We truly live in a glorious time period

[CyberCubed]

I just can't help but realize how all of us were born in pretty much the right period of human history. Just think of our parents generation and how little technology they had and how there was no internet, no computers, and TV's only had like 5 channels.

We live in a time period where we all own a computer in our pocket. Smartphones give us access to the internet 24/7, we don't even need to wear watches anymore because every phone tells us the time. We don't even need to own a camera anymore because phones take pictures and record videos.

We have the internet where we have access to endless information about virtually anything. We no longer need to go to libraries or read encylcopedia's like our parents did to discover or research things. E-mail let's us stay in constant contact with anyone, no longer needing to stay on lengthy phone calls or write letters like people had to do before 1980.

Videogames now look almost as good as real-life movies. We're getting to the point where videogame graphics are going to become almost indistinguishable from real-life. We can also download videogames at the click of a finger, and download many retro games from past consoles.

We no longer need to sit down to watch TV at a certain time to watch a show. Virtually any TV show can now be watched online (although not all legally), and you no longer have to be home at a certain time or use a VCR to record a show if you can't see it. We no longer have to wait for reruns of our favorite shows to see them again, everything is online. It's not like the 90's and 80's where if you missed an episode on TV you were out of luck until they aired it again.

DVD's and Blu-rays allow our favorite shows and movies to be released endlessly, as well as digital. When all we had was VHS you were lucky if an entire series ever saw a release, and most didn't.

You can order almost anything online with a click of a finger. Want new clothes, a new DVD/videogame/music CD/comic book or even food? You don't even have to constantly go to malls or stores anymore, you can order anything online and get it delivered directly to your house.

Modern medicine can save peoples lives and people are living longer than ever. Its hard to believe people used to only live to 60 years old and died from various diseases, and now many people are making it into their 90's. Just think of how short peoples lifespans were from the beginning of mankind to about 1950...people constantly lived short lives because of wars or diseases. You got drafted for World War II and there was a good chance you were not coming back.

I just can't help but realize how even just two decades ago back in the 90's we didn't have any of this. We were all born in the right time period, I hate to imagine being born in my parents generation in the 60's or anything before that. Just like I'm sure the people born 100 years from now will be glad they're born in that time period.

We're also on the brink of exploring space. To think that mankind will land on Mars within the next decade or so is amazing. To think we can find planets and suns millions of lightyears away is amazing. To think we might find alien life in the next decade is amazing.

Just thank god I was born in this time period instead of 1850, 1210, 1775, or even anything before 1980. Just thank god.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Yeah, i think now is a pretty good time to be alive.

[arkangel]

I was born in 1971. Being a teenager in the 80s had it's blessings too. I remember getting an Atari and thinking how cutting edge it was , the british heavy metal invasion, big hair bands, some of the greatest movie and tv franchises (a lot of which are still going strong), transformers were metal, etc. It's all relative dude. Your kids will think you suffered in the stone age when they show off cool swag that we can't imagine now.

.... oh and I'm coming over to your house to crack you one with my rubiks cube for making that 80s comment.. :lol:

[Refractive Reflections]

From a consumerism technological standpoint, yes.

...But in terms of technological innovation in regards to more important aspects of life, like finding new alternative sources of energy (to make distant space travel possible) and new medicines to combat increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, I would say no, in comparison to the rapid growth of technology in the early half of the 20th century.

In addition, some people would argue and debate about the political and economic conditions as well, considering the rise in poverty and shrinking of the American middle class.

It's all relative dude. Your kids will think you suffered in the stone age when they show off cool swag that we can't imagine now.

So true. Watch these two videos and feel old, ...really old:
XkuirEweZvM
Uk_vV-JRZ6E

[pennydreadful]

There are definitely perks to living in an age where technology allows us to pretty much be plugged in 24/7. I can't help but feel that we do miss out on some of the simple pleasures of life though.

As far as living in "the best age" when it comes to civil rights, I think we've still got a long way to go.

Then again, I'm the kind of person who hates mobile phones and likes rotary phones, so take my opinion with a grain of salt!

[CyberCubed]

In terms of human rights, I don't see what people are complaining about.

We have a black president and gay people can legally get married in most states in the U.S. What I just typed was practically unthinkable even just over a decade ago.

There will always be racist or homophobic people in the world, that can never be helped. But the fact that we have progressed so much says enough in itself. Hell prior to 1950 women were expected to stay in the kitchen and not hold any jobs. What does that tell you?

[Candy Kappa]

"... In most states..." Yeah... There's a long way to go, especially since there are some countries that still have a death penalty of homosexuality.

Equal rights are far from achieved.

[CyberCubed]

"... In most states..." Yeah... There's a long way to go, especially since there are some countries that still have a death penalty of homosexuality.

Equal rights are far from achieved.

Still better than we were 100 years ago.

The point of this thread is to be glad we weren't born in the 1400's, or in ancient caveman times, or in 1208. Our lives would have been short, miserable, and living in fear and ignorance.

Of course people who lived in that time period didn't know that, but considering people were put to death for speaking against the Church or claiming that Earth wasn't the center of the universe, it says a lot.

[Prowler]

Things will keep on improving, so the people who have been born in 2014 will say the same things in 20 years that you're saying in your OP.

But yeah, I don't really complain about having been born in 1990 myself, although I wouldn't have minded being born in the early 80s.

[Wingnut]

Hardworking, well-educated, insured people are still going bankrupt paying bills for a single medical procedure.

It's harder to make a living wage now than any point in post-industrial society.

People are living to 90...and still driving.

"Instant information" has completely skewered what's fact and what's complete bullsh*t to the point of redundancy...I remember a time not too long ago when you didn't have to fact check everything because, you know, the journalist did it for you. Now we fact check the internet, by using the internet. (I'm guilty)

Not saying the now doesn't have it's perks, but I didn't mind brick and mortar shopping. I didn't mind calling people at their house and if they weren't home, leaving a message. I didn't mind having a cell phone that was just a phone. I don't "hate" this era and I am sure as hell glad I wasn't around in the Dark Ages, but to call this a "glorious" time is just too much of a stretch for me. At the moment.

[Refractive Reflections]

CyberCubed, your "glorious time" period is way too relative because you're looking at everything from a hindsight point of view. Naturally things are easily going to seem "better" on the surface. And as most people pointed out, just wait for the next generation to correct you on saying their lifetimes are the most "glorious time" period.

There's no question that the 20th century has made many improvements in benefiting the common individual in the second millennia with enacting laws to protect employment, standard of living, etc. in addition to the rise of the middle class. But to say your specific lifetime (Millennials or Generation Y) is a "glorious" time is stretching it too far because there have been other times in history where beneficial political, economic, technological, and social change have occurred at a much faster rate.

If anything, this time period seems to be lethargic and frankly, lazy or (sometimes genuinely) too busy, for society to involve themselves in political/economic/social change. Our current political activism is a joke (i.e. Occupy Wall Street) compared to the movements of the 60s and 70s that made real change. One strong example of that change, is that the environmentalism movement was so strong back then, that it actually made President Nixon (a Republican president) to propose the Environmental Protection Agency and other legislation acts to improve the environment. Of course some cynics will say he did that to take advantage of voter interest, but nevertheless, the environment was improved.

[Powder]

I agree with the 2 posts above me. Our tech & whatnot is great but it's more or less brought out the worst in common man.

[pennydreadful]

Eh... I don't want to get this thread locked for veering into religious territory re civil rights, so I'll try to focus my reply around Cubed's original point as I'd rather not open a can of worms (or whupass, hehehe)...

It's a great era in some ways - in other ways, not so much.

I love the convenience of being able to fit thousands of mp3s on my laptop... but I don't like the impact that the digital age has had upon bookstores and video stores. Some of my best memories are based around spending time in bookstores and video stores as a young'un, and I think it's a shame that a lot of people out there are going to grow up not being able to enjoy the smell of a paperback novel.

I think online shopping is a gift from above for antisocial recluses like me... but I dislike the narcissism and privacy issues that come with the territory of social media.

I like the instant gratification that the internet provides, but I don't like the way that some people utilise the anonymity/safety of online communication to be unkind to others.

I like that modern technology allows us to connect with other people with similar interests, but I don't like that the quality of music and entertainment seems to be slipping. Of course that last part's definitely a matter of opinion and music/films have always been commercial to an extent, but creativity definitely seems to have taken a downward trend in those departments. I'd gladly trade any dozen of the current pop starlets to have Janis Joplin back. :D

[Zulithe]

Yeah it sure is great living in what is basically Elysium.

Filthy casuals... err, i mean less fortunate people in poverty can step off and get back to building my next iPhone. For the ones in countries that actually have job options and essentials such as clean water and some food, that is.

[CyberCubed]

People keep talking about other countries being poor and people living in poverty, yet it was exactly the same for them 100 years ago.

Just because some countries are still living in the dark ages doesn't mean we have to.

[Peanut]

But what if 500 years from now they find a way to store human consciousness in a Matrix-like device that ensures us immortality and the ability to do and have whatever we want for eternity!? THEN WHAT, CYBERCUBED!? You're gonna look up from Hell, remember this thread, and think about how future people are digging through Internet archives and laughing at how naive you were. They're up there flying through space-time and wearing hip future-shades and you're down in hell getting prodded with sharp things and listening to casuals discuss things you love in the most ignorant way possible.

No, Cybercubed. This isn't a glorious time to live. It's a poor time to die.

[BubblyShell22]

I don't think it's a glorious time to live for the most part. Why? Because while technology has come a long way, people have become so dependent on it that they've forgotten what it was like to just walk without looking at their phone or buying things online that they don't really need. We still have a sh*tty economy, gay marriage isn't legal everywhere in the U.S. and probably never will be, we've been forced to buy health insurance or suffer a penalty on our taxes thanks to our dictator of a President who's really done nothing to make this country better, we still have self-absorbed kids who think that they're owed everything just because they were born and who don't want to work to make a living, and we still don't have cures for diseases like cancer and AIDS. So, no, we aren't really living in a glorious age at all.

