What do you not missed that has changed

ArchaeC said:

Avocado bathroom and kitchen suites, avocado and orange wallpaper—the colour makes me feel sick.

There is nothing nicer than a 1970s avocado and orange bathroom (not).

I don’t miss going to shops and banks and not having a smart phone to take photographs and to text instead of phoning. I don’t miss not having the internet and not being able to search online for things related to my interests. The internet is my happy place because it enables me to learn about all sorts of wonderful things.

Other things that I don’t miss include:

Small TV screens and lower picture quality.

Limited TV channels and no streaming.

Trawling through library catalogues and having to travel from place to place just to find a book or journal.

Not having online courses.

Taxing and insuring my car by post or in person. 

Inadequate central heating and draughty single glazed windows.

Old fashioned bathrooms without showers.

Avocado bathroom and kitchen suites, avocado and orange wallpaper—the colour makes me feel sick.

I used to feel a sense of achievement from looking up answers for crosswords in books. However, I now realize how handy the internet is when I frequently wonder about something and find out so much interesting information. I probably wouldn't have realized I was autistic without it.

I remember having to be taken to the library to look up something for school homework before they closed in the evening. That made it such hard work.

Absolute yes to self checkouts in shops- getting to put my groceries in the bag how I want, in my own time without having to stress and be quick so the next person can be served. Has made shopping so much less stressful  

Gathering information from people (unreliable), newspapers, magazines, books including libraries (sometimes on microfiche), TV and radio etc etc etc.

Very time consuming and costly.

Thank you internet.

The pandemic did give me the opportunity to try working from home, but some of my colleagues did it before the pandemic. I think for me it gave me the confidence that with my limited IT skills I could do it.

In regard to manned checkouts, I do still choose them in preference to self serve, as I tend to get confused and in a panic with the technology and look more obvious as I talk to myself or the machine trying to work it out, then end up with someone coming over anyway.

Iain said:

manned checkouts.

Iain said:

paying with cash.

Iain said:

having to shop in store for clothes

Yes, all these things were awkward for me. I hated carrying cash and going to banks. I prefer auto checkouts when I don't feel like chatting or being observed, I hated the process of going to loads of shops, only to find wrong sizes, wrong colours and too much sound and light. Hoorah for online shopping, including groceries. Now I can CHOOSE when to go out or stay in , according to my social battery.  I also love my bank being online.

A definite yes on that one re phone booths with the smell and the shared landlines.

Having to go to the GP completely unarmed with knowledge and a rough idea of what I have wrong.

Therefore less vulnerable to being misdiagnosed, misled and patronised.

Thank you internet.

Having to worry about phone (at home) bills and share a (landline) phone.

Having to use phone booths that smells of p especially at night when it's not really safe and always have enough coins.

Homebird said:

These days most of us work mostly from home

The stats show that only between 12% (non degree educated people) and 18% (degree educated) work from home full time (source: https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/remote-work-statistics/ )

The vast majority still are site based or hybrid workers so office get togethers will still be by far the most common thing still. Trends look to be fairly stable so it will probably take another pandemic to tilt the scales again.

What don't I miss?

- paying with cash. Needing to visit the ATM and handle all that grubby money or have the right change. Good riddance.

- manned checkouts. Self checkouts are still not perfect but way better than having to deal with those people who look dead inside trying to make small talk with you.

- having to shop in store for clothes. Sure it takes longer to find something that works for you but when it does you can order a bunch of them and be able to have predicatable clothing for years ahead. No more "do you have it in my size", changing rooms, salespeople trying to encourage you to try something different etc.