So in a moment of contemplation while getting ready for work this morning and walking the dawg, was just wondering how people view modern day life when comparing back across previous generations.

My opinion is that we probably have it better than any other past generation but having recently hit 40 I have been starting to reflect a lot more. In reflecting
I have been wondering how life was like for my parents and their parents when they hit the same sort of age and whether it’s a middle age thing where life seems more difficult, less fun and more serious.

I don’t consider myself depressed but see so many people through work that have depression and mental health issues that I wonder whether we really have it that good.

Obviously we live in society where most people’s standard of living is reasonable and having two kids, even though me and their mother don’t live together, they don’t want for anything and often when we get to birthdays and Xmas it’s difficult to think of something that they would need.

I guess what I`m saying is although we live in a society where most people live well, don’t have the fear of war, rationing, high unemployment and have relative safety – why are there so many people who have mental health issues and struggle to see the positive side of life. Additionally, because this seems to be a modern epidemic does it affect others that have always been positive?

I have always been a half glass full person but the glass is definitely looking more empty than full at the moment.

Thoughts welcome.

Modern Day Life?

‘S rubbish, innit?

I don’t consider myself depressed but see so many people through work that have depression and mental health issues that I wonder whether we really have it that good.

The natural state of mind is misery. When people had real problems to deal with they didn’t need to come up with imaginary ones.

why are there so many people who have mental health issues and struggle to see the positive side of life.

Haven’t there always been? We are just more aware and accepting of it now? I imagine in the past it would have been ignored or someone would have just been perceived as a grumpy old sod. Think about the amount of people with mental health issues post the various wars for a start.

My opinion is that we probably have it better than any other past generation…

do we?

(and who is we?)

There has been a quantum shift in our expectations.

We now expect by default to be happy, to be rich, to have an interesting and fulfilling job, to be healthy, safe and for life in general to be easy.

The disparity between the expectation (heavily influenced by the media) and the grim reality, combined with increased awareness of mental health, is driving the explosion of depression, anxiety etc.

I have been wondering how life was like for my parents and their parents when they hit the same sort of age

I turn 40 next year. My mam turned 40 in 1999. I don’t think life has changed that much since then, other than my internet connection is a lot faster and mobile phones are cheap.

😉

I am firmly convinced that time increasingly spent looking at screens/endless pulp is behind most of the misery today. Have known a good many ppl (self included) whose quality of life and mental health/outlook were adversely affected by increased time on FB, forums (many of which are magnets for foaming, hyper-polarising narcissistic/misanthropic wa*kathons*), endless gadget-comparisons, bottomless virtual baskets and wish-lists. Combine this with working lives often attached to screens and we have an epidemic of disconnectedness and dissatisfaction.

ymmv

*not here of course 8)

I think our ‘ease of access to information’ is a blessing and a curse.

For example; In ‘olden days’ when it rained, you, your neighbour, and the cows, all got wet. You accepted this, and all lived with it.
Now, when it’s raining, I (as in, all of us) can see beautiful images of bone dry trails half way around the world. this makes me envious, upset, and creates a “got-want” divide which leads to unhappiness and unease..

The same for wealth and housing and cars etc.

We all can see the ‘greener grass’ (Though in reality, it’s not greener, but the ‘lens’ used is).
Facebook etc – no-one posts the ‘real life’ they are living. And IF they do, we moan and say ‘take that down’.

I’ve got friends who emigrated to Oz – their ‘Facebook life’ looks so amazing i want to fly over there now an eat it up…
However, they only show sunshine and happiness. Never the loneliness, never the pain and frustration of the endless heat, differing lifestyle etc (as example).

Technology and the net are great, but also responsible for a lot of the ‘ills’ in this world…

DrP

I think that we have so much more information now,that we are more aware of the complexity of some situations,mental health,sexuality,relationships and modern poverty.
There’s no way back from broadminded.

I am firmly convinced that time increasingly spent looking at screens/endless pulp is behind most of the misery today.

Try working in a pit or operating a press. You’d soon realise you have it unbelievably good.

We’ve devised a way of life where the winner is the person who dies with the most toys. It’s no wonder so many people are miserable.

THere is a generational confusion between “want” and “need”.

My parents generation “wanted” to provide their kids with everything that they “needed”.
That was society’s expectation of good parenting.
If your kids made it to 18 alive, fed, clothed and educated then it was a job well done.

There is massive pressure on my generation to fulfill the “need” to give our kids everything that they “want”.