Oh, and I also forgot to add that we have stupid reality shows like Duck Dynasty and Keeping Up With The Kardashians instead of quality feel good programming like Full House or even Saved by the Bell.

[CyberCubed]

And yet for all the people complaining, I'm willing to bet if you guys seriously had to live in the year 1500 but had the same knowledge you had now and what technology would become, you would be completely depressed and out of your mind.

Good luck also not having your village burned down by bandits or run the risk of getting robbed or killed simply walking down the road and having your body dropped in a river. Good luck eating sour or spoiled food, possibly having your wife die at childbirth, possibly having most of your kids die of a childhood disease.

Good luck not dying after being forced to fight in some war, or if you dare to speak up against the Catholic Church you would be burned at the stake. Good luck writing a letter that takes like 2 months to reach the person you're sending it to, and then wait another 2 months to received a letter back from them unlike what we have to day with an e-mail.

If you were black you were a slave. If you were Jewish you were either a slave or would be executed in the Holocaust. If you were Asian you were expected not to leave your country, because if you did you would be treated like a filthy animal.

Maybe because I watch TV shows or play videogames set in these ancient time periods I know how horrible people lived back then. And TV shows/videogames make things look better than they are obviously.

[Refractive Reflections]

And yet for all the people complaining, I'm willing to bet if you guys seriously had to live in the year 1500 but had the same knowledge you had now and what technology would become, you would be completely depressed and out of your mind.

Good luck also not having your village burned down by bandits or run the risk of getting robbed or killed simply walking down the road and having your body dropped in a river. Good luck eating sour or spoiled food, possibly having your wife die at childbirth, possibly having most of your kids die of a childhood disease.

Good luck not dying after being forced to fight in some war, or if you dare to speak up against the Catholic Church you would be burned at the stake. Good luck writing a letter that takes like 2 months to reach the person you're sending it to, and then wait another 2 months to received a letter back from them unlike what we have to day with an e-mail.

If you were black you were a slave. If you were Jewish you were either a slave or would be executed in the Holocaust. If you were Asian you were expected not to leave your country, because if you did you would be treated like a filthy animal.

Maybe because I watch TV shows or play videogames set in these ancient time periods I know how horrible people lived back then. And TV shows/videogames make things look better than they are obviously.

While I am grateful for the conveniences, safety, and security we have today in comparison to the past, your viewpoint is still too relative CyberCubed. (One could say all of these comforts and conveniences have spoiled us and given us a sense of entitlement, but that's a whole other issue.) You presented your argument as if your particular lifetime (Generation Y) was the "glorious time", almost as if generations after us could not compete with that. When you know our children's generation and generations of the future, could easily negate your argument without any effort by your logic. That's why I presented the more fair notion of comparing an era's rate of change/development for each time period rather than the cumulative beneficial effects of all of time's past achievements at a particular era. The cumulative effect (your logic CyberCubed) would make the present age win in almost every comparison to the past whenever it's brought up.

You think people who lived through the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Industrial Revolution didn't think the same thoughts of living in a "glorious" time period? That things couldn't possibly get any better?

Plus CyberCubed, how can we be depressed about something we would have never known in the first place (i.e. knowledge of video games in the distant past)? Gee, I guess society might do something more constructive like umm... I don't know... read good literature rather than watching reality TV obsessively? :roll:

[pennydreadful]

How can we consider ourselves to be living in a glorious time period when we still don't know how to use the three seashells? :P

[Wingnut]

And yet for all the people complaining, I'm willing to bet if you guys seriously had to live in the year 1500 but had the same knowledge you had now and what technology would become, you would be completely depressed and out of your mind.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/GenAn/uewb_06_img0423_zps58fddb1e.jpg

This guy did alright...

[CyberCubed]

You think people who lived through the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Industrial Revolution didn't think the same thoughts of living in a "glorious" time period? That things couldn't possibly get any better?

Plus CyberCubed, how can we be depressed about something we would have never known in the first place (i.e. knowledge of video games in the distant past)? Gee, I guess society might do something more constructive like umm... I don't know... read good literature rather than watching reality TV obsessively? :roll:

I'm well aware the people born 100 years from now will think we are archaic as well. But the point is we now live in a global world where information is at our fingertips and we have modern conveniences.

The only place to go from here is space travel. We know in real life stuff like teleportation or flying cars are unlikely to ever happen. But at least we will see men land on Mars in our lifetime.

[Refractive Reflections]

I'm well aware the people born 100 years from now will think we are archaic as well. But the point is we now live in a global world where information is at our fingertips and we have modern conveniences.

The only place to go from here is space travel. We know in real life stuff like teleportation or flying cars are unlikely to ever happen. But at least we will see men land on Mars in our lifetime.

First your entire position is vague and fluctuating, you lumped this entire current era as "glorious", by pointing to primarily consumerism technology (DVDs and video games), then you went to political and social conditions (social conditions of certain ethnic groups), and now changing to telecommunications. How exactly are you applying the "glorious" word now CyberCubed? Stick with one specific perspective about humanity CyberCubed, don't keep shifting the perspective of where "glorious" is being applied here. How inclusive or exclusive are you applying "glorious" now?

If we are now talking about globalization and communications:
Globalization has always been progressive with the development in technology, in making communication and transportation faster and faster, and without a doubt the internet has definitely made a huge step forward, but it doesn't necessarily bring a new era of "enlightenment" to humanity or at the very least it's too early to decide if the internet has "enlightened" or improved humanity from a societal perspective. That's where my questioning of "glorious" comes in. The possibilities are exciting, but what has been the societal effect of it?

As with increasing population, the internet has brought humanity's differences unexpectedly closer toward each other. ...And for some, at an uncomfortable or threatening degree of proximity.

With such a wonderful telecommunication tool, have we as a society, reached a new level of wisdom, understanding and compromise similarly during the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution with the invention of the printing press (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press#Printing_revolution)? Have we become better people? Has this instantaneous, easy form of communication helped us to share ideas where it could lead to political and social improvements? The internet would have been a dream tool for political organizers of the 1960s and 1970s to gain broad-reaching support and share ideas, but what do we have now?

While the internet has done marvels for the scientific community and more scholarly areas of society, those improvements seem to be far in the background in terms of societal relevance and importance. The most notorious example is superficial social networking being frequented far more often than educational and genuinely informative literature. I mean is everybody just that important that we have to know every frivolous and mundane detail of their lives through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. where it has become nothing but a worldwide popularity contest of sorts? If we take this further, why are so many individuals feeling compelled to seek approval/attention online? One could infer that most of those individuals are seeking something that they aren't getting in their personal lives. But I'm digressing...

We may have a plethora of information (especially with the internet), but it doesn't necessarily equate to revelation.

I'm not trying to be cynical about technological development, and I do get enthusiastic about scientific progress, but for me, technological development is only as good as how humanity decides to use it. One obvious example is nuclear fission, the extreme dichotomous ends of nuclear energy versus nuclear weapons.


Also don't hold your breath CyberCubed about that whole quixotic manned mission to Mars, because that has been scrapped several times in the past (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manned_Mars_mission_plans_in_the_20th_cent ury) when they have encountered a variety of challenges including supporting human life for a long period of time, the limitations of fossil fuels, enormous costs on taxpayers, and many more challenges (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_mission_to_Mars#Challenges). Unless there's some radically new, innovative form of technology to lower or remove these challenges substantially, the most we can hope for is maybe something when we're senior citizens.

[Candy Kappa]

We do live in a time where a lot of vile diseases have been culled, and we have successfully 3D printed prosthetics and houses.

[Refractive Reflections]

We do live in a time where a lot of vile diseases have been culled, and we have successfully 3D printed prosthetics and houses.

That is true and it is a good and comfortable time to live in, I would just strongly argue that it's not "glorious". I wouldn't dare say that life was better in the distant past when having the flu could kill 1 out of 3 people, and having to worry about influenza scares like the 1918 flu pandemic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic).

It's just if we took diseases for example, a lot of the antibiotics and immunizations we rely on today were developed during the mid 1900s. With antibiotic-resistance increasing in bacteria and the growing medical knowledge we have now, pharmaceutical companies still avoid developing antibiotics because it is unprofitable. They want to develop medications that people have to use consistently for chronic cases (erectile dysfunction, cardiovascular drugs, etc.), rather than acute cases (bacterial/viral infections) which can be resolved quickly.

One alarming situation was the whole H1N1 bird/swine flu scare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic) and how there was only one company that made a drug to combat it (Tamiflu) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamiflu#Production_shortage.2Fshikimic_acid). It shows how unprepared we are, as a society, for a possible outbreak and how "spoiled" we have been by medical wellness discoveries of the past, especially when we clearly have the knowledge and resources to combat these forms of illness, unlike the people of the distant past who never even had this type of knowledge.

Is constantly developing a new erectile dysfunction drug or a new cardiovascular drug that important, when clearly most of the Western developed world does not want to manage their health in the first place (i.e. at least in the USA with its growing obesity epidemic)? It's more or less the world implying to the impoverished population, "Sorry poor people, finding a drug for your tuberculosis and easily contagious diseases are not as important as finding a drug to satisfy the more wealthier population's desire for sexual gratification, or a new way to live longer without taking responsibility for their health."

So to bring this back to my main argument, yes it's cool we have the technology, but we could do so much better with it as previous intellectual revolutions have shown. ...And that's why I don't think we are living in a "glorious" time.

[Cure]

I may not share the same enthusiasm as CyberCubed, but you guys are a bunch of cynics. It's not cool to be glad to be alive, I guess.

