What was worse in the late 90s/early 20s?

[90sor20s]

Help me!!

I've fallen into a nostalgic hole watching Airline episodes from the late 90s, when I was a child.

Most people seem happy. I know I was happy then but I was 8 so not really the same thing.

I want to be happier. Is it social media/the internet? I don't compare myself to others as such, but life felt so much simpler. Is it all rose-tinted spectacles? What was worse then? Immediate things that come to mind are attitudes towards women/other oppressed groups. But what else?

I will struggle to help you!

Mid 90's to early 2000's were great for me ( I was mid 20's early 30's then ) Never felt richer than we did back then even though we were working in very ordinary jobs. Life was fun and uncomplicated in the main. Holidays were cheap and housing affordable.

I do remember the treatment of women being bad compared to now though. Sexual harassment and discrimination in the office and the treatment of female celebs of the time was awful ( The Spice girls being weighed after pregnancy and the magazines highlighting blemishes or anyone putting on weight)

I suppose having access to the internet is an improvement on those times? We didn't have home internet access until 2001 and used cyber cafes until then.

Working from home wasn't a thing and long hours were expected even if your contract was 9-5.

People smoking in offices and pubs and public transport was grim until the ban came in - that's a massive improvement!

Google Maps has transformed my ability to get around (I have a terrible sense of direction), which means I walk far more than I used to and with much greater confidence. I really wouldn’t be without it for worlds.

I loved that time, but I also remember a lot of casual sexism- getting my bum slapped at work by men a lot and not feeling able to say anything. Also the ‘circle of Shame’ in Heat magazine was pretty brutal. Lots of pressure to look skinny. So many girls I knew had eating disorders back then.

Smoking probably. I think cars used to get stolen more often as they were easier to take.

Sexual harassment

Lack of safeguarding, I think the official framework was introduced in 2002 and it meant a lot of kids did not get the support they needed.

I loved this time too!

Definitely lots of skinny shaming, programmes about fat people, my daughters watch them now with their mouths open.

Don't think it was much more sexist, in that I think a lot of that has gone more underground but is still there.

Smoking
Sexism, racism and homophobia
Burglaries were a lot more frequent
Society was generally more violent
It was much harder to "know what you don't know"

I’m not sure it was that much better. I was born in 1973 so the difference was probably the difference between being young then and middle aged now

The sexism!! The eating disorders constantly normalised. I love that you can talk about periods and menopause now. I used to feel disgusting all the time. Now it is ok to be different. My neurodivergent child has a chance at life. The way he would be treated even ten years ago breaks my heart.
I was a kid in the 90s/2000s and had a great childhood and yet so much is better now!

Best years of my life in many ways. I was seriously ill in the mid 90s and still recovering late 90s to 00’s but I also felt like I got my life back.
I loved everything about that time- the rising technology without it taking over our lives, the music, the TV.

yep

Sexual harassment was brutal. And being asked to make the tea or take notes if you were the only woman in the room. Your hair always stank of smoke the morning after being in a pub. I was happy though. I was in my late 20s, bought 50% shared ownership of a flat in London zone 2 for £36k on a salary of £13k. Went out whenever I felt like it and lived on M&S ready meals. I think the internet is the key change. Life was simpler then. You made arrangements to see friends and you talked, like really talked all night. Phones stayed in your bag all night as you would only use it to talk to someone.

I remember Topshop in Oxford Circus was so modern and exciting, I really wanted to share it with my daughter. She was so unimpressed by it. Her generation have seen it all, probably why it’s closed down now. I too feel nostalgic OP - for all the bad points we had the best time.

Racism
Sexism (laddism was a particular low point)
Homophobia
Disablism
Smoking indoors
Fashion for waifs and heroin chic (although Ozempic trend is getting that way)
Couldn’t contact anyone or be contacted once you were out - lots of practical issues stemming from this
No Uber, taxis needed pre booking or were a pain to get hold of
No night tube
No supermarket deliveries or amazon, literally every purchase required going to a shop (well apart from the Next catalogue I suppose)
No online banking or admin, so lots of phone calls required in working hours only
No online reviews - easy to get stung and spend money on a crap product/holiday/etc
Much less information available about EVERYTHING so you couldn’t just look up recipes, travel info, baby sleep advice, health advice, exercise routines, how to fix stuff, whatever you can think of.

This is just limited to the UK…

Oh god yes the smoking. Coming home from a night out and your hair and clothes stinking

Yeah- there is definitely some of this- I'm of approx the same vintage and I think part of it being better was just being young. If I ask my parents they say the late 60's were the best time for the same reason