Do you miss "the old days" re: news/music/mags etc

[CandleInTheStorm]

For both the worker and the consumer? The days when everything wasn't instant as in news/music/TV etc.

When newspapers and magazines were important and there was a genuine buzz in the office (so I'm told) when an exclusive was found out. When magazines were fun and all about "the gossip" and working in that environment involved busy offices and boozy lunches/nights out with drinks etc.

When the music industry was full of money/good music/real breakthrough artists/talent and lots of booze (and I hate to say it drugs) and parties.

When we didn't know everything 24/7 and it wasn't instant and/or so disposable?

Yes I do.

I think something has been lost and I'm not sure that what's been gained makes up for the loss.

Yes I do. I think about the abundance of tv, music and film choices a lot. It feels like a breeding ground for ADHD in kids and adults where we can instantly switch between choices without even finishing what we started and the overwhelm can be stressful.

Podcasts is another thing I used to regularly look forward to with a relatively narrow selection in each topic and would enjoy each and every episode. Now it just feels as if I can't be bothered with all the choice.

Of course there are benefits to instant access to entertainment but I think in the long term it is not good and I miss the offline days. I do feel lucky to have seen the change in technology through the decades but can't say I look forward to the future of it.

No, I can't imagine doing without the internet.

Yes, I do. I really miss the weekly charts!

I miss the NME, new releases & tour dates. And magazine fashion pages before online shopping was a thing. Reading about the latest trends and heading out on a Saturday afternoon for a shop. Also remember the weekly paper, going through the classified ads, looking at the jobs & births, deaths & marriages section, planning applications & the letters from local residents. Glory days.

I miss Smash Hits in its glory days - late 70s, early 80s. It felt like it was written for me. It was funny, informative, not po-faced like the proper music papers.

Yep. I miss things being ‘fun’ rather than cool/edgy. Catchy pop music, brightly coloured clothes, no neuroses about the state of the planet because ‘the news’ was boring and only on once a day anyway. The teens around me look so sad now, dripping around in beige and black North Face attire and staring sadly at their phones.

The Aaron Sorkin series the Newsroom dealt with this a bit ..old fashioned, accountable journalism that had to be sourced etc Vs every man and his dog with an iPhone creating the news. I hate it when news programmes etc have "comments from Joe Bloggs" on some very serious, technical or economic issue. I want to hear from experts and those with authority and experience..I really don't care what Mavis from Folkstone thinks.

I also completely agree re too much choice and lack of attention span or commitment to anything. It spills over into so many other aspects of life. As a teacher it's much much harder to get even very academic kids to read or even watch anything with full attention for more than ten minutes.

I was looking in a clothes shop window the other day to see what was new for spring, when I suddenly thought 'Why am I bothering to do this? It will all be on their website anyway'. Then I felt a bit sad and uncreative.

I guess celebs prefer it now they can have more control over the stories written about them because they can just go on social media and correct the "story" direct.

I miss programs being a weekly thing and you all talked about it and had to wait until next week and then next year for the new series!

I miss so much. I really detest most of what modern life offers.

I used to get so excited when the new edition of the Take That magazine came out same with Smash Hits then Spice Girls magazine . The feeling of waiting for the new Now cd to hit Woolies or the single you had been hearing on the radio for weeks . It’s not the same now at all .
I miss when people all watched the same tv and didn’t reference Netflix and Tick Tock neither of which I can get into .

Shops were much better, shopping was more of an event. Especially in London. It’s all so boring & samey now...

I do. I miss getting a joke by text. I hate all the instant gratification we expect these days. Everyone becomes a 'knowall' with Google - I miss the days when we all had something special we could own that others didn't know. I REALLY miss magazines, watching TV as a family and my kids not needing to ask me anything about life.

I remember hearing something interesting on tv/ radio that you’d like to know more about and having to wait til you got to the library to get a book out about it. And then thinking that book was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth- just based on one author.
Things felt more certain then, now there never seams to be a definitive answer as there so much information to choose from.

Smash Hits magazine with lyrics and posters! I too miss the simpler days.

It might cause people to display "ADHD like" behaviours to an outsider but it does not cause ADHD. Although attention deficit disorder is a more accurate descriptor for those who have destroyed their attention than the classic diagnosed group who actually have an excess of attention and poor executive function. The underlying causes are completely different. It might look a bit similar from the outside but it is not the same.

Not a day goes by when I don’t have thoughts like this.

Definitely. I was 18 when Facebook appeared so have grown up with it but remember a time before it/ the rest of social media and the whole instant gratification thing. Whilst Internet and technology has its uses I miss waiting for my magazine of choice to come out every month and buying it as a treat. It's no longer made as Pinterest meant it became a bit redundant. But having said that I've always hated gossip/ celeb mags, not appealing to me at all!

Yes, so much. Shopping in real shops, and waiting for the new album and looking after it really carefully.
Little things too, like letters and postcards. I miss not having a mobile phone. Now there's no down time of silence. It's always a choice, pick up or ignore.
And I miss photographs.

The mobile phone thing, strawberries... I miss waking up on a Saturday morning, and just lying in bed “being”. Nowadays, you have to be “mindful” to do that...

Something I miss.
But there's more I would miss if I didn't have them.

I'd miss Streaming TV, waiting a week for the next advert riddled episode of a TV show was a pain in the arse.

I'd miss the internet and things like messenger and instant contact with people. And Google, I'd miss Google..

But at the same time, I do miss being younger and not being so readily aware of what's happening in the world, iyswim. I lived through the 80s and 90s and recessions and depressions and threats of nuclear wars and the gulf war and murderers and kidnappings etc. But I just wasn't aware of any of it like I am now. Sometimes I think I should just stop watching the news... 🤣🤣

penpals - posting letters, airmail stickers and licking stamps
entering competitions - stamped addressed envelopes
watching Why Don't You? during the summer holidays
Brownies and Guides - camping and helping the older community
learning dance routines (Mel and Kim)
looking forward to bonfire night - roasted chestnuts
auditioning for school productions - home sewn costumes
painting your own / friends nails

Memories!

I miss buying a single from HMV and playing it over and over and reading all the lyrics on the back. When I ask Alexa to play music now I’m overwhelmed by choice and sometimes can’t think of anything. The same with films, waiting for a new film to be released then getting to blockbuster and all the copies were gone, we would have to wait until next time. Now I spend ages trawling Netflix and can’t find anything to watch, even though there are 1000’s of options.
Everything now is instant and there’s so many options. I miss buying the property guide every week too, that’s disappeared now with rightmove.

I hate that there isn’t the option to opt out of it all but I need Facebook, twitter etc as that’s what all my kids social clubs and school updates are on.