[Refractive Reflections]

I may not share the same enthusiasm as CyberCubed, but you guys are a bunch of cynics. It's not cool to be glad to be alive, I guess.

Personally I'm grateful for what I have, but let's not sugarcoat the priorities of what society thinks is important though (when that's reflected in their use of technology), especially when Millennials are mocked for having a sense of entitlement and being overtly narcissistic compared to generations of the past.

[CyberCubed]

I'm willing to bet if you were transported in time to the year 1308 and forced to live there for 1 year but with the knowledge you have now, you would be horrified.

People died of the common cold back then. You were lucky if you lived to 50, considering most people died in wars or from diseases. You would be lucky of 2 of your 8 kids survived their childhood and became adults.

Then there were the ruffians. What would you do when ruffians and barbarians came to pillage your village? What would you do in your little farmland against the ruffians? People died. There was no defense against the ruffians.

[pennydreadful]

Hey, I'm glad the house has a roof, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out that the roof has several leaks...

[snake]

2philosophical4me

[CyberCubed]

Hey, I'm glad the house has a roof, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out that the roof has several leaks...

And it had several more leaks in 1752.

Its almost as if some people here don't know what most of human history is like. The entire history of our planet is people killing each other to gain more land and power. There were constant wars between every country.

Look up the history books, England and France were at war with various countries like every couple of years from 1200-1950.

[pennydreadful]

And it had several more leaks in 1752.

Actually I was implying that back in 1752, there was no roof. :roll:

[Wingnut]

And it had several more leaks in 1752.

Its almost as if some people here don't know what most of human history is like. The entire history of our planet is people killing each other to gain more land and power. There were constant wars between every country.

Look up the history books, England and France were at war with various countries like every couple of years from 1200-1950.

There "were" constant wars between every country? Yes, I passed 8th grade history class, I'm not being negative and I know current wars/armed conflicts aren't Alexander the Great or 100 Years War level sh*t...I get it.

Has that aspect of humanity (war) improved since that 750 year stretch? Seriously?

[Refractive Reflections]

I'm willing to bet if you were transported in time to the year 1308 and forced to live there for 1 year but with the knowledge you have now, you would be horrified.

People died of the common cold back then. You were lucky if you lived to 50, considering most people died in wars or from diseases. You would be lucky of 2 of your 8 kids survived their childhood and became adults.

Then there were the ruffians. What would you do when ruffians and barbarians came to pillage your village? What would you do in your little farmland against the ruffians? People died. There was no defense against the ruffians.

There's no question I would be horrified as I have alluded to earlier:
That is true and it is a good and comfortable time to live in, I would just strongly argue that it's not "glorious". I wouldn't dare say that life was better in the distant past when having the flu could kill 1 out of 3 people, and having to worry about influenza scares like the 1918 flu pandemic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic).


But the thing is CyberCubed how are we utilizing our technology today? That's why I said this:

So to bring this back to my main argument, yes it's cool we have the technology, but we could do so much better with it as previous intellectual revolutions have shown. ...And that's why I don't think we are living in a "glorious" time.

I'll give some contrasting examples about how underutilized our technology is in the Western World (or at the very least here in the USA) due to our cultural behavior (from our generation's sense of entitlement and narcissism) affecting technology. Let's take social networking. In an inspiring move, the civil uprisings from the Arab Spring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_spring) utilized social networking (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) for political activism:

In part by using the social networking sites, activists organised and publicised the unprecedented protests that gave rise to the so-called Arab Spring, which has so far seen longtime governments in Egypt and Tunisia fall, regimes in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain clash with the opposition, and leaders in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE offer more benefits to their populace.
Social media – its rise and its new activist uses – have “played a critical role in mobilisation, empowerment, shaping opinions and influencing change,” the report said.

Just how integral its role was has been debated, it said, “with some camps labelling them the main instigators and others relegating them to mere tools.”

“Regardless, it can be stated that many of the calls to protest in the Arab region were initially made on Facebook,” it said. “As the initial platform for these calls, it cannot be denied that they were factor in mobilising movements.”

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/facebook-and-twitter-key-to-arab-spring-uprisings-report

With so much political discontent in the United States, why isn't our country motivated to use this tool to create change that some seem to so desperately want? Unlike the more life-threatening areas of the Middle East, in this country we can demonstrate and politically organize in a far safer environment.

But what do we use this technology of social networking primarily for in more developed nations (specifically the United States)? Apparently we as a society, have elevated Kim Kardashian to such "importance" that she has 20 million followers (http://www.eonline.com/news/519032/kim-kardashian-reaches-20-million-followers-on-twitter-uses-kanye-west-rap-lyric-to-express-her-excitement-obvs). Now I can understand Hollywood stars who sing, dance, and act, but talentless Kim Kardashian...? Who does...what exactly now? ...Really? And society has already indicated that she's more important than President Obama (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2115737/Kim-Kardashian-eclipses-Obama-Twitter-gains-14-million-fans.html).

Let's not forget how narcissistic society is, that people are willing to bash (using social networking and phone calls) a news station, for alerting about tornado warnings simply because it interrupted their television show (Once Upon A Time's season finale). Yes, a television... show.:
Gi76bvkf2sY
http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/05/13/local-news-anchor-tornado-warning-during-once-upon-a-time-finale/


So I ask you again, is this really a "glorious" time? It's good and comfortable, but not "glorious", considering the implied priorities of current society, and that its definition (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/glorious?s=t) means: "delightful; wonderful; completely enjoyable" or "brilliantly beautiful or magnificent".

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

But what if 500 years from now they find a way to store human consciousness in a Matrix-like device that ensures us immortality and the ability to do and have whatever we want for eternity!? THEN WHAT, CYBERCUBED!? You're gonna look up from Hell, remember this thread, and think about how future people are digging through Internet archives and laughing at how naive you were. They're up there flying through space-time and wearing hip future-shades and you're down in hell getting prodded with sharp things and listening to casuals discuss things you love in the most ignorant way possible.

No, Cybercubed. This isn't a glorious time to live. It's a poor time to die.

Krang, I request a like feature for this forum

[BubblyShell22]

Cubed, you really don't get it, do you? Yes, it's better than living in the past where things weren't as developed as they are now, but there are still things about the present that I'm not happy with. There are still wars out there, slavery is still prevalent in other countries, genocides are still going on, etc. Yes, slavery has been abolished and replaced with gay marriage and whether that's right or wrong based on someone else's beliefs that they feel the need to shove down everyone's throats. And as RR said, social media has taken over everyone's lives to the point where kids don't want to go outside and get fresh air and would rather sit at a computer all day obsessing over how many "friends" they have on Facebook or followers on Twitter. And as I said, there have been cures for many diseases, but cancer and AIDS still don't have cures. To me, it'll be a glorious time when there's actually a cure for these diseases.

Yeah, you can call me cynical all you want. I'm just being realistic. And, frankly, I think it would be interesting for kids today to see what it was like to live in the past and how they've taken what they have now for granted. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't feel so entitled and act like they're owed everything as they do now. We've got spoiled kids whose parents buy them anything they want and who treat them more like a friend than like their kid which is why we have all of the problems we do. Violence is still a big problem with the school shootings that have been prevalent. Sorry, this isn't a glorious time. It's a more developed time than 50 years ago give or take, but it's not the best time period ever.

[CyberCubed]

Cubed, you really don't get it, do you? Yes, it's better than living in the past where things weren't as developed as they are now, but there are still things about the present that I'm not happy with. There are still wars out there, slavery is still prevalent in other countries, genocides are still going on, etc. Yes, slavery has been abolished and replaced with gay marriage and whether that's right or wrong based on someone else's beliefs that they feel the need to shove down everyone's throats. And as RR said, social media has taken over everyone's lives to the point where kids don't want to go outside and get fresh air and would rather sit at a computer all day obsessing over how many "friends" they have on Facebook or followers on Twitter. And as I said, there have been cures for many diseases, but cancer and AIDS still don't have cures. To me, it'll be a glorious time when there's actually a cure for these diseases.

Yeah, you can call me cynical all you want. I'm just being realistic. And, frankly, I think it would be interesting for kids today to see what it was like to live in the past and how they've taken what they have now for granted. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't feel so entitled and act like they're owed everything as they do now. We've got spoiled kids whose parents buy them anything they want and who treat them more like a friend than like their kid which is why we have all of the problems we do. Violence is still a big problem with the school shootings that have been prevalent. Sorry, this isn't a glorious time. It's a more developed time than 50 years ago give or take, but it's not the best time period ever.

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

[Wingnut]

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

It's all relative dude.

1994 wasn't that bad, honestly.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

The 1970s doesn't sound so bad:P

[BubblyShell22]

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

There really isn't a "best" time period to be honest. What you think is the best is just a matter of opinion and that's it. I'm not saying that we're not better off in some ways such as with technology and medical breakthroughs, but there are still downsides to how we live now which I stated in my previous post. That's what I mean by that. This time period isn't perfect, and we still have a long way to go. Maybe years from now, if we're still living, we'll look back on this time period and think that the time period in the future is better. It's all relative as someone else said. There are pros to things that we have now and there are cons as well. I think one of the cons is that back in the day, teachers were allowed to discipline kids in schools, and you can't do that nowadays which makes kids think they can do whatever they want whenever they want to and aren't held accountable for it.

[Wingnut]

QAXttE8bimY
This was my jam 20 years ago.

[Refractive Reflections]

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

In 1994? Considering the U.S. economy was heading toward an upswing, and the government was projected to make a surplus.... An American culture that wasn't concerned about terrorism (maybe ignorantly, but that's debatable), school shootings, and outsourcing (in the United States at least). Furthermore, it was a time when we didn't have to worry as much about identity theft and privacy issues, as some privacy advocates currently worry with the National Security Agency's clandestine mass dragnet surveillance using PRISM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM). So... there would be a substantial amount of people that would agree in saying 1994 was better.

