Things that have gotten better and things that have not
In my lifetime. Born: early 80s.
Food
Better. Easier to buy high quality ingredients, average restaurant much better, no more eating somewhere based on how it looks from the outside (though there was a romance to that).
The internet
Better, obviously, I remember when we had Compuserve. But since enough bandwidth for video ads became widespread, arguably worse.
Computers
Way better. Plus, an underrated effect of the move to flatscreens from CRTs was that desk ergonomics and aesthetics improved.
Cars
Way better. I read that stability control has saved more lives than any safety intervention since seatbelts. One expects a car to continue life well beyond 100,000 miles now.
Flying
WORSE. Then: security was easy, snack/meal service was plentiful, and the pilots gave me wings to pin on my shirt. Now: have to take shoes off, charged for all sorts of things, seats cramped.
Being in a public space like a checkout line or a subway
Worse, everyone is looking at their phones.
Urban cycling
Better, mainly because bike lights have gotten noticeably better in the last 5-10 years. I find that bike lanes are a mixed blessing, though I will never hate on a separated bike lane.
Politics
Haha.
Going to the movies
Better. Remember calling to hear the times? And then you didn’t know until you got there if it was sold out?
Movies themselves
Tough one. Pass.
Music
Better. I feel like, aside from some seminal rap groups that people are going to be listening to for a long time (Tribe, Wu Tang), the 90s did not have a lot of great music. VH1 says the top five songs of the 90s were Smells Like Teen Spirit, One by U2 (seriously? I don’t even think that’s in my top five U2 songs), I Want It That Way, I Will Always Love You, and Vogue by Madonna which I don’t even know. Basically any #1 by Rihanna or Kanye is better than all those songs so I rest my case.
Basic cable TV
Worse, there actually used to be good things to watch on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, etc. (Obviously, overall video content is way better with Netflix HBO etc.)
Beer
Better—so many microbreweries.
World peace and hunger
Probably better if you tally the numbers, though it doesn’t always feel like it.
Future environmental outlook
Worse. Remember when we almost got cap-and-trade?
Sports
- Baseball: worse, games take way too long now.
- Hockey: better (post-lockout changes), then a dip, now better again. Less fights though which is certainly less entertaining. And take away the trapezoid please.
- Men’s tennis: Better, no question. People will look back at the Federer/Nadal era as the absolute golden age.
- Football: The game is better, but the overall experience of watching is now colored by knowing that these guys are addling their brains.
Roads
Worse. Maybe it’s just because I moved to Philly recently and also only started driving regularly recently, but boy are the roads bad.
Coffee
Better.
Taking pretty good photographs pretty easily with something easy to carry around
Way way better.
Staplers
Noticeably worse.