If your kids make it to adulthood and can’t sit in their BMW 1 series and use the latest iphone to post online about their ability to speak three languages, play a musical instrument and achieve sporting greatness at university then you are made to feel that you’ve kinda failed as a parent.

My opinion is that we probably have it better than any other past generation…

they had full employment, free education with grants[ nurses or uni for example] and affordable housing stock etc

We got less than that

what is worse is that my kids will get even less.

Zero hours contracts, expensive education and unaffordable housing

A teacher today will leave uni with 50 k ish debts and then has to work in that there london for 28K – who would want that offer?

I think its worse

We do have better toys and cheaper white goods

a TV cost more in 1982 than now for example

Haven’t there always been? We are just more aware and accepting of it now? I imagine in the past it would have been ignored or someone would have just been perceived as a grumpy old sod. Think about the amount of people with mental health issues post the various wars for a start.

+1
The increasing awareness and acceptance of mental health issues is one of the ways in which current society can be seen to be ‘better’ than for previous generations.

My opinion is that we probably have it better than any other past generation…

Nope, I think we’re the first generation of a long decline in living standards for the masses.

Previous generation had secure long term jobs with pensions and benefits, free education, good life on a single salary etc eg bought a house, bought a car, went on holiday etc.

For the top 5% or so, things are still very good, and for the top 1% they’re better than they’ve ever been. For 95% it’s all downhill from here on…

What got me down recently was thinking about the daily grind of working life.
It stems from spending time out of work after redundancy, and though this was a low point in my life, I really bloody enjoyed the bit of freedom it gave me.
Then back into working in early 50s and what’s it all for? Why do we have to go and do these meaningless jobs for other people’s businesses, so they can earn millions and we can just about get by with some nice bikes and stuff? Why do we have to get up at the same time every weekday, back home same time every evening, then wow! 2 days to “relax” and do what we want (usually too many things we have to do have mounted up, because these 2 days are the only time we get to do them!)?
Obviously this rat-race bollocks isn’t the same for everyone, but jeez it’s a miserable existence when you think about it (too much).

We’ve devised a way of life where the winner is the person who dies with the most toys. It’s no wonder so many people are miserable.

Certainly this (breaks into the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sketch), but also the amount of puerile box ticking attached to our jobs these days. The important thing seems to be shouting about how brilliant you are/have been this year. Yes I’m doing my end of year PD which instantly puts me in a bad mood.

But in terms of quality of life and available opportunities, both in work and play, I have had it far better than my parents did. I do miss the quiet roads of 40 odd years ago, though not the cars.

Obviously we live in society where most people’s standard of living is reasonable

define most and reasonable…

I don’t think it’s the case, personally. I think most of my immediate circle have a reasonable standard of living, but I don’t think I’d have to go too far out of my way to find quite a bit of population who’s wouldn’t describe themselves as having a reasonable standard of living.

The graduates that I employ all have large debts, however they all have numerous foreign holidays, eat out at least 5 times a week, wear expensive clothes, drive expensive cars and moan about not being paid the salary of someone with 20 years experience..
Its all about the perception of expectation and ignoring reality.
I have one graduate – drives a fancy BMW (lives with his mum) – has asked why he isn’t in charge of a £15m project when he can’t be trusted to do anything without lots of help from others.

I am firmly convinced that time increasingly spent looking at screens/endless pulp is behind most of the misery today

I sometimes yearn for an EMP or suchlike to take down the network, just for a day or two. Actually just transport us back to around 94 when the internet in the home, smart phones and computers doing EVERYTHING wasn’t a thing.

It seems the fear of missing out has made us all miserable social junkies without actually speaking to anyone anymore

I don’t think I’d have to go too far out of my way to find quite a bit of population who’s wouldn’t describe themselves as having a reasonable standard of living.

They’d be wrong though. They just don’t understand how most of the world lives (or how previous generations lived) and how lucky they are.

Try working in a pit or operating a press. You’d soon realise you have it unbelievably good.

*

I’m not miserable (not now) – just pointing out what I see makes people miserable today. Some people still work in pits and operate presses. Whether they are miserable or not is still of interest. I’m not saying that my parent’s/grandparent’s generations were happier working down a mine-shaft 16 hours a day (neither did they all work in a pit or mine), although they *may* have felt less disconnected and dissatisfied pre- ‘gimme gimme gimme’ / ‘ me-me-me meme’ generation/s?