So the internet was using dial-up, and we couldn't download the latest movies and music in an instant, is technological convenience just that important that we are willing to sacrifice other political, social, and economic conditions just so we can superficially relish faster technology?

As BubblyShell says, there's always going to be technological and medical developments that will make the present better than the past, but the bigger issue most of us are asking from a societal standpoint is, how is societal behavior toward this technology? Now from an individual perspective on one's own life that can vary greatly, but what's being discussed is the trajectory of society's behavior with that technology. Is the attitude toward this technology mostly for narcissistic intentions (do we really need another Instagram, Twitter, or social networking site just to make ourselves socially relevant from a superficial popularity standpoint?) or toward the benefit of humanity as a whole (social networking for political activism as shown in the Arab Spring example)?

They say that music represents the times, and I guess that's shown with these two examples to support that notion:
Around 1964 there was the notable Bob Dylan song "The Times They Are a-Changin":
QqvUz0HrNKY

Now in 2014? We have this gloriously eloquent song to help represent our society's narcissism with the technology we currently have (i.e. internet, social networking). :lol:
kdemFfbS5H0

[pennydreadful]

Refractive, you make me wish I had extra hands so I could give you more than two thumbs up - well said! :)

[Refractive Reflections]

Refractive, you make me wish I had extra hands so I could give you more than two thumbs up - well said! :)

Thanks pennydreadful...:):toops: I don't mind getting into debates and deep topics, and enjoy them sometimes since it can bring up new ideas and perspectives unseen before, but usually I just post my opinion out there if anyone's interested. **shrug**

Speaking of social networking, I found a PBS Frontline documentary called "Generation Like" that puts the whole networking culture in a different perspective. It's an hour long, but it's eye-opening for sure.

Summary: Thanks to social media, teens are able to directly interact with their culture -- celebrities, movies, brands -- in ways never before possible. But is that real empowerment? Or do marketers hold the upper hand? In "Generation Like," Douglas Rushkoff explores how the teen quest for identity has migrated to the web -- and exposes the game of cat-and-mouse that corporations are playing with them.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365181302/

[CyberCubed]

I don't see the problem with people getting famous via youtube or social networking sites.

I mean I virtually never watch any youtube videos of these people reviewing/promoting whatever they're doing, but if they got rich doing it good for them.

[Wingnut]

I don't see the problem with people getting famous via youtube or social networking sites.

I mean I virtually never watch any youtube videos of these people reviewing/promoting whatever they're doing, but if they got rich doing it good for them.
I agree with this one. The fact that non-porn internet videos are now a viable and profitable enterprise is something that genuinely astounds me.

If you can make a decent living on youtube or whatever, I say go for it.

[Refractive Reflections]

I don't see the problem with people getting famous via youtube or social networking sites.

I mean I virtually never watch any youtube videos of these people reviewing/promoting whatever they're doing, but if they got rich doing it good for them.

I agree with this one. The fact that non-porn internet videos are now a viable and profitable enterprise is something that genuinely astounds me.

If you can make a decent living on youtube or whatever, I say go for it.

I don't know if either of you viewed the Frontline video link I posted (but it seems like you two may have...), but it's not that I have a problem with people making money from promotion or reviewing, the video was revealing the deeper sociological conundrum in the world of social networking with "fame by association" (to "Like" or "Subscribe" to be part of the Top List of Fans, etc.) When a business depends on views and ad impressions, the ability to get attention is harder and harder on such a global stage, and with teenage/young adult insecurities, the "fame by association" can evolve into an unhealthy form of externally seeking validation on such a massive scale. That's all... :ohwell:

[pannoni1]

One thing I like to watch is AMC's Kid React web series, where a bunch of children would react to vintage technology that was in vogue around 15-35 or so years ago. I just watched the one about the Apple IIe and while its a nice historical curiosity with the vibe that's presented, the complications of the specs (five floppy disks would amount to one photo!) just doesn't measure with today's trends. One thing I miss is that people don't seem to take enough time to police themselves; I read a newspaper article that claimed that the round-the-clock news channels are convincing that it's acceptable to be rude. Enforcement must still be taken, and even though crime is done overall, sudden change can still happen at any time, whether man-made or natural. This policing also includes acts of charity for support; while many of these thrive, its questionable of how corrupt many so called "non-profits" really are. Education is key for assisting those who lack it and those who understand always know that it's better to teach than to consume.

[pennydreadful]

Education is key for assisting those who lack it and those who understand always know that it's better to teach than to consume.

Which brings us to an interesting point - are we better educated or worse-educated these days? If you had to look at spelling and grammar today, you'd be inclined to say worse-educated. :lol: I blame predictive text.

And is our current culture more consumer-based than it ever has been before, or was it always this bad and corporations just did a better job of hiding it?

Has social justice blogging become the replacement for actually taking action to effect social change?

With the current level of technology (e-books and the like) and the ability to self-publish, are people reading more books, or fewer books?

Do online communities bring people closer together, or does it simply give us the illusion of being less isolated?

Food for thought... but that's enough serious thinking for me for one day!

One thing I will say about today's technology - without Youtube's how-to videos, I never would have learned how to tie my own tie. ;) So that's definitely one thing that the current era has over ages past.

[Wingnut]

Education is key for assisting those who lack it and those who understand always know that it's better to teach than to consume.
We're taught to consume.

[Hamato Yoshi]

Yes but still :

-wish I'd seen Batman '66 first time around

-wish I'd seen 60s Bonds , Easy Rider , Midnight Cowboy , Dirty Harry , TX Chainsaw , Halloween & Lee Draculas in the cinema

-wish I'd seen Elvis in concert (hell I'd be grateful even for a '75 concert)

-wish I'd been in a Hong Kong cinema when the Bruce Lee phenomenon started , 1971-72

-wish I'd relive the mid 80s Saturdays over and over , hours of cartoons (yes , you can see em today but that feeling then......the feeling when I first held Skeletor in my hands , wow)

-wish I'd seen Hogan/Warrior/Macho live , mid 80s to mid 90s was golden age of wrestling imo

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I recall growing up in the 1990's-early 2000's and getting interested in the history of the 20th century (Great Depression, wellfare expansion, Cold War and that stuff).

Now, it feels like eons ago, or if it never happened at all. I can no longer even imagine popular music industry as most people know it (singles, A-side, B-side, followed up by albums, record charts, hysteric when new albums with Elvis Presley, Beatles and ABBA were released). In the future the most important knowledge to learn will probably be to read, and think critical when reading about political controversial issues. The rest, you can look it up on the Internet.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

From a consumerism technological standpoint, yes.

...But in terms of technological innovation in regards to more important aspects of life, like finding new alternative sources of energy (to make distant space travel possible) and new medicines to combat increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, I would say no, in comparison to the rapid growth of technology in the early half of the 20th century.

In addition, some people would debate the political and economic conditions as well, considering the rise in poverty and shrinking of the American middle class.


I agree completely.


In terms of human rights, I don't see what people are complaining about.

We have a black president and gay people can legally get married in most states in the U.S. This was practically unthinkable even just over a decade ago.

But the fact that we have progressed so much says enough in itself. Hell prior to 1950 women were expected to stay in the kitchen and not hold any jobs. What does that tell you?


No, NOT in "most states". It is legal in all of EIGHT. And STILL isn't even recognized by the federal government for tax or other legal purposes. I know this from close personal friends who live in one of those states where gay marriage is legal, but they still can't even file married on their taxes!

As for women, in many countries, they still ARE. Girls are yanked out of school at the age of 10 to 12, expected to marry young, have children of their own, or are forced to work in sweat-shop conditions, in most parts of the world (read, outside most of Europe, North America, and certain other developed countries).

In THIS country, we have it good. SO good, in fact, that we can't take care of our own veterans, due to corrupt VA programs, our educational system has been slipping for more than a decade to the point where high school kids CAN'T EVEN MAKE CHANGE, and public shootings are on the rise. None of these problems were so prevalent 20 years ago.


Hardworking, well-educated, insured people are still going bankrupt paying bills for a single medical procedure.

It's harder to make a living wage now than any point in post-industrial society.

People are living to 90...and still driving.


Agreed on all counts. I've seen people over 60 who are still driving and shouldn't be. EVERY DAY. Many of them should probably be in a retirement home under supervision.



Good luck also not having your village burned down by bandits or run the risk of getting robbed or killed simply walking down the road and having your body dropped in a river. Good luck eating sour or spoiled food, possibly having your wife die at childbirth, possibly having most of your kids die of a childhood disease.

Good luck not dying after being forced to fight in some war, or if you dare to speak up against the Catholic Church you would be burned at the stake.

If you were black you were a slave. If you were Jewish you were either a slave or would be executed in the Holocaust. If you were Asian you were expected not to leave your country, because if you did you would be treated like a filthy animal.


Ruffians? Seriously? In times past, it wasn't the thieves you had to worry about as much as your own government. Or the Church. (Spanish Inquisition, anyone? Nazi Germany? Colonial Occupation? I'll stop there.) And yet, NOW we have the Patriot Act, government watchdogs looking over our collective shoulders at EVERYTHING WE DO, and there is STILL religious persecution both here and around the world. It's funny how the Pledge of Allegiance has been changed to take the religious aspects out of it, we no longer have prayer in schools, and Court Houses have been ordered to take down monuments depicting the Ten Commandments, and yet conversely, violence in those same places has risen, kids no longer respect the rights of others, and feel themselves entitled to do or say whatever they like.


(One could say all of these comforts and conveniences have spoiled us and given us a sense of entitlement, but that's a whole other issue.)

You think people who lived through the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Industrial Revolution didn't think the same thoughts of living in a "glorious" time period? That things couldn't possibly get any better?
:roll:


I'll add to that by saying that many of our so-called conveniences were first conceived from ideas and discoveries during those periods. If not for the likes of Newton, da Vinci, Galileo, and so many others, we would not even have the concepts that made these conveniences possible.



