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+--- Thread: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? (/showthread.php?tid=917)
Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Honey Saucer Gengar - 05-19-2018
Was the age without technology better? Or was it worse?
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - YoshisIsland3 - 05-19-2018
It was better because no one was staring at their screens constantly, but worse without the advancements of new technology to do things more efficiently and faster.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - VinnyVideo - 05-19-2018
An interesting question! It's hard to say with a binary poll question, however. First of all, what does "technology" mean? A caveman using a sharpened stick to poke open a beehive is employing technology (a tool used to solve a problem). If "technology" means "modern technology", what technology is modern? Personal computers, the Internet, TV, radio, airplanes, telephones, cameras, internal combustion engines, the printing press? Where do we delineate the boundary between modernity and the old days?
I don't mean to be pedantic here, but we've had many inventions that had a huge effect on how people function. So let's assume that "technology" here is referring to communications technology that has become widespread in industrialized nations since the end of World War II. This would include TV, personal computers, video games, the Internet, mobile phones, and other innovations that had a major effect on society. I'll ignore the effect of things like medical advances and technologies that were of more interest to businesses, educational institutions, militaries, and governments than the general public.
Some of these developments have been resoundingly positive. You can now get on the Internet and access far more information than any scholar could ever hope to find in the past. With a quick Web search, you can find even obscure books, music, movies, and art, available for free or a low cost. You can stay in touch with friends who have moved to other cities or countries - now, instead of having to go on an odyssey or wait a few months for snail mail to arrive at your destination, you can send an e-mail or text message that might take less than a second to get to its recipient. Modern technology also gives us lots of fun things to do - like playing Mario games and posting on MFGG!
This technology comes with a price, however. It's played a role in making us less active and less social, contributing to rising rates of obesity, loneliness, and depression. It's given governments and less-than-scrupulous companies plenty of new ways to spy on people. It's also had some negative effects on the environment, with increased demand on electrical systems and the challenge of dealing with difficult-to-recycle electronic waste. In the future, it may cause many jobs to be automated, which could result in widespread unemployment.
Is it worth it? I don't know. Far, far more could be written about this topic, so I wonder what y'all think.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Vitiman - 05-19-2018
The only people who wish to go back to the old days are the ones who never lived through them.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Pedigree - 05-19-2018
I don't waste time wishing for one time or another, I'd rather live in the moment.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Evil Yoshi Toes - 05-19-2018
Technological advancements come with downsides but they also come with a lot of positive sides, such as saving lives that without modern technology could not be saved.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Shadow Administrator Drei - 05-20-2018
As a chicano, I don't feel like being forcibly removed from my homeland due to my skin to-
Oh. Hmm. Well, I like the internet, so I guess that works for current period.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - VinnyVideo - 05-20-2018
@"Dark Dustinvgmaster" My experience has been the opposite - usually it's older people who express the most desire to return to the recent past. (Of course, it's true that there have long been people who romanticized past ages - for example, the days of the ancient Greeks or the Roman Empire, or the medieval period - but I haven't met a lot of people who sincerely wished they were living in the Middle Ages or in ancient Sparta.)
@Pedigree I think that's the healthiest attitude to have. Some things change for the better, and some things change for the worse, but you'll be happiest - and most able to have a positive effect on the world - if you can adapt to a changing environment instead of living in the past or fantasizing about a future that may or may not happen the way you hope.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Mario - 05-20-2018
I think it'd do everyone a favor to spend a few days without tv or video games. As far as the past vs the present, well, it's better to have options than not.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - СМБХфан - 05-23-2018
In the good old days, it wasn't good. I mean, would you want to live in the 1800's? Slaves in the South, rats, viruses, bloodletting, lack of democracy in many places, the Empire, etc.
But it depends on the person using the technology. There are people out there who are irresponsible with it and leave life alone, and there are people who use it for productivity.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Mariotroid - 05-24-2018
Did you get the idea to post this thread from the new Flash? In the latest season the villain wants to take away technology.
Technology is good.
RE: Which is better, the old days, or the new days? - Arkenova - 05-31-2018
I grew up as a 90s kid (then again, most of us are either 80s, 90s, 2000s kids in these forums.) Of course, I feel nostalgic about the old days but that's normal for majority of us after all.
TBH, I grew up with a mixed lifestyle (with/without games and such) so I don't know much outside the non-technological half of history except in history books, along with tales from elders and other individuals.