*I’ve had some mind-numbingly tedious (and toxic/stinky) factory jobs, but no, operating a press was not one of them.

A mixture really: some things are better, some are worse. Depending on your circumstances and how you react to them is probably as important.

The expectation that we can be happy all the time and have what we want regardless of cost either now or in the future is more likely to lead to unhappiness.

People seem to expect that a job is going to be interesting day in, day out and the general working environment will be nirvana. Many years ago I was told that no matter what job you did, 90% of it would be mundane, 5% crap and 5% interesting. Having done work in lots of different areas that isn’t too far out, no doubt there are jobs that are exceptions to this but it’s a reasonable starting point.

For me it’s lack of time….& too much stuff to try & do in that time…spend time with family…….get ‘household jobs’ done…..get DIY/home improvement stuff done…..wash cars (yeah, I know 🙄 )……gardening……garden maintenance (paint fences, repair shed roof etc.)

And none of that is particularly extravagant/time consuming stuff. It’s not like I’m building a Pagoda from teak in the garden and adorning it with a handmade mosaic tile floor & stained glass windows…it’s just the usual crap like put the laundry away, cut the grass, sort through bills & statements etc….

Then there’s the whole ‘social media’ lives that ‘friends’ seem to live – constant photo’s of nights out, flash cars, holidays on white sandy beaches…..I try & ignore all that crap because I know most of it either isn’t real or is just accumulating debt that I’d rather not get involved in…

Some interesting comments on Mental Health there. I work for one of the Emergency Services and Mental health is a massive issue for us and we’re all made aware of its importance.

A good starting point for anyone interested is http://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-yourself/five-ways-to-wellbeing/

They’d be wrong though. They just don’t understand how most of the world lives and how lucky they are.

There’s always someone who is worse off. It doesn’t have any relevance to the OP’s hypothesis.

Technology has given us more opportunities and the world has become more accessible to us all but on the same hand we’ve all become withdrawn from whats important….looking out for each other, we’re far more selfish these days and in fact it makes our world smaller and us less emotionally developed. 🙁

It doesn’t help when people are being constantly bombarded with ‘BUY THIS NOW!’ promotions.Just look at the list of black friday eMails that you got today.
Is it any wonder that the weak willed fall in to the trap.
Spend yourself happy 🙄
🙁

Stuff To Blow Your Mind podcast recently released an episode entitled Is Social Media Driving Us Insane?, a good listen.

constant photo’s of nights out, flash cars, holidays on white sandy beaches….

I’m glad that one thing I’ve never cared about is what other people are doing. Whether they have it worse or better than me doesn’t effect how my life is. Jealousy certainly is a foreign concept to me.

They’d be wrong though. They just don’t understand how most of the world lives (or how previous generations lived) and how lucky they are.

That sort of comment is only ever made by someone who isn’t struggling to make ends meet.

Just look at the list of black friday eMails that you got today.

I got none. Unsubscribe and never see one again.

Technology has given us more opportunities and the world has become more accessible to us all but on the same hand we’ve all become withdrawn from whats important….looking out for each other, we’re far more selfish these days and in fact it makes our world smaller and us less emotionally developed.

^ +1

That sort of comment is only ever made by someone who isn’t struggling to make ends meet.

Possibly, but still right. Compared to previous generations or other countries struggling here is very different to struggling there.

I barely recognise the life I had before the late 1990s, the internet going mainstream changed everything for modern society. Back then, I had to walk to the high street to buy anything, to have a chat meant phoning them or meeting in person, while playing with mates involved going to the local playing fields. Even finding a girlfriend meant walking up to a complete stranger, now you can live chat to someone who is allegedly a girl before you meet up in person!

So is it just the access to modern technology that is actually causing the general feeling of low mode as we constantly compare ourselves to other peoples gloriously happy lives that we all feel we are not achieving the same level of supposed greatness?

Possibly, but still right. Compared to previous generations or other countries struggling here is very different to struggling there.

I suspect that neither you nor I have the slightest clue what it’s like. It’s also completely irrelevant to someone who doesn’t have enough cash for their heating pre-payment card.

I suspect that neither you nor I have the slightest clue what it’s like. It’s also completely irrelevant to someone who doesn’t have enough cash for their heating pre-payment card.

Go back a couple of generations and you’d watch your children die through lack of healthcare. Makes putting a jumper on less of a worry (and everyone put a jumper on rather than run central heating then anyway).