I think a lot of this has to do with your perspective. I'm 35, but am very "old school". I work in the technology field, but favor analog cars, sports, the outdoors, and mechanical things compared to social media and electronics. I grew up in a small town in CT, my father worked hard and my mom was able to stay home and take care of us until we were in school, then she worked part time. I still remember when the computer was a thing in the corner I used to type my homework on, and not something I carried around in my pocket all day to be in constant forced engagement with my job, friends, and family. In some ways, our quality of life has gotten worse, with more stress. I have what I believe to be a good income, zero debt besides mortgage, and yet feel I would struggle to purchase an even slightly better home in my area or a new vehicle. I'm not sure how people do it with multiple kids. Modern vehicles have become basically financially irresponsible for the average person to own. I often feel caught in the middle between the generations like my grandparents, who lived through the best economy we have ever seen with tons of opportunity complaining how younger generations are lazy, and my student employees who work 3 jobs just to afford their used car payments and insurance, knowing they likely won't be able to find a job when they graduate with mountains of student debt they were brainwashed into believing they needed to be successful.
With all that said, there are many good points, it all depends on what you use technology for and who you surround yourself with. We have almost unlimited online resources to help us with our problems, like this forum. I've personally seen instances just in the automotive enthusiast world where people have gotten together from all over the country to help someone in need, some drove several hundred miles to help out, just in the name of community. If I have an issue with my house I can research it online and fix it, or at least educate myself on what I might need to do. I've met people over my lifetime that I would've never met back in the old days, simply because we both liked the same vehicle, or because one of us was selling something online and had a shared hobby. In my social circle at least, people usually ask "what do you do" as a way of networking. I run a side business repairing power equipment and ATVs, 100% of my business has been through networking and word of mouth. Just on my street I have two police officer neighbors, a lawyer, an insurance agent, a kinesiologist, and a network technician. It has nothing to do with materialistic things, I have no idea what their incomes are and I don't care. You can bet that when I have questions related to their field I ask them, and when they need tech advice or their snowblower repaired they come to me, and I'm glad they do. Before joining this forum I didn't even know male belly dancers existed.
The world is different now, everywhere. You can either hate it and be pissed off forever, or try to make the best of it.
With all that said, there are many good points, it all depends on what you use technology for and who you surround yourself with. We have almost unlimited online resources to help us with our problems, like this forum. I've personally seen instances just in the automotive enthusiast world where people have gotten together from all over the country to help someone in need, some drove several hundred miles to help out, just in the name of community. If I have an issue with my house I can research it online and fix it, or at least educate myself on what I might need to do. I've met people over my lifetime that I would've never met back in the old days, simply because we both liked the same vehicle, or because one of us was selling something online and had a shared hobby. In my social circle at least, people usually ask "what do you do" as a way of networking. I run a side business repairing power equipment and ATVs, 100% of my business has been through networking and word of mouth. Just on my street I have two police officer neighbors, a lawyer, an insurance agent, a kinesiologist, and a network technician. It has nothing to do with materialistic things, I have no idea what their incomes are and I don't care. You can bet that when I have questions related to their field I ask them, and when they need tech advice or their snowblower repaired they come to me, and I'm glad they do. Before joining this forum I didn't even know male belly dancers existed.
The world is different now, everywhere. You can either hate it and be pissed off forever, or try to make the best of it.
