Erin The good ol’ days need a comeback. Whether you are Gen Z, Gen X, baby boomers, or the early stage of the millenials, we all have moments where we long for a sense of peace or zen. Nostalgia can feel like a warm blankie even for a time we were not alive for. All decades have had their negatives, but the lifestyle still has appeals that make you wanna drop your tech devices and say f$ck it!
Whether it was the 20’s with their revolutionary discoveries and accomplishments, the 50’s with their flowy skirts and cocaine fueled Coca Cola, the 70’s with peace and love being the most talked about craze, the 80’s with the movies and big hair, or the 90’s with the music and awesome butterfly clips! Each decade has something in common that we do not feel these days, ignorance!
Ignorance truly is bliss. Back in the day, you were not constantly surrounded by the world’s opinion, criticism, comments, bashing, and issues. You had to actively search out for opinions. If you wanted to hear politics, you had to buy a paper, turn on the news, or turn on talk radio. Social media for kids was a triangle shaped paper you hoped was not seen by your teacher. If you heard criticism about your parenting style, it came from the PTA. It was so much easier to “cut off” or “tune out” from the world. Technology was not constantly in your hand or in your face.
Some are able to completely disappear. They are unplugged from the world, but it is an active choice. This choice does not completely shield you however. So many things in this world have now required technology or social media. Just to be informed about my children’s clubs or activities, I have to be on social media. Just to get through to the pizza guy, I have to have an app. To check in for a doctor’s appointment, I have to go to their website. To rent a movie, I have to have a zillion apps and wifi and a paid subscription or whatever. I miss just checking out a movie at Blockbuster!
Do we all secretly crave for a dark age era? We encourage our children to play outside, ride their bikes, go to a physical library, or at least stop asking Alexa questions because we want them to have a small taste of the good times. Technology is supposed to make life easier, but is it also making life less valuable?
