They're all going to burn, choke, or drown to death in the next 50 years.
Looking back through my opening post, I admit it, I was wrong.
This current generation is getting fucked over left, right and centre. Their job and life prospects are overall much worse than any past generation, including my own.
I also regret making this topic, in hindsight, technology is pretty much the only thing that has improved. I fully stand by criticisms of the US though.
I'm going to walk away from this topic and just let it die. This was pretty much old man yells at cloud by me.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s and feel the same way. I'm really, really glad I did not grow up with social media. As other people have said, kids are definitely better off as far as technology goes but I don't if I would consider the rest of their lives an upgrade. Anyway, some more "back in my day" observations:
- If you wanted to watch a movie you didn't physically own, you had to go to the video store, look at boxes on shelves to see if the movie looked interesting, and hope that someone else hadn't already rented it.
- If you didn't know how to get somewhere, you had to ask for directions or get yourself a printed map to plot your own course. Would it be the fastest way there? Probably not.
- If you wanted to talk to someone, you had to call the one number belonging to everyone in the house and hope that someone you wanted to talk to was there (and that someone you DIDN'T want to talk to didn't pick up).
To like...go outside and play? Yes it's much safer than it ever has been.
On the other hand, unsupervised internet access is not safe for kids at all.