Published on 12, July, 2020
I've borrowed this question from something intimated in another thread.
Do you think life has improved for you as you have grown older?
Is it because society has changed or you/your life have changed or a combination?
There was a comparison in another thread with 1980.
I realise some of the readers here won't even have been born then!
I could write a long list of ways in which my life has improved since 1980, both on a personal level and on a 'society' level.
Where 'society' is concerned, the invention of the internet has made me much less isolated, much more knowledgeable, much more in control of my health and not at the mercy of the NHS.
I wouldn't know about my autism and many other things without it.
Also, mobile phones/texting and email mean that I no longer have to make phone calls (including from phone boxes!).
I could go on but I might even bore myself.
There is really very little I miss about 1980, except perhaps a quieter pace of life in general.
It's an interesting question and we all have a past, no matter how far back it goes.
How is it for you.
Better or worse?
Its hard to say! I think you settle into yourself more as you get older .. I think it's taken time but diagnosis integration and talking therapy has helped. The past 20 years of heavy masking are slowly starting to be undone.. I understand myself more now but was more care free when younger. Life hadnt ground me down (but i actually feel very content as an adult). Maybe some people of my age but then felt less like they needed a diagnosis just because life wasnt as fast and with so much expectstion or mental health problems. The main one is that now there are more choices which I don't know if it's a good thing. I liked the limited options during lockdown. But people were not able to reach their potential the same years ago because of reduced job options and expectations. Things are lighter louder faster now and i feel its reflected on people many of whom seem to be more self absorbed or impatient these days...we can get most things on the click of a button. But as a society we have more tolerance towards difference. There's a lot more information and words in our life now because of technology and its stifling. But it helps us stay in touch easily and it means i can listen to any sort of music at the touch of a button. TV adverts these days are too fast loud and bright. There's more stuff in our homes which to me, means we use more brain power engaging with them. Look at old dramas etc...fewer possessions. Camera phones mean people don't enjoy the present. Watch old top of the pops or music festivals....people just having a good time but to me in a more meaningful way. They don't have as much at the bsck of their mind about how they look. People were less spread out and friends and family lived closer. I don't know if there's such a strong identity among younguns now. Subculture I think is really important but it seems quite homogenised now. Nowadays I have all the music from the past to enjoy but en joyed being part of a kind of .subculture when younger. The whole notion of celebrity and engaging with that, i find baffling. I feel people are less content these days maybe because there's too much choice and everyone is so bogged down on the consumer wheel.. I think the main one is that we're are losing touch with our natural world in such a big way...this has been the case for a very long time though.
out_of_step said:The whole notion of celebrity and engaging with that, i find baffling.
What I find even more baffling is the obsession with what I refer to as man-made celebrities. What I mean by this is people who appear in the likes of reality TV shows such as Big Brother, Love Island, etc. Included in this are the reality TV shows that seem to be modelled on soap operas (Geordie Shore, The Only Way Is Essex, Made in Chelsea).
Agreed.
‘Structured reality’ as it’s ambiguously termed in the industry. Anathema to those of us who need at least a touch of authenticity in what we watch.