What’s better now than it used to be?

[DataPestle]

So many things feel like they’re getting worse - wars, the environment, the internet, treatment of women - can we think of things, big and small, that are actually getting better?

I’ll start:

Children are listened to now, whether it’s about abuse claims or their general emotions

Things like Duolingo make languages feel more accessible, so more people
go even a bit towards learning a new language

There are lots more restaurants/cafes serving food from around the world, whereas when I was young I was lucky to have a Chinese takeaway in our town

Performances for cinemas and theatres have accessible options for disabilities/ND audiences

Any more?

You can read old books for free with Project Gutenberg and other digital repositories.

Thinks like white goods and TV's etc are really cheap now. Many people used to rent these as so expensive. Also the ability to listen to music free through YouTube.

Less children die from accidents! Parental supervision is across the board better, but I do wonder if phone addiction and more people WFH with very small children will change that.

I can get my entire house clean and do a couple of loads of laundry all with minimal effort in the space of a morning. I am not going to die of smallpox. I am warm and clean, I have a mortgage and savings in my own name and not my husband’s, and I don’t have fleas.

I find all the threads about “this is the worst time to be alive, things were so much better in the old days, no wonder everybody is anxious and depressed when we all work such long hours” quite frankly bonkers.

Access to education.

I know this isn’t perfect around the world but the amount of courses and resources that people can access online, from degrees to MOOCS to just generally informing themselves on how to do just about anything is fantastic, as are some of the communities online.

I nearly did a masters earlier this year and the fact I could have done it fully online and part time with no travel is amazing, for SAHMs, people with disabilities, housebound, etc

Clothes are so much cheaper now than they used to be. A skirt might cost, say £30 now. Back in the 80s, it was probably £30, too, but think of that in relation to your wages then & now.

@ComtesseDeSpair it's swings and roundabouts. There's less community now, people aren't as social as they were. That means when there's a crisis, lots of families are on their own. People are lonely.

Old people are sometimes isolated and then go into homes. In the old days they would have died at an earlier age. Is it better now? For families to struggle with looking after a relative with dementia for years and then having to put them into care often against their will?

There's more pressure to be productive. My gran used to take my mum and auntie to the park on Saturdays. Once a year they would go to the beach somewhere in the south west. There just wasn't this constant pressure to take your kids to Namibia or Disney land.

It's not saying that our lives are easier or their lives were harder. They're different. The modern age is people worrying that now we have everything, we are still unhappy. I work with desperately unhappy people. They have heating and water. Some have lots of food. Some have their own homes and cars. They're still really distressed, self harming, using substances.
We really need community back.

Plumbing! Great showers and hot water (I’m old!)

My grandaughter is mixed race and I don’t fear that she will be discriminated against in the same way I would have done 20 years ago. There are so many more representations of diversity and, where we live, such a melting pot. I may be being naive, but it’s definitely better than it was.

Communications - I hear from my kids every day via WhatsApp. When I was their age, it was a once a week phone call to parents. Same goes with friends - we’re much more present in each other’s lives.

Young men ‘stepping up’ with childcare/housework as their wives work full time (I know we hear the opposite on MN but that’s the relationships that are failing. IRL I can’t believe the change).

WFH. Great for family life.

Actually I could go on and on and of course there are things that have got markedly worse in the world. But in my family’s life, I’m positive.

Not having a dig at you unfortunately cheap clothes come at a human and environmental cost.

So much! I also hate the ‘good old days’ talk. Lots of reasons why eg,
I’m divorced with DC and intend to stay single. In my parents youth this would be not only difficult ( financially) but frowned upon socially. Also I have a dyslexic DC who gets help and consideration at school without fuss or stigma. I know SEND provision has a ( very) long way to go but it exists.
I also appreciate the way that casual sexism, homophobia are ( largely) not socially acceptable now especially at work.
Lastly general inclusivity as Op says - it was great to see a Gladiator with a hearing aid on tv last night! Not much attention drawn to her deafness, just her being a very impressive young woman .
All the above are not perfect but we’re going in the right direction.

Glue.

@Northernsouloldies I was going to post something similar.

Cheap clothes promote fast fashion, poor working conditions, poor quality, landfills full of surplus stock and ownership of far more clothes than ever necessary for many, not to mention the environmental impact of their production and distribution, and also single/short use clothing - Christmas pyjamas, a top to go out on a particular night etc, new clothes specifically for a holiday.

I am old enough to remember new clothes being a huge treat - new clothes from a shop even more so - that you cared for and mended - not something you threw in with the groceries.

.

@FarleyHatcherEsq "Parental supervision is across the board better"

That's interesting. In what ways?

I'm not so sure about education. When I was young there were evening classes available in most towns in a wide range of subjects. Working class people could get qualifications or learn skills or pursue interests or even get degrees in ways that just aren't possible now.

Modern cars are incredibly safe when compared to the death traps we all used to drive round in until the 90s. Deaths & serious injuries are now a fraction of previous levels, despite more cars, more traffic & more journeys.

Our air is much cleaner & safer to breathe than it has been for at least 150 years, and it’s improving all the time.

The speed of medical advances is astonishing. We have all just lived through a pandemic, in response to which safe, highly effective vaccines were developed, tested & rolled out within months, not years, and millions of lives were saved.

Being able to get shopping/ food delivered
Easy access to internet for research

The smoking ban - and I say this as an ex smoker, how gross was it that you could smoke at work or on a bus or plane!

My toilet is indoors.
I remember the spider infested outdoor toilet of my childhood.

Agree with smoking ban.

Working from home has been a game changer for me. I'd got to the point where being in the office was a huge struggle, for numerous reasons. So I got a wfh job pre covid. I'm not sure I'd be able to work right now if I still had to work out of the home.

Modern appliances! I can still remember my mum spending all day doing the washing in a twin tub. Washing up by hand after every meal. Having to lug groceries on the bus as she didn't drive, and we lived in a village so it was a trek. Everything was so much work. Oh and central heating. No more crowding round an open fire while the rest of the house was freezing.

This is contentious, but cheap air travel. I've seen so much of the world which seemed completely out of reach as a kid.

My ex"D"H behaved appallingly. In the good old days I'd have had to put up and shut up. Now I can have a mortgage, earn my own money and (generally) not face stigma for myself or my children for being divorced.

I agree. Human rights abuses and massive resource wastage aren't progress.

There is much less dog poo around, even though there are more dogs. In the 80s you couldn’t walk down the road without dodging it, and you definitely had to be careful attempting to sit down in a park.

Skin care and deodorants actually do what they claim to do now.

There is so much lovely food and drink from all over the world to choose from.

There are many, many bas things about the internet- I’m not sure it’s a net benefit- but you can find out almost anything from a thing small enough and cheap enough for everyone to carry around. The Post Office scandal wouldn’t happen now, because the victims would be able to find each other and join forces so much more quickly.

Bit of a random collection of things, but the first that came to mind.

Coffee, beer.

Adopting a pet, living near a good bus route, dishwasher def a bonus