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Post by goodbants on Sept 26, 2020 15:04:08 GMT 10
I love thinking about the past. That’s why I’m on this site. I just think it can get you into a negative headspace if you’re not careful. I feel like when I get too caught up in the past it kind of clouds my mind about what opinions I hold and the world that exists now. Reading archives is really interesting, but that world is gone. Like when I go back to the inthe00s archives, there’s so much homophobia, slut shaming, and complaining about technology I just kind of want to pull my hair out. But at the same time, I can’t stop reading cause it’s so interesting. It transports me to a different place. How do you move forward when you surround yourself with those things? With pop culture and world events that are irrelevant now? It’s like I’m simultaneously living in 2008 and 2020, which probably sounds really weird, but I am an extremely vivid daydreamer so it’s very real for me. It’s like the two worlds clash. I don’t know.. can anyone relate?
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Post by jaydawg89 on Sept 26, 2020 16:03:51 GMT 10
I love thinking about the past. That’s why I’m on this site. I just think it can get you into a negative headspace if you’re not careful. I feel like when I get too caught up in the past it kind of clouds my mind about what opinions I hold and the world that exists now. Reading archives is really interesting, but that world is gone. Like when I go back to the inthe00s archives, there’s so much homophobia, slut shaming, and complaining about technology I just kind of want to pull my hair out. But at the same time, I can’t stop reading cause it’s so interesting. It transports me to a different place. How do you move forward when you surround yourself with those things? With pop culture and world events that are irrelevant now? It’s like I’m simultaneously living in 2008 and 2020, which probably sounds really weird, but I am an extremely vivid daydreamer so it’s very real for me. It’s like the two worlds clash. I don’t know.. can anyone relate? People need to realise that the past is the past, it's definitely okay to appreciate the past but, not to bring it back. I kind of feel like the rise of the alt right really relied on peoples nostalgia/romanticization of the past (hence why Donald Trump became president). The late 2010s for example really mirrors the early 1980s. As a matter of fact, the Trump era shares a lot in common with the Reagan era (which was even more toxic politically). The problem is, is that nostalgia seems to always halt back progression into the future and sometimes brings back shitty things from the past that people seem to forget about. The part you mentioned about homophobia, slut shaming and complaining about technology is just people being ignorant. Homophobia obviously sucks and is something that had really progressed throughout the 2000s and 2010s. By 2008, homophobia had declined pretty drastically and people were already pretty accepting by then (atleast where I live), the early 2000s (2000 - 2003) was a completely different story lol. For the slut shaming, it has been around forever and as a matter of fact, I think fashion was actually pretty covered up for most of the 2010s (it was waaaay worse when I was in middle school anyway). Gee, in the 1980s, guys walked around in crop tops (sometimes topless) and, womens fashion in the 1970s could be quite revealing. In terms of tech, even though I think it is a bit too advanced and the 2000s had a better balance, I would rather the 2010s technology over the whole of the 20th century (yes, even including the 90s). The 1980s was an absolute information waste land, no internet, screw that and even in the mid-late 90s, the internet was super crappy anyway and you could easily live without it still. Overall, it's absolutely fine to look back and appreciate the past decades (something that I love doing) but, nostalgia can become quite toxic if taken too far. I've always been very interested in the past and history in general, I even love collecting old stuff (like retro video games, albums, movies and so on...).
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Post by fusefan on Sept 28, 2020 12:29:12 GMT 10
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Post by jaydawg89 on Sept 28, 2020 14:27:59 GMT 10
Homophobia was still mostly bad in 2004, it wasn't until late 2007 when things were mostly good. Lol, the 'Ok Boomer' posts you brought up sound so familiar, especially the one about surviving in the 80s. I actually dealt with idiots like that growing up, they completely forget about the stuff that sucked complete ass in the 80s. Like the technology in the 80s was terrible (too primitive) and we had a crap ton of other social issues at the time, such as crack, aids and the higher crime rate (overall crime peaked in 1980). Also, nothing was built to last in the 80s (tech and cars broke down so easily). As a matter of fact, my issues with the early 2000s were quite tame compared to the 80s, when it comes to the Reagan administration/the christian right controlling everything (there was always some kind of moral panic) and the extreme homophobia. According to my older relatives (the non-nostalgic ones of course), the 80s were much much worse compared to the 2000s and 2010s when it comes to degeneracy and youth crime (bullies used to carry knives and the adults at the time didn't care). SAT scores were at their lowest in 1980 too (same year that crime peaked). Also, no internet, the 80s were an information wasteland. Now, there is plenty of good things about the 80s but, the negatives were definitely there. I don't know but, for some reason, people always bring up the 80s when bashing the younger generations.