The only place to go from here is space travel. We know in real life stuff like teleportation or flying cars are unlikely to ever happen. But at least we will see men land on Mars in our lifetime.


Not true. Just today, there was an article in the news threads about a successful quantum teleportation experiment using quibits (quantum bits) of data transported over ten feet instantly. And there are several companies and institutions looking into the flying car thing. Those ideas are here already.

As for space travel, we already have that. Private passenger flights into space are already becoming a reality for those who can afford the price-tag. Manned missions to mars are hardly as exciting as manned missions into the deepest recesses of the oceans- and far less difficult. Our own planet has mysteries we still have yet to explore fully, yet you focus on travel in space- where over 300 exo-planets have already been found? Astounding.



Then there were the ruffians. What would you do when ruffians and barbarians came to pillage your village? What would you do in your little farmland against the ruffians? People died. There was no defense against the ruffians.


Yes, it's just that the defense was just as likely to present hazards far worse back in earlier times. Sad when your local lord would work you into an early grave, take his pick of your daughters, force you into his army if he went to war, and you paid him for the privilege of using "HIS" land. Because you owned nothing of your own.

Now the government taxes you for the privilege of using public roads, can draft you into armed service "in defense of the country", charges your family to bury you when you die (death tax) and monitors every time you use your phone, the net or credit card. Yes, it really IS better.....


Its almost as if some people don't know what most of human history is like. The entire history of our planet is people killing each other to gain more land and power. There were constant wars between every country.

England and France were at war with various countries like every couple of years from 1200-1950.


And most of those wars were with each other. Your point? There is STILL war all over the world. Every day. It hasn't gone away. Now we just do it with the push of a button. Convenient, isn't it?


There "were" constant wars between every country? I'm not being negative and I know current wars/armed conflicts aren't Alexander the Great or 100 Years War level sh*t...I get it.

Has that aspect of humanity (war) improved since that 750 year stretch? Seriously?


Exactly. And no, it hasn't, really.


1994 wasn't that bad, honestly.


I agree to this. I was in high school then, and looking back, I think it was actually better then than it is now. We were (as a society) happier, more prosperous, healthier, and more aware of the world's problems than we are now- and with less technology!


In 1994? Considering the U.S. economy was heading toward an upswing, and the government was projected to make a surplus.... An American culture that wasn't concerned about terrorism (maybe ignorantly, but that's debatable), school shootings, and outsourcing (in the United States at least). Furthermore, it was a time when we didn't have to worry as much about identity theft and privacy issues, as some privacy advocates currently worry with the National Security Agency's clandestine mass dragnet surveillance using PRISM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM). So... there would be a substantial amount of people that would agree in saying 1994 was better.

There's always going to be technological and medical developments that will make the present better than the past, but the bigger issue most of us are asking from a societal standpoint is, how is society behaving toward this technology?


This, precisely.


Which brings us to an interesting point - are we better educated or worse-educated these days? :lol:

Has social justice blogging become the replacement for actually taking action to effect social change?

With the current level of technology (e-books and the like) and the ability to self-publish, are people reading more books, or fewer books?

Do online communities bring people closer together, or does it simply give us the illusion of being less isolated?


I'd have to say we are less educated. Kids today don't even know basic history, math, or science. And don't even ask them about literature or philosophy, because they will just stare at you blankly. Unless it's on the net, or has been turned into a movie, they know nothing about it. As my hubby would say, when the "smart phones" are smarter than half the people using them, it's time for a wake-up call.

[CyberCubed]

Now the government taxes you for the privilege of using public roads, can draft you into armed service "in defense of the country", charges your family to bury you when you die (death tax) and monitors every time you use your phone, the net or credit card. Yes, it really IS better.....

LOL, are you seriously comparing things like the government looking at credit cards or your internet history to being possibly killed by barbarians in a village, being publically executed for speaking against the Catholic Church, being born a slave, or being forced to work to death or marry your daughters off? Do you think anyone really cares about the government knowing what kind of porn websites people visit?

I'd have to say we are less educated. Kids today don't even know basic history, math, or science. And don't even ask them about literature or philosophy, because they will just stare at you blankly. Unless it's on the net, or has been turned into a movie, they know nothing about it. As my hubby would say, when the "smart phones" are smarter than half the people using them, it's time for a wake-up call.

No idea where the hell you're getting this from. Public education has improved tremendously since the 80's and even 90's. More people are attending College than ever before, now its a requirement to go to College whereas years ago it was a rare thing.

[Netkeeper]

now its a requirement to go to College whereas years ago it was a rare thing.
If it's required, why do people have to pay out the ass for it? And if it's required, why aren't I in college? Seriously, I was unaware I was breaking the law. Awesome.

[electric_sheep]

There are a million comments and i am way to lazy to read them all so i'll just post my views on the subject matter...
Some may argue that we live in a horrible time that crime is rising with the speed of light and that wars are raging to them i say, "i don't give a ****" let the Muslims kill eachother as long as it doesen't interfier with my ability to enjoy pleasures of life, i live in a ******, ****** country and i don't care all the politicians can choke on **** as long as i don't have to watch them do it, i have internet and food and electricity and water and it's glorious i don't need anything else so yeah we do live in a glorious time, well at least i do...

[MsMarvelDuckie]

LOL, are you seriously comparing things like the government looking at credit cards or your internet history to being possibly killed by barbarians in a village, being publically executed for speaking against the Catholic Church, being born a slave, or being forced to work to death or marry your daughters off? Do you think anyone really cares about the government knowing what kind of porn websites people visit?

No idea where the hell you're getting this from. Public education has improved tremendously since the 80's and even 90's. More people are attending College than ever before, now its a requirement to go to College whereas years ago it was a rare thing.


You completely missed the point. I was comparing forms of government between a time you brought up (1300's) and now. Not that much has changed, really. And guess what? We still have slavery (sex slave industry amounts to billions worldwide) religious persecution and oppression (just turn on any news broadcast or watch CNN if you don't believe it) and violent crime is still rampant in most major cities. Look at violent crime rates for cities like Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, and Oakland, and you will see that we STILL live with "bandits killing and destroying" our homes and families every day. Nothing has changed in that respect. Just because we now have police who are supposed to protect us does not make the world suddenly safe. They are overworked, underpaid, and undermanned and often use outdated equipment. And they cannot be everywhere, nor are they all paragons of law and order themselves. One only has to look at reports of police and government corruption to know that our "safe" society is anything BUT.

As for education, no, public education has NOT improved over the last 20 years. In fact, our educational system has deteriorated to the point where only a little more than half of all students who graduate go on to finish college. Most end up dropping out and getting low-paying jobs just to survive. The "American Dream" has become more of a nightmare of student loans, increasingly unaffordable tuition, classes that teach little to no real-world skills, and schools that care more about sports than about the arts and sciences. Speaking of sports, the "no pass no play" rule has seriously undermined our education just by itself, with star athletes being given passing grades by teachers pressured to allow struggling students to play, not to mention the mentality of testing students constantly, without teaching for comprehension or even context of materials. We now have one of the WORST education systems in the developed world- Japan, China, and many others outrank us in education. And the saddest part is that we are graduating fewer doctors and other science and medical-related professionals than at any time in the last fifty years! So much for a "glorious" period of history.

Honestly, I don't know what bubble you live in, but I'd like to go there, too, because out here in the working world, things look pretty bleak compared to the 80's and even early 90's. We are engaged in wars we cannot afford, our politians are under investigation left and right for everything from fraud, to skimming funds, to lying, and employing illegal immigrants, not to mention the VA scandal, privacy issues brought about by laws like the Patriot Act and now the NSA's blanket probing of our daily personal lives. Our government is a mess, our education is going down the drain, and crimes like identity theft and money scams are on the rise. These things may not sound important- until they affect YOU. Have you ever been singled out as a possible threat at the airport? (The FAA's security has been so overzealous that they've even searched little kids and old women in wheelchairs!) Have you been victimized by an identity thief? Ask any of the millions of people who were caught by the recent credit theft mess at stores like Target and Michael's. These are people whose lives were invaded just as surely as if a band of barbarians had come through their town burning down their farms. Except that the barbarians in this case only had to push a few buttons and could be sitting in a room halfway across the country. Some improvement. Now we have pillaging from the comfort of the bandits' own homes.....

[CyberCubed]

In the 1960's most people did not go to College. Nowadays the vast majority of people who graduate High School go to some form of College.

[Netkeeper]

CyberCubed didn't answer my question again. :(

[MsMarvelDuckie]

In the 1960's most people did not go to College. Nowadays the vast majority of people who graduate High School go to some form of College.

What vast majority? Do you have numbers for how many attend a college? Or how many actually graduate from one? Are you including trade schools? I don't see much evidence of it where I live. People here can't afford to go. Maybe in large cities where incomes are higher, but in small-town USA, it's still a "scholarship or rich parents" phenomenon. Not so common as you'd like to think.

[CyberCubed]

What vast majority? Do you have numbers for how many attend a college? Or how many actually graduate from one? Are you including trade schools? I don't see much evidence of it where I live. People here can't afford to go. Maybe in large cities where incomes are higher, but in small-town USA, it's still a "scholarship or rich parents" phenomenon. Not so common as you'd like to think.

Unless you're living in hicksville, the majority of young adults who graduate High School go to College. I went to College for free for 5 years because of financial aid, the only money I ever spent on College was on a few textbooks that didn't get covered.

If someone like me could go to College for free for 5 years and not pay a single dime, I think it says a lot about how easy they've made it for young adults with low income or living with their parents can attend College.

[Netkeeper]

My brother couldn't go to college because financial aid needed proof of his father's income, and sorry, his father was not willing to provide it.

