Back in the 1980s, we didn't have the multitude of electronic devices that we have today. The internet existed, but it was a thing most people had never heard of let alone actually used. For us kids, the larger world was only what we saw on television, read about in the newspaper, and learned about in school.
On the one hand, this made learning and research a lot more difficult. If one wanted to know something, one had to use the library. And the library wasn't open at all hours. And its selection of material was seriously limited. Compared to now, it was a terrible time--a veritable Dark Age--for the dissemination of knowledge.
On the other hand, we were allowed to make mistakes. Our minor faux pas didn't follow us around for the rest of our lives. And they certainly weren't broadcast on the internet for all the world to see. When we did "stupid kid stuff," we were allowed to put it behind us and get on with our lives. We weren't weighed down with irremovable albatrosses. Today, kids who don't color completely within the lines of social acceptance get pilloried mercilessly, sometimes resulting in suicide. I remember a kid committing suicide when I was in high school, but it didn't have anything to do with the sort of public shaming that goes on nowadays. (It was accidental and drug-related.)
So we've gained knowledge and communicative connectivity, but we've also gained an enormous amount of societal stress. I'm not sure which one outweighs the other. One thing I'm certain of is that the rate of technological change is too fast to be socially sustainable. We've already seen plenty of warning signs. There will be a correction at some point, just like what happens periodically in financial markets, and it won't be pretty.
But I suppose that's the nature of humanity. Rise and fall, rise and fall. Just like those "The Course of Empire" paintings by Thomas Cole.
I don't know why I felt the need to mention all this. Just needed to mope a little, I guess. Sorry for being such a downer today.
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