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Post by fusefan on Sept 28, 2020 15:05:05 GMT 10
Homophobia was still mostly bad in 2004, it wasn't until late 2007 when things were mostly good. Lol, the 'Ok Boomer' posts you brought up sound so familiar, especially the one about surviving in the 80s. I actually dealt with idiots like that growing up, they completely forget about the stuff that sucked complete ass in the 80s. Like the technology in the 80s was terrible (too primitive) and we had a crap ton of other social issues at the time, such as crack, aids and the higher crime rate (overall crime peaked in 1980). Also, nothing was built to last in the 80s (tech and cars broke down so easily). As a matter of fact, my issues with the early 2000s were quite tame compared to the 80s, when it comes to the Reagan administration/the christian right controlling everything (there was always some kind of moral panic) and the extreme homophobia. According to my older relatives (the non-nostalgic ones of course), the 80s were much much worse compared to the 2000s and 2010s when it comes to degeneracy and youth crime (bullies used to carry knives and the adults at the time didn't care). SAT scores were at their lowest in 1980 too (same year that crime peaked). Also, no internet, the 80s were an information wasteland. Now, there is plenty of good things about the 80s but, the negatives were definitely there. I don't know but, for some reason, people always bring up the 80s when bashing the younger generations. I have collected some tech from the 80s I’ll mess around with it just for fun but it has made me thankful for what we have today. Not to mention the OP in that thread said they had a 17 year old son who was likely born in 1986 or 1987 and had all this tech when he was 2 in like 1988 or 1989? Who bought all this tech for him? Not like an infant or toddler bought it themselves. This is the same attitude older generations throw at us about participation trophies. You handed out the trophies we didn’t ask for yet you blame US for them?
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Post by y2kbaby on Sept 28, 2020 15:08:06 GMT 10
Jaydawg89 you are absolutely correct. We can all agree that today's world is in no way perfect but not every era from the past was perfect either. There is nothing wrong with getting nostalgic about the past, but at the same time we have, we got to move forward. The 1980s was not a perfect utopian world. It has its issues like every era in human history.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Sept 28, 2020 20:00:07 GMT 10
It all depends. I honestly don't see an issue with people wanting to reminisce about the past or collect old artifacts. Of course, with everything comes finding the right balance between something being a healthy interest or an unhealthy one, but choosing to focus on the past really isn't going to cause any harm if it's in moderation. I think it only ever really becomes toxic when it reaches obsessive levels and people actually put their unhealthy obsession into practice, such as by only ever listening to music from the one year, pretending as though you are living back in the past etc. I've got to admit, I probably focus more on the past than I probably should. Most of the songs I choose to listen to in my spare time are all songs (mainly rock ones) released 10+ years ago, and I quite often think about how long ago something now is rather than focus on something that is new and 'current'. There's probably a few reasons for it; I mean, there's a reason why we all choose to reminisce about the past in the first place. For me at least, I'd say it's partly because my family is more divided now than it was 5+ years ago and I miss that sense of 'togetherness' (even though I grew up in a single-parent household). My parents are no longer on speaking terms with each other and neither are my Grandparents with my Mum; they're the only close family I have. My favourite genre (rock) has been irrelevant for close to a decade, so naturally i'm more inclined to listen to the rock songs I like from when it was still popular. It's really a multi-faceted thing. Lol, the 'Ok Boomer' posts you brought up sound so familiar, especially the one about surviving in the 80s. I actually dealt with idiots like that growing up, they completely forget about the stuff that sucked complete ass in the 80s. Like the technology in the 80s was terrible (too primitive) and we had a crap ton of other social issues at the time, such as crack, aids and the higher crime rate (overall crime peaked in 1980). Also, nothing was built to last in the 80s (tech and cars broke down so easily). As a matter of fact, my issues with the early 2000s were quite tame compared to the 80s, when it comes to the Reagan administration/the christian right controlling everything (there was always some kind of moral panic) and the extreme homophobia. According to my older relatives (the non-nostalgic ones of course), the 80s were much much worse compared to the 2000s and 2010s when it comes to degeneracy and youth crime (bullies used to carry knives and the adults at the time didn't care). SAT scores were at their lowest in 1980 too (same year that crime peaked). Also, no internet, the 80s were an information wasteland. Now, there is plenty of good things about the 80s but, the negatives were definitely there. I don't know but, for some reason, people always bring up the 80s when bashing the younger generations. I think it's interesting that you feel that way about the '80s. Not that I disagree with what you are saying, but I know for me personally with being born in the last year of the '90s, the natural curiosity I've always had for the decade of my birth (which I never got to truly experience) is going to outweigh any of the negatives that I tend to associate with the decade. The internet may not have been as good back then as it is now for instance, but there's still the fact that I never got to truly witness itself for myself due to only being 9 and a half months old at the turn of the decade.