To ask what you miss the most about the past?

[Appalonia]

Been thinking recently about how much we've lost due to the internet, although of course there are lots of amazing things too. For me, I think I miss things like record stores, long conversations on the phone with friends, so many high street shops that are now gone forever, online shopping just isn't the same, especially as you can't try something on, mix tapes, seeing a film in a big cinema, bookshops, lots of independent shops, so much is commercialised now, department stores, in my city, there was only Debenhams and now that's gone, I miss going into town and browsing, there's nothing left other than pound stores, it's so sad.

What do you miss that modern life has robbed you of?

Yes! I'm having a clear out at the moment and decided to get rid of about 40 dvds. Local charity shops won't take them so looked on Ziffit. They're only worth 12p each!

I've been rewatching Call the Midwife, and although I was born in 72, it really makes me crave the simpler times of my childhood. Home cooking, dress making, knitting, lots of local independent shops, community, knowing your neighbours, making do and valuing things instead of this awful throw away culture, getting home from school and having proper family time with everyone engaged, sense of security, no pressure etc. In comparison I feel life today is soul less and I wish my daughter had had my experience of childhood. Life today is have a very detrimental effect on our children and it makes me so very sad.

My grandparents and a simpler, idyllic way of life.

The fact that in the 80’s I was young & fit enough to not need upstairs ibuprofen, downstairs ibuprofen & glovebox ibuprofen.

I miss MSN messenger in the early mid 2000s. You could chat online to friends without the adverts, promotions, influencers, attention seeking posts, pointless videos that fill social media now.

Agree with all and more. However it is slightly funny that we are all being nostalgic about days before smart phones and social media - on a social media site no doubt all using our phones 😂

Agree re Web 1.0

also miss the days that kids weren't everywhere - the golden times when coffee shops and galleries weren't overrun with them. The general adult nature of London in the 90s.

things pre-globalisation and pre heavy branding - not like the landscape we have now where there's little individuality in shops

the days when there were hardly any takeaway places

businesses existing for their business and not making political statements.

Children being able to play out in the street, and visit their pals without needing a "playdate". Also children saving their pocket money and buying family members Xmas and birthday presents, I was quite shocked to read that you can't expect teenagers to do this these days when I have clear memories of being nine and juggling my money during decimalisation! But then we had Woolies... 😁

I miss going into town for a wander around the shops and getting a £1.99 breakfast from Littlewoods.

Remember pouring over every bit of the jacket and insert? The lyrics, the images, everything.

I think we can get back to that but have to make the effort.

Ive been to a few concerts recently that shook me up and made me remember. Life was just simpler.

Lots of green space to play in . Cheap public transport. Less traffic. Everyone walked everywhere .
Solid big prams.

My youth, not worrying about my health, my parents health, my grandparents.

More trivial...
I miss being able to buy people presents more easily like tapes, records, books etc and going shopping for them. Having a few tv channels that everyone was watching at the same time. Stationery(!)

Was just saying the other day to dh, thinking Christmas Eve was the best day ever!!!

Running so fast down a grassy hill that you are half terrified you’re going to go flying in a bloody heap of skinned knees & split lips and simultaneously half convinced you’re about to actually go flying

Always a feature of long, hot summers spent nearly entirely outdoors roaming wild, cooling feet in streams & foraging in hedgerows to avoid having to go home for food

The world, and therefore possibilities, seemed vast & endless.

The safe feeling of knowing that if you were seriously ill or injured and you called 999 an ambulance would come ...

Fewer cars everywhere.

Apple trees with delicious apples and beautiful flowers in spring.

Magazines with beautiful typesetting and photographs.

Interesting, varied fashion that I could afford (and fit into).

People watching in Soho with much more interesting characters.

Flyers, often little works of art - which you picked up in pubs/cafés/shops/clubs to find out what was happening.

Gay bars. Gay bars for gay people. Gay bars that only gay people knew about.

Privacy. I acted a fool in the 1980s (my 20s) but have zero regret as I never felt more alive - and there is very little evidence of it to haunt me now.

I don't miss having to go shopping at all. Not even a little bit. I definitely don't miss Debenhams or nightclubs or Blockbusters.

I do vaguely miss the internet dial up noise. Delayed gratification. I never thought I'd miss it, but life's full of little surprises.

It also seems strange to miss the relative political stability of my youth, because it didn't feel like a golden age, but compared to now, things were definitely better. The NHS wasn't basically on fire, for a start...

I miss my youth too. Not much I can do about that though!

Agree with simplicity and optimism - and a certain sense of security that there was at least some sort of order in the world.

Also the slower pace of things - not feeling pressured by technology to do everything instantly - and not having to be constantly available.

I miss living in a world where I didn't constantly feel I needed to stop and catch my breath....

Being part of a loved family unit. I'm an island now on my own and I miss that love and unity so much.

Going to the pub on a Friday night knowing everyone would be there, we never had to plan anything.
I miss all the good shops in the city.
Going for Sunday lunch at my grandparents and falling asleep on their sofa watching tv.
Having photos developed and waiting to see if any came out.
How good food used to taste, I don’t know what they’ve done everything but it all tastes weird and fake these days.

Having a new episode of Friends on every Friday night. No internet so no leaks about the storyline so each episode would be a total surprise!

Life was just quieter and slower. No one was rushing to be the 'very first' to post some gossip, 'boast', or tidbit and no one rushed somewhere to buy the latest fad because some 'influencer' posted a picture of on their 'Insta'.

News was much more 'local', you didn't hear about things like murders and horrible accidents from thousands of miles away. Life has become a bit more frightening due to the 'if it bleeds there, it leads here' mentality that has them covering events that, back in the day, wouldn't have made the local news. I'm not talking about 'big' things, like Aberfan or the Fukushima earthquake. I mean about the gratuitous reporting of a murder in a far away place simply to get viewers.