Times are changing
Let me set the stage here, it's the late 1980's to early 2000's. You wake up on Saturday morning smell avena(oatmeal in spanish) being made. You run down stairs and grab your bowl of cinnamon and vanilla flavored oatmeal. Sit right in the dining room table to eat your breakfast and are in hurry to make sure you don't miss the morning cartoons. After you finished watching your favorite cartoons you head outside and meet your friends at the lot across the street from your house.
There's a few people already throwing a football around. Another group small group throwing a baseball. Everyone finally is at the lot. And just debating and talking about which one we should play first. The majority agrees it's football. The rules are made and there's only enough to play 7 on 7. While there is hope that more people will join in later. Then after a few games of rough tackle football in a barely grassy field. We turn to play baseball. Laughing and enjoying the moment.
Yes, there was some trash talking and some heated disputes during the games. But at the end everyone that could afford to get snacks and drinks from the corner store went and bought something. For those that couldn't afford anything, it was okay their friends brought enough back. Everyone is sitting down talking about kid stuff and possibly things they want to do in the future.
Now take a moment and think about this question here. Does this sound fun? Does it sound like a simpler life? Does it sound like something if not exactly, similar to how it was in your childhood? Now I'm not here to say my life was perfect by any means. There's a lot of hurt that I had endured in my childhood. But this is a memory that I cherish, a memory of when things were simple.
The modern world
In today's time lots have changed to how things were in the time frame I stated above. No, not all have experienced that which I stated. Yet, I would dare to say a lot have. But when I look at today's generation and how the modern world looks. It is different, in some good ways but also in some bad ways. I won't say that it wasn't the same in the past. But there are distinct differences.
And the fact that some of these differences can actually be noticed at face value; should honestly never be dismissed. I think we can all agree that we are living in a very technological world right now. No, it isn't like the Jetson's. Still with technology growing in a steady pace at this point. We can truly see a turn of what we considered good. To be almost considered like a hidden gem in todays time.
The fact that majority of children are glued to their tablets and phones. Socializing there with people that they don't know, or may never meet. Versus, truly going outside and meeting new people and building true and actual friendships that are sustained by a physical social life. I'm not here to say that this isn't happening at all. I'm here saying that it isn't as common. Tech has been the source of a social life for majority of the youth.. Where older generations still enjoy the comfort and presence of their closest friends and family members.
Again, this isn't 100% percent accurate. Clearly there are people that just don't like to be around other human beings. And to be quite frank, that is nothing new. What I am saying is that a lot of it is lost right about now. Some would say otherwise.
How is it becoming chaotic? And should we worry?
Hopefully you took a look at the chart right above, also the links below with the various studies of those years. Now I want to make this known, I've always had a saying "Technology is both a blessing and a curse.". And truthfully speaking it isn't a lie by any means. Technology within itself has truly given us tools that we use everyday to make life as easy as possible. But on the other hand sometimes too easy. To a point that obesity and laziness has pretty much taken a lot of countries. Especially in the US as most of us know.
I remember when the internet was becoming more affordable. To the point where most people had it. When video calls was the worst quality, but you were happy to see a distant family member or friend. Or when social media wasn't overcome with craziness and people actually communicated there. Where online multiplayer games was growing. And you can now play with friends that moved out of city or state.
When cellphones became more affordable and you watched how many minutes you used because literally every minute counted. Making every call and every text that much more important. And I know most people remembering using their phones at 9pm for unlimited minutes. Technology when it was in it's infancy was different. And to be specific I'm talking about consumer technology.
Now, most people choose to order their food via apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and more. Not only do they not want to go pick up their food. But also some don't like tipping. No, I will not get into that right now. Yet, people would rather pay an up charge and subscription for their food. Rather than getting up and going to get it. Yes, it is convenient without a doubt. But to live that way isn't really living is it?
On top of that we have content consumption. Remember the TV? Well it seems to me that the phone has taken its place. Our mobile devices are, our main source for content consumption. It's always with us, it has the internet, and basically every app is on most mobile OS (operating systems). Meaning you can basically watch anything you really want.
On top of that working environment has shifted also. Having mobile devices and tools like AI have made companies feel more comfortable adding more tasks to their employees. Their reasoning? They are giving us the tools to make the job easier and help us. But in reality it is just burning out people. There's more to this than what I'm typing right now but I'll leave it right here for now.
What should change?
We should go back to simpler times. I'm not saying to get rid of everything we have now. But limit the things we do. Just because we have Uber Eats and DoorDash doesn't mean we have to use it often. There's nothing wrong with using it once or twice a month if you ask me personally. But to not move and get out of the house to do things that at one point in life was basically mandatory. Let's be honest if tech crashed and everything went dark. A lot of people wouldn't be able to survive at this point in time.
Limiting the phone use, video games, content consumption, etc. There is so much we can do to make our lives simpler. Honestly, I'm not big on social media. I'm not big on apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. I actually prefer to go to the store and walk around. And to be honest I'm a big guy. I also prefer having down time. Reading a book, writing something, anything. When my wife talks about me gaming (complaining) sometimes I have to prove to her a point. I share with her my screen time versus hers. And guess who has the least?
I'm not saying by any means I'm not up to date with tech and social media updates. But I don't live for those things. I prefer a simple life. A balance of living in the real world as much as a cliche as that sounds. Rather than being glued to a screen that leads me nowhere. But only fills a person with envy, laughter, hate, anger, etc. What we see in this day in age causes a fluctuation in emotions in almost an instant. I just prefer detaching as much as I can and using these things when I need them. So all in all what should change? I think people need to change.
The truth is technology will continue to move forward there's no denying that. But we as individuals truly can make a decision of what we want to do with our lives and how we want to live it. The worst thing we can do for ourselves is lie and justify our actions. Rather than doing that. We should self reflect and see how now is different than then. And what can truly benefit us to live a holistic life that is both social and personal, but still modern. Tell me your thoughts in the comments and let's have a conversation. And remember we can agree to disagree respectfully of course.
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