Again, not everyone can go to college. In fact the majority of people I talk to? They can't.

[And let's not forget student loans are also a thing that people end up drowning in]

[BubblyShell22]

Not only that but tuition rates are through the roof these days and with the economy being as horrible as it is, college is pretty much useless for those who want to get jobs. Heck, I graduated when the economy first started to fail, and I STILL don't have a job. Yes, I'm proud that I got my degree, but in the long run, it really didn't do much just yet.

[CyberCubed]

Even if you don't get a job based on your degree, you should have gotten any other job in the meantime. That's what I did, I couldn't find a job for my degree either, so I just took anything in the meantime and stayed there for a while.

Any job is better than no job, even if you don't get paid very much.

[Wingnut]

Any job is better than no job, even if you don't get paid very much.

Bullsh*t.

Drive through Detroit when you get some free time and see how that theory holds up.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Yeah, and for those of us who HAVE tried to go to college, it often doesn't even pan out. I went through on-line curriculum, and ended up having to quit after only five courses. The reason? Cost of books (which you must buy yourself, even with financial aid- they simply reimburse you LATER.), amount of time spent on the internet (at the time, my only net-access was my public library, and I worked during the hours it was primarily open- NOT conducive to study!) AND there's that nasty little caveat that grants have to be paid back.

Unless it's a pure scholarship (those don't have to be paid back, they are considered gifts from the scholarship provider), all those costs eventually come back to bite you in the butt. And even IF you can find a job in the field you are majoring in (most don't) you often end up spending a large portion of your income paying back the loans, grants, etc that got you there in the first place! This is why so many people are drowning in debt from student loans. College may be a "requirement" for many higher-paying jobs (but NOT everywhere, as you assume/believe) but those degrees often aren't worth the paper they are printed on, either in OR out of the field that they were earned for. Do you really think Wal-Mart cares where their cashiers or stock-people went to college? Upper business management may be impressed by a college degree, but your average general manager of any store or restaurant won't give two craps. Same goes for most entry-level data-processing jobs, any form of menial transportation jobs (truckers, taxi or other public transit drivers, dock-workers, etc.), and any of a dozen other industries. The ONLY place where a college degree is actually valuable anymore is in tech careers, medical or legal professions, and jobs with very specific skill sets, such as aviation or architecture. These days, employers prefer real-world experience and skills over a piece of paper saying you got a PhD in some subject or other.

[Jester]

I plan on telling my son to get the education he needs for the job he wants to do...but he doesn't HAVE to go to college unless the job needs it.

His mother and I graduated and neither of us have really used our degrees for our jobs...so I'm gonna tell him, "Do what you want, and educate yourself for that, college or no."

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Now THAT is good advice!

[Hamato Yoshi]

"Enough is enough and it's time for a change !" :P (lol , it had to be done)

NYC had 2000 murders per yr before Rudy came along , now it's" less than 500 a yr so not everything was positive then......films like Death Wish and Taxi Driver are prolly very close to what it was like back then.

[CyberCubed]

My degree hasn't helped me get a better job either, (the job I'm at I could have gone to right out of High School, you don't need a College degree for it), but I'm still glad I finished College anyway.

You never know when it might come in handy in the future. Besides do you want to be one of those 35-40 year old, "old fogey's" taking classes with 22 year old kids in the future? Aw, hell no.

I remember in some of my classes there were all 21-22 year old kids and then there was this 40 year old man taking the same class, he looked so out of place we all thought he was the professor when he first walked into the room.

[MrPliggins]

35-40 year olds are most likely mature enough to not care what 22 year olds think of them. I know plenty of guys and gals my age (35) who are back in college now furthering themselves. There's nothing wrong with it. If it can help you move from a $40k salary to a $80-100k salary, why not?

[Leo656]

Since the reality is that most people DON'T get a career based on that first degree, as time goes on it's only going to be more and more common for people in their 30s and beyond going back to give it another try.

The simple fact is, teenagers aren't mentally competent enough to make big decisions like, "what am I going to do for money for the rest of my life?" Most times, they either pick something that "sounds easy", or they get wrapped up in the old "You have to do what you love" cliche, all while ignoring the fact that, in most cases, "What you love" isn't going to pay jack squat. My niece is 14 and wants to be a photographer, for example. I'm doing the best I can to very gently let her know that now that everyone's phone has a near-professional-quality camera in it, professional photographers are extinct. She shouldn't waste her future going to school for "photography", because she'll be poor her whole life. She'll probably change her mind by the time she's done with high school, but that's just it; kids change their minds a lot. And they don't consider that "changing your mind" - and your major - leads to crippling penalties and debt when you're in college.

Kids aren't prepared to make decisions that will set the course for their entire future... yet, that's exactly what the for-profit education system demands, that you have your entire life planned out by age 17, or else you'll never get anywhere. People with ZERO life experience - working a cash register over the summer doesn't count, sorry - and only know what their "future career" looks like based on what they see on TV, can't give even an educated guess as to what they're in for. Some of them know for a fact, by the time they're done with college, that what they thought they wanted to do is not the LAST thing they want to do for a living. So it's no surprise that some people hit middle age and want to try again, now that they've paid off their debts, especially because the system tries to make it easier for older people to go back. It's almost like they're saying, "OK, we know we screwed you the first time. Sorry about that. But hey, it was a life experience, and now that you're older and wiser, you'll be able to avoid the mistakes you made then, right? To be fair, it isn't OUR fault you went to college for 'Sociology'. You kind of deserved to go broke for that one. Now that you're 40, for just slightly less crippling debt, you can learn something that will actually be useful to you."

Eventually, I predict the financial aid bubble will burst, when too many people simply stop going to college because they realize they'll be 60 before they paid it off, and we will see an upsurge in specialized training courses specifically for certain jobs. A big part of the "scam" in college is, making people take classes that have nothing to do with your career choice, because they have to provide a "balanced curriculum" to justify the cost of the education. It's ridiculous. People going to DeVry don't need to study English Lit... except they do, AND they have to pay for it, so they spend two extra years studying, which is two fewer years they could be spending in the work force getting actual life experience. As time goes on, that kind of thing will go away, and you'll see more and more "Become a professional (______) in just six months!" kind of courses.

I'm not anti-education, it's just that college has become a huge business that's more for profit than anything, and most people don't need it, and even more can't afford it. And some people just aren't cut out for it.

[Ultimate Ninja]

I just can't help but realize how all of us were born in pretty much the right period of human history. Just think of our parents generation and how little technology they had and how there was no internet, no computers, and TV's only had like 5 channels.

We live in a time period where we all own a computer in our pocket. Smartphones give us access to the internet 24/7, we don't even need to wear watches anymore because every phone tells us the time. We don't even need to own a camera anymore because phones take pictures and record videos.

We have the internet where we have access to endless information about virtually anything. We no longer need to go to libraries or read encylcopedia's like our parents did to discover or research things. E-mail let's us stay in constant contact with anyone, no longer needing to stay on lengthy phone calls or write letters like people had to do before 1980.

Videogames now look almost as good as real-life movies. We're getting to the point where videogame graphics are going to become almost indistinguishable from real-life. We can also download videogames at the click of a finger, and download many retro games from past consoles.

We no longer need to sit down to watch TV at a certain time to watch a show. Virtually any TV show can now be watched online (although not all legally), and you no longer have to be home at a certain time or use a VCR to record a show if you can't see it. We no longer have to wait for reruns of our favorite shows to see them again, everything is online. It's not like the 90's and 80's where if you missed an episode on TV you were out of luck until they aired it again.

DVD's and Blu-rays allow our favorite shows and movies to be released endlessly, as well as digital. When all we had was VHS you were lucky if an entire series ever saw a release, and most didn't.

You can order almost anything online with a click of a finger. Want new clothes, a new DVD/videogame/music CD/comic book or even food? You don't even have to constantly go to malls or stores anymore, you can order anything online and get it delivered directly to your house.

Modern medicine can save peoples lives and people are living longer than ever. Its hard to believe people used to only live to 60 years old and died from various diseases, and now many people are making it into their 90's. Just think of how short peoples lifespans were from the beginning of mankind to about 1950...people constantly lived short lives because of wars or diseases. You got drafted for World War II and there was a good chance you were not coming back.

I just can't help but realize how even just two decades ago back in the 90's we didn't have any of this. We were all born in the right time period, I hate to imagine being born in my parents generation in the 60's or anything before that. Just like I'm sure the people born 100 years from now will be glad they're born in that time period.

We're also on the brink of exploring space. To think that mankind will land on Mars within the next decade or so is amazing. To think we can find planets and suns millions of lightyears away is amazing. To think we might find alien life in the next decade is amazing.

Just thank god I was born in this time period instead of 1850, 1210, 1775, or even anything before 1980. Just thank god.

Yes, it is a great time. Very nice technology and advantages you mentioned. People shouldn't complain about stuff, as people (myself included) sometimes do.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

DINGDINGDINGDINGDING!!!! You win the prize, Leo!!

[Leo656]

Can I get that prize in whey protein? Sh*t's expensive.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Sure, why not?

[CyberCubed]

I feel sorry for those people going to huge University's and then getting stuck with years of debt or student loans. Poor, suckers. Going to College for 5 years myself and not paying 1 red cent out of my own money was great, all my money came from Uncle Sam.

The fact that the majority of my textbooks were covered besides a small handful worked wonders.

[Leo656]

A lot depends on where people live. It varies by state. When I got accepted to college, I had to live with my father because he was more or less slowly dying and lived on a fixed income with nobody to take care of him. I didn't have a job yet, because I lived in a pretty crummy area, and the financial aid I was approved for required our zero-income household to somehow pay several thousand dollars a year anyway. Suffice to say, I didn't end up going.

In some places they insist you pay at least part of it, regardless of your situation. Some people just can't. I didn't get to take classes and get the job I wanted until I was almost 30, and even then, it was only because they finally offered specialized courses for a job that used to require a 5-year degree. If that didn't happen, I never would have gotten the chance to do the job I always wanted to do.

Glad some people can get an almost-free ride, but for most people, that's not even half the reality.

[BubblyShell22]

Yep. I went to school and had financial aid, but that was based on my dad's income which is what helped plus the fact that my grandpa left all of us kids money after he died to use for education, which we did. But that's not the case for everyone, and it's different. Also, I hated that I had to take classes I really didn't need like Statistics. I said to my mom, "My major's English. Why do I need Statistics? I'm not going to use it." But it was required, so I had to take it. The real pain is all of the electives they make you take, and that's what gets to you. If they would just stick with the basic requirements and maybe one or two electives, it would be easier, but most people don't graduate college in four years like most people think. It took me six years to finally get my degree, and it wasn't easy. And I was one of those kids who really didn't know what I wanted to do, so I majored in English because I felt that's where my strength was, though I didn't want to be a teacher. English was my best subject and still is, so I figured it would be a good idea to major in it. Sad thing is, I graduated just when the economy fell in the toilet. Yeah, I applied for jobs, and had interviews, but none of them amounted to anything. And what's hard for me is I don't drive, so even if I got a job right now, my mom or dad would have to take me because we live in the country, so that's a big problem for me.

So my solution is to just try and get an online tutoring job as I feel that'll put my degree to use. I worked in the Writing Center tutoring students when I was in college, and I really enjoyed it, so that's what I've decided I'm going to do because I think I'll enjoy it and be good at it.

[Netkeeper]

And what about those of us that still have no ****ing clue what they even want to do? I'm 23 and have no idea what I want out of life, and I'm not about to go to college without knowing precisely what I want out of it. My oldest brother made that mistake -- going to school for something he wasn't SURE he wanted to do, then ended up changing his mind, dropping out of college, and still having to pay for it.

I don't know what I want to do, and when I tried working the only job I could find [fast food] my learning disability kept me from being capable of understanding the training. At such a low-paying sucker job. I worked there for ten months. The only reason I quit was because of a district manager accusing me of lying when I told them my back was hurting; I have to wear special garments for medical reasons and it can create a painful strain on my back if I am overworked.

They told me to go find a desk job but all of those are ****ing taken and I'm too incompetent to do much anyway. Glorious time period indeed, wouldn't you say? I've received no help from the government -- I'm supposedly required by law to have health coverage right now, and when I applied for MedicAid, I was told "lol do you think youre going to get coverage when u cant pay premiums??? UR UNEMPLOYED!!!" Yeah jackass, I AM unemployed, which is why I'm applying for MEDICAID. The LAW required me to sign up for something and I cannot PAY for anything! I wish they'd track me down and send me to prison because at least there I'd have access to god damn health care!

I was also told to seek disability income so I won't have to work! This would be a great option if I had a diagnosis, and to get one of those, I need a doctor, and to get a doctor, I need money, and to get money, I need disability income! [Or MedicAid, WHICH I CAN'T GET BECAUSE I DON'T WORK.]

2014 Everyone.
http://i.imgur.com/EFh62QE.jpg

[pennydreadful]

That really sucks, Net! :(

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, sorry to hear about that, Net. This country has definitely fallen in the toilet when it comes to caring about what people need. Obama doesn't care about anyone but himself, and he's showing it more and more each day.

Not to mention how we had to release FIVE Taliban prisoners to negotiate the release of a guy who walked away from his post and wandered off with only a damn compass. And Obama never even went to Congress to tell them he was going to do this. People are calling this guy a hero when in reality he's nothing but an idiot. But, oh yes, we live in SUCH a glorious time period. I'll take being a kid in the 80's again to this sh*t I have to deal with.

[Leo656]

I kind of had the same problem with health care. People who've known me here from way back may remember, I have a chronic sinus condition that flares up randomly, mostly in winter. I don't get "colds", I exclusively get serious sinus infections, sometimes pneumonia, it's all pretty random. It comes on super-fast; I go from perfectly healthy to coughing up blood within a couple of hours. There is no middle ground involved. I've met plenty of other people with the same condition, and all in the same boat: Need health care, can't afford it, have an almost impossible time finding a job because most places won't let you take a week off of work until you quit coughing up blood, or until bright red and yellow infected sinus mucous stops gushing from your goddamn eyes (that actually happened to me last year, and I didn't even know that was possible!). In 2013, I was sick almost constantly from December until May. I went to work as much as I could - luckily I don't have to exert myself much at my job, but still, nobody wants to train with someone who is visibly hacking up bloody spit-wads every few seconds - but any other job would have sh*t-canned my ass. This year, though, I had one bad infection for a week right before Christmas, and another one in February for a few days, and so far that's it. It's completely random and annoying. It's eaten up huge chunks of my life. I did the math once, added up the days, and it came out to like, in 31 years, I've been sick an equivalent of 4 or 5 years, altogether. It's crippling in its own way, and extremely depressing.

I and others who have the same respiratory problem have checked into it, and I've gone in person to apply for disability a couple times, and they don't consider that a disability. Being 500 lbs, an entirely self-inflicted condition, is a disability. Being unable to breathe is NOT a disability. Violent coughing fits that often bring heart attack-like symptoms is NOT a disability. Why? I'unno. Must be one of those "Miracles". Most people with the problem I have just marry rich or semi-rich people so that money won't be a problem, but I don't have that luxury, either.

Meanwhile, I'm going to be forced to buy health care I'm not going to use - doctors can't do sh*t at all for a respiratory infection, most times, because there are so many reasons you might be sick it's impossible to tell, and with or without antibiotics, it will always go away in a week or two, so it's kind of a waste of money to go to a doctor for that anyway - and that really pisses me off. It's bad enough that in the past two years, the amount I get taken out of my paycheck for income tax has gone up a ridiculous amount, but now they're going to penalize my refund because I simply CAN'T AFFORD to buy health care. I can barely afford rent. But I'm going to be fined like a criminal, for some reason. Yeah, things are great. :roll:

Again, it's different for everyone. There's so many variable factors in each individual's life: health issues, location issues, family background - another problem I had as a teenager was, I really wanted to work, but in the town where we lived, everyone knew my parents were drug addicts and just assumed I was just like them, instead of the exact opposite. So nobody even gave me a chance to work until I was out of high school, and that job got screwed up by my respiratory issues. As did the next one. I once had a boss take a legit doctor's note saying I had walking pneumonia and could not work for one week, crumple it up, and throw it at me, saying "I can't legally fire you for this bullsh*t, but make no mistake, I AM going to fire you for this. I'll come up with a reason. Trust me." Suffice to say, I quit and walked out right there.

So, the point I'm getting at in a really long way, is yeah, things CAN be great right know - if you live in the right place and know/are related to the right people. Frankly, unless you fall into that set group, all I see are things getting worse and worse. More technology, fewer jobs, more entertainment options and less money to enjoy them. And more debt, tons of it, for everyone. I can't even make money doing the job I went to school for, because now everyone has the P90-X app on their phone, so they think they don't need a trainer. That education was money well spent. :roll:

Again, great for those lucky few who are making it work. I'm happy for you. Be glad you fit a very select criteria that ensures you will succeed in life. Most people, sadly, are just plain f*cked. :ohwell:

[Dirty Blond]

I feel sorry for those people going to huge University's and then getting stuck with years of debt or student loans. Poor, suckers. Going to College for 5 years myself and not paying 1 red cent out of my own money was great, all my money came from Uncle Sam.

The fact that the majority of my textbooks were covered besides a small handful worked wonders.

What was your major?

[Netkeeper]

Most people with the problem I have just marry rich or semi-rich people so that money won't be a problem, but I don't have that luxury, either.
Yeah, not gonna lie, I've become something of a gold-digger myself. Every time I come across somebody that has any amount of disposable income, I kinda attach myself to him because I desperately hope I can get some help. My family jokes that "oh you just want somebody to buy Ninja Turtles for you" but we all know I want health care. It wouldn't even be a permanent thing. Just some doctor visits, then applying for SSI, and once I get that I can take care of the rest myself.

When I had my job, I'd saved up over $500 for this, but just as I had started looking, my dog needed life-saving surgery that cost... guess what? Around $500. I had $40 left in my account by the time I quit that job, as her condition combined with my lack of money was giving me depression symptoms. I didn't want it to get worse, then the aforementioned situation with the district manager happened, and I quit. I think I probably cried for six hours straight that night. Four months prior to this, she needed another life-saving surgery which drained all my money again. I'm not angry at her for it or anything, I mean, she's a 9 year old dog, I expected this kind of thing.

But speaking of that job, I forgot to mention that during the last month of it we had a manager switch. This wasn't much of an issue, but a few weeks or so after I quit, a former co-worker had told me that the old manager had come back because everyone was quitting under the new one. I came back to ask if I could have my job back and I was told she wasn't allowed to hire me back due to my learning disability, go get SSI instead. I have no idea if she was legally allowed to do that, something tells me she wasn't, but it's definitely killed my confidence in my ability to work or be independent.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Yeah, sorry to hear about that, Net. This country has definitely fallen in the toilet when it comes to caring about what people need. Obama doesn't care about anyone but himself, and he's showing it more and more each day.

Not to mention how we had to release FIVE Taliban prisoners to negotiate the release of a guy who walked away from his post and wandered off with only a damn compass. And Obama never even went to Congress to tell them he was going to do this. People are calling this guy a hero when in reality he's nothing but an idiot. But, oh yes, we live in SUCH a glorious time period. I'll take being a kid in the 80's again to this sh*t I have to deal with.

Yeah, this is why I don't care about politics, because they mess too many people up too often.

[BubblyShell22]

Same here. Whether you agree with me or not, politicians are out for themselves and don't care about any of us. That's why I don't bother to even vote and feel my message is, "I don't have faith in any of you, so I'm not going to bother." And I'm sick of people who think that I have to vote to have the right to complain. No, I'm a citizen of this country and I have the right to voice my displeasure over things if I see fit. If someone asks me my opinion on things, I'm going to out and out tell them how I feel. That's it. Screw politics and the whole B.S. involved with them. The best way everyone can send a message is to not vote for anyone and let them know we don't like what politicians are doing to our country.

[pennydreadful]

Same here. Whether you agree with me or not, politicians are out for themselves and don't care about any of us. That's why I don't bother to even vote and feel my message is, "I don't have faith in any of you, so I'm not going to bother." And I'm sick of people who think that I have to vote to have the right to complain. No, I'm a citizen of this country and I have the right to voice my displeasure over things if I see fit. If someone asks me my opinion on things, I'm going to out and out tell them how I feel. That's it. Screw politics and the whole B.S. involved with them. The best way everyone can send a message is to not vote for anyone and let them know we don't like what politicians are doing to our country.

This, totally. Come the day of the revolution, it will be backs against the wall!

http://www.wallchan.com/images/thumbs/103837.jpg

[BubblyShell22]

I doubt there will be a revolution, but there should be.

[pennydreadful]

I doubt there will be a revolution, but there should be.

Hey, I can dream... :lol:

[Dirty Blond]

This, totally. Come the day of the revolution, it will be backs against the wall!

http://www.wallchan.com/images/thumbs/103837.jpg

It will be an Incelrection.

[Davetello]

You make some good points and your original post is pretty well written. You have a very distinct way of writing - I can't quite put my finger on it but you have a habit of making even the banal sound very monumental. You make clear, strong statements. Perhaps it's the shameless hyperbole. I mean most people would title the thread something along the lines of "this is a great era to live in", but not you. You use a grand term such as "glorious" - it grabs the reader's attention. You make no apologies for this hyperbole and nor should you.

On the other hand, lots of what you reference is pretty shallow. Having all this access to technology has turned many of us into socially isolated hermits (not so much me in particular as I am more socially active than some, but lots of people). The internet allows people to act in a manner they never would in real life, due to the anonymity it affords. Lots of people are dead right now because of online bullying.

The world has become much smaller, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. In many ways yes, but in many ways no. Overall there are pros and cons of living in this era, and I'm pretty sure it all balances out.

Threads like this are brilliant though and why you're a mainstay on this site.

[Zatoichi]

It wouldn't be a glorious time period until:

every person was open minded
affordable space travel
made peaceful contact with aliens
affordable gene splicing


Nothing like that is going to happen in my lifetime.

[Werecat]

Wow, you guys live in the First World but your problems are still severe. I am kind of surprised at how different it is between USA and Canada.

If you live in Canada it would kind of seem like we are living in a glorious time. I have free healthcare. Dental care is paid by the government for anyone below 18 years of age. University education is affordable with loans and affordable payment plans. Since I am Native Canadian, my education is completely free however the only condition is I must remain in the North. It may seem silly but I refuse to be confined to one area so I choose to pay my debts because it makes me free. Gay marriage is legal. Discrimination is punishable. In Canada, it does seem nicer.

Sadly, the cures for most diseases would have been found if only religion didn't restrict science. However, science is still working hard for the greater good. Finding other ways around the restrictions. The restrictions placed by religion was only a setback.

Back to the main topic. I see the many problems americans face and you guys. It just reminds me of Abraham Lincolns quote "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves" It really does seem like USA is starting to destroy itself. While Canada and the other first world countries are doing fine and getting better.

[Netkeeper]

I wish I could move to Canada so bad. I would ACTUALLY give my left leg for it if it were possible to make such a bargain.

[arkangel]

Besides do you want to be one of those 35-40 year old, "old fogey's" taking classes with 22 year old kids in the future? Aw, hell no.

I remember in some of my classes there were all 21-22 year old kids and then there was this 40 year old man taking the same class, he looked so out of place we all thought he was the professor when he first walked into the room.

Ok, that's twice. :x
Are you really calling people over 35, old fogey's?
Is education only for people in their 20s?
uggh.. I was just starting to enjoy your posts again.
Quit being so ego-centric and consider if your statements are offensive before you post dude. Seriously. You lose all your credibility and support otherwise.
end rant..

[Zatoichi]

Ok, that's twice. :x
Are you really calling people over 35, old fogey's?
Is education only for people in their 20s?
uggh.. I was just starting to enjoy your posts again.
Quit being so ego-centric and consider if your statements are offensive before you post dude. Seriously. You lose all your credibility and support otherwise.
end rant..

Yeah, no one is too old to take college classes.

[Katie]

It will be an Incelrection.

Incel. You do realize that's just a word that crazy internet people made up to save their "feels" because they can't seem to get themselves together enough to get a date.

If you buy into that culture you can definitely write off getting a girl.

Wizards...PUA.....return of kings........garbage.

Just people who glorify rapists and murderers and need a scapegoat for their own self esteem issues.


And netkeeper. I'm calling BS on your medicaid story. My brother has it and there are no premiums. It' completely government subsidized.

[Cure]

And netkeeper. I'm calling BS on your medicaid story. My brother has it and there are no premiums. It' completely government subsidized.

I'll do you one better and admit I have Medicaid and pay f*ck all, so I double your call of BS.

[Netkeeper]

LMAO SORRY ITS WHAT I WAS TOLD.

everybody else i have spoken to has told me there arent any premiums. i know this. but it doesnt change the fact that i applied months ago and i still dont have anything.

sorry youre trying to get me busted when i did in fact try ive tried everything i'm just going to be miserable for the rest of my life and i acknowledged this years ago

[Netkeeper]

plus okay okay why would i lie about this

applying for medicaid is free i dont even have to lie about applying give me one reason why i would lie about this when i dont lie about anything

eat a dick

[Katie]

.....did I miss something?

You don't lie, about anything, but did lie about being told you had to pay premiums in your earlier post. Some all caps thing about not being able to get medicaid cause you can't pay premiums cause you are unemployed. That thing you said the medicaid people told you.

Medicaid takes time to go through....you got all drama cause you haven't heard back yet....calm down.

[Netkeeper]

you just said i didnt lie but then said i lied.

i did not lie. that is what the woman on the phone said. that i cant get medicaid because i cant pay a premium because i'm unemployed. **** you for calling me a liar.

[Katie]

...........I've received no help from the government -- I'm supposedly required by law to have health coverage right now, and when I applied for MedicAid, I was told "lol do you think youre going to get coverage when u cant pay premiums??? UR UNEMPLOYED!!!" Yeah jackass, I AM unemployed, which is why I'm applying for MEDICAID. The LAW required me to sign up for something and I cannot PAY for anything! I wish they'd track me down and send me to prison because at least there I'd have access to god damn health care!

I was also told to seek disability income so I won't have to work! This would be a great option if I had a diagnosis, and to get one of those, I need a doctor, and to get a doctor, I need money, and to get money, I need disability income! [Or MedicAid, WHICH I CAN'T GET BECAUSE I DON'T WORK.]......

Just in case you forgot what you wrote. You said you don't lie.

You said medicaid people told you the above.

Then you said it's what you've heard when we called BS.

Just calm down and be patient. Takes time for stuff to go through

[Netkeeper]

I KNOW WHAT I WROTE. THIS WAS NOT A LIE. THIS IS WHAT I WAS GOD DAMN TOLD.

it doesnt MATTER of medicaid doesnt actually have premiums, because THEY TOLD ME OTHERWISE.

HOLY.

****ING.

****.

[Netkeeper]

and one more thing. DON'T EVER CALL ME A LIAR YOU SACK OF ****.

[Netkeeper]

I SPENT MY WHOLE LIFE NEVER TELLING LIES AND HARDLY EVEN BEING ABLE TO HANDLE TEMPORARILY WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM OTHER PEOPLE.

i will not.

tolerate.

being called.

A LIAR.

[Powder]

What is this I don't even

[Netkeeper]

she thinks im a liar because medicaid told me i needed to pay premiums

between the time i made that post she quoted and now, i have been told by several other people that there was a serious problem going on since medicaid doesnt HAVE premiums

my dad thinks i was lied to in order to keep them from having to process more people since the government here doesnt actually want to actively help people

he's probably right

[Cure]

Threats over the internet are my favorite.

[Netkeeper]

im not even threatening anybody you ****ing idiot. go back to my tumblr and go through my selfie tag some more.

[Cure]

im not even threatening anybody you ****ing idiot. go back to my tumblr and go through my selfie tag some more.

Haha, nah, man, once is moooore than enough. And also, now you're just lying to yourself and everyone here.

DON'T EVER CALL ME A LIAR YOU SACK OF ****.

If that wasn't a threat, what was it? A plea? Cry for help?

[Netkeeper]

threat
THret/
noun
noun: threat; plural noun: threats

1.
a statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done.

[The Stryker]

Man. You get really mad when you get caught in lies.

[Netkeeper]

okay tell me this actually answer this:

why would i lie about something that would prevent me from getting treatment so that i may eventually get the life-saving medication i need

why would i do this

why would somebody lie about that, what is the gain

its not attention because i dont want attention, i want my ****ing medication

[Peanut]

Well, it certainly seems like you need it!

[pennydreadful]

Wow, internet bullying at its finest. Classy.

Seriously, what is going on in the threads today? There's some real nastiness being posted and I'm damned if I can understand why.

[The Stryker]

Wow, internet bullying at its finest. Classy.

Seriously, what is going on in the threads today? There's some real nastiness being posted and I'm damned if I can understand why.

All Katie did was point out the weirdness of his story.

He's the one that got all uppity and started throwing out insults.

[pennydreadful]

Can we please