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2020 20:35:16 GMT 10
Remember also that you are inevitably going to experience a given decade as a child very differently than you would as an adult. Generally speaking, most decades are much better experienced as a child rather than as an adult...except this one. This decade is going to suck for kids.
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Post by jaydawg89 on Sept 29, 2020 12:05:36 GMT 10
Lol, the 'Ok Boomer' posts you brought up sound so familiar, especially the one about surviving in the 80s. I actually dealt with idiots like that growing up, they completely forget about the stuff that sucked complete ass in the 80s. Like the technology in the 80s was terrible (too primitive) and we had a crap ton of other social issues at the time, such as crack, aids and the higher crime rate (overall crime peaked in 1980). Also, nothing was built to last in the 80s (tech and cars broke down so easily). As a matter of fact, my issues with the early 2000s were quite tame compared to the 80s, when it comes to the Reagan administration/the christian right controlling everything (there was always some kind of moral panic) and the extreme homophobia. According to my older relatives (the non-nostalgic ones of course), the 80s were much much worse compared to the 2000s and 2010s when it comes to degeneracy and youth crime (bullies used to carry knives and the adults at the time didn't care). SAT scores were at their lowest in 1980 too (same year that crime peaked). Also, no internet, the 80s were an information wasteland. Now, there is plenty of good things about the 80s but, the negatives were definitely there. I don't know but, for some reason, people always bring up the 80s when bashing the younger generations. I think it's interesting that you feel that way about the '80s. Not that I disagree with what you are saying, but I know for me personally with being born in the last year of the '90s, the natural curiosity I've always had for the decade of my birth (which I never got to truly experience) is going to outweigh any of the negatives that I tend to associate with the decade. The internet may not have been as good back then as it is now for instance, but there's still the fact that I never got to truly witness itself for myself due to only being 9 and a half months old at the turn of the decade. With all the nostalgia and 80s revival, I have actually gotten 80s fatigue now. The 80s were not all bad though and there were definitely positives but, the negatives were there. I used to love the 1980s growing up but, further inspection has really given me a bad taste of the decade. I remember my uncle saying the 80s sucked (around 1999/2000ish), a few months ago I got into a conversation about why the 80s sucked for him, this is actually where I got a lot of my negative information from about the 80s (btw, he's born in 1973). Funnily enough, I have other older relatives/friends that love the decade and could talk for hours for why they loved it. Also, something else that I heard sucked about the 80s was that everywhere you went, there was always the strong smell of cigarette smoke (it was down compared to the 70s atleast). This definitely seems believable as it was still a bit of a problem in the 90s (it was much more down compared to the 80s though) and this problem even lingered a bit into the early 2000s (until 2004). Overall, as a teenager, nostalgic people (like my parents age) would brag on about how good the 80s were and this would cause myself and many people my age to romanticize about the decade when they really weren't all that. I've been nostalgic before due to having a bad personal life too, the 90s were always the decade that gave me the most nostalgia. Even the 90s had plenty of issues too though (the juvenile crime rate was shocking, the technology still mostly sucked, the baggy fashion looked terrible and much more...). Every era has its issues and it's always best to just make the most of what we have now. The 21st century, despite its flaws has plently of things better than the entire span of the 20th century.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2020 12:50:36 GMT 10
I think looking to the past is a problem not just on a personal level but on a societal level as well. It wasn't that long ago that society was a lot more forward-focused. Today everything is about bringing about the "good ole days." In most times, it's best to keep focus forward while keeping the past in it's place. This is an excellent video on this topic and I posted it back on inthe00s.
In times like 2020 though it's hard to even focus on the now because it's so painful and hopeless. You can't "make the most" of now because now is nothing but death, destruction, hate, bigotry, and suffering. 2020 is a hellscape and I almost don't accept living in it. Actually not almost. I don't accept living in 2020.
I've recently developed a new appreciation for the 2010s, especially the mid 2010s.
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Post by jaydawg89 on Sept 29, 2020 12:59:49 GMT 10
I think looking to the past is a problem not just on a personal level but on a societal level as well. It wasn't that long ago that society was a lot more forward-focused. Today everything is about bringing about the "good ole days." In most times, it's best to keep focus forward while keeping the past in it's place. This is an excellent video on this topic and I posted it back on inthe00s. In times like 2020 though it's hard to even focus on the now because it's so painful and hopeless. You can't "make the most" of now because now is nothing but death, destruction, hate, bigotry, and suffering. 2020 is a hellscape and I almost don't accept living in it. Actually not almost. I don't accept living in 2020. I've recently developed a new appreciation for the 2010s, especially the mid 2010s. 100% agree with everything you stated there buddy. 2020 is objectively a pretty crappy year but, a lot of it is out of our control (covid) and somewhat caused by peoples nostalgia/clinging to the past (the current political situation). But, the late 2010s/2020 are very nostalgia fueled I noticed. I too have garnered a lot of appreciation for the early/mid 2010s.
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Post by sman12 on Sept 29, 2020 13:58:20 GMT 10
I've always agreed with this sentiment. Looking back to the past is good, but saying that it's much better than nowadays just ignores the progress that humanity has made in all fields in life so far (technology, standard of living, societal progress, etc). But imo, 2020's an exception. With the way how this year's going, I would even say that 2017-2019 were MILES better than now. At least people had normal lives back then.  I am hopeful for late 2021 though. 
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Post by jaydawg89 on Sept 29, 2020 14:20:28 GMT 10
I've always agreed with this sentiment. Looking back to the past is good, but saying that it's much better than nowadays just ignores the progress that humanity has made in all fields in life so far (technology, standard of living, societal progress, etc). But imo, 2020's an exception. With the way how this year's going, I would even say that 2017-2019 were MILES better than now. At least people had normal lives back then. I am hopeful for late 2021 though. 2020 is absolutely an exception (terrible year), the best we can do right now is just looked foward for the future and hope it doesn't suck as much as 2020. It is sorta how things were clearly improving in the early 20th century with technology evolving at such a rapid rate and things were clearly looking better than the 19th century. Though, there were stinker years like 1919 (which was a terrible, even for the time). I guess 2020 does kind of mirror 1919 in that way.
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Post by rainbow on Sept 29, 2020 14:36:12 GMT 10
It's a bit hard to live in the present when 2020 is just an awful year. I've been feeling more nostalgic for 2008 lately. Even though there was also a Recession, I feel like it was a much more optimistic time. The music was better, politics weren't as divided as now, things like YouTube were in its golden age. Obviously I'm looking at the year through more rose-colored glasses. It wasn't very good with the recession, but at least people still lived their normal lives for the most part.
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Post by Telso on Sept 30, 2020 2:15:31 GMT 10
I would have perfectly agreed with this sentiment if you posted this last year or any year before, but right now 2020 makes it extremely hard to willingly care about the present and not be reminiscent about the past.
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