Cutting through nostalgia: 2020s are better than 80s or 90s, amirite?

Yes you are right. And the 80s head AIDS epidemic

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

Most people were not directly affected by AIDS ... almost everyone was affected by the COVID measures one way or another.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Until you look at house prices.

by watson38 1 day ago

Quality cope. People will literally keep saying this to themselves when they're living in a small shared room with like 8 other dudes and paying 500 bucks a month for the privilege.

by PrettyAnalysis1367 1 day ago

If you look at the indices published by different institutions who monitor the quality of democracies in the world, then we are backsliding globally, compared to the early 2000s. So if you would look at personal freedom and equality, then the 2020s are worse than the two decades before that. Not only true for the USA and Europe, but also globally.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Fair point if that is true (and I think it could be) but that is only one metric vs dozens that have improved and have a more direct impact on our life quality.

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

For example freedom of transport is way better now than in the past. I'm the sense we can get anywhere way easier. You can call an Uber from your phone, book a flight from your phone and visit someone on the other side of the world in under 12 hours...

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

Apart from the fact that Uber is restricted in certain countries ... it's nice that you can travel to the other side of the world, but I for instance wouldn't travel to the USA anymore, if only because I don't want to be the next European to be harassed at the border. That used not to be the case ten years ago.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I am not sure where you grew up, but I would say democracy and freedom of speech are crucial for an equal society.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

But not crucial for happiness. Let me ask you. Would you give up 20% of you yearly income for an improvement of your freedom of speech? What % of people do you think would make this trade you think? 5% of your income? 3%?

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

5% for freedom of speech and guarantee of the rule of law? Definitely yes.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

How much money do you make? Which country do you live?

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

I earn enough money to keep our home, and bread on the table, if my income would decrease by 10%. Freedom and rule of law are worth more than luxury.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yes. But 95% of the world are not that rich like you and would not trade even 10% for a few more rights. Especially if it is just freedom of speech. Despite what people believe in the west. People.in China are happy(I speak to many Chinese in china every week and they are very optimistic compared to westerners) despite lack of free speech in china. They have more community which I think plays a big role in that. Food, safety, shelter, community, all the most essential things to feel happy. True Freedom of speech has never existed anywhere anyway and will never.

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

The fact that people in many countries cannot enjoy democracy and freedom of speech doesn't make those values less important.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You are right. But how do you know for sure those values are really important? How can you objectively measure the impact a bit less or more freedom of speech has on someone happiness? Humans have never evolved with voting rights or freedom of speech. It doesn't exist anywhere in nature. We have evolved to care about our survival and success. I think people overestimate how important those rights of voting for example are to their happiness, just like we can overestimate how much we need anything for our happiness and then find out we do just fine without them.

by Klutzy_Welder 1 day ago

I loved the era around 2010s because the gaming scene was very different and you felt like developers were making games out of love for making games, not just to appease share-holders with profit margins.

by ray68 1 day ago

"We are Mets"? The Mets suck! Even the people in NYC hate them.

by Current-Bad 1 day ago

The eighties certainly were not better. But I think the few years between 1998 and 2001 were some kind of a peak.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

You can't give us an opinion like this OP without saying which decade you grew up in.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I can picture all this happening but even then I can't say it's the same difference as the early 2000s

by Connect-Break 1 day ago

2010s blow 2020, 80s, and 90s out of the water. 80s and 90s were better in the respect you can afford to go to college, a home, and get jobs without crazy qualifications/not everything was offshored and globalized.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Early 2010s for me was the best. Don't feel the same past midway though

by Connect-Break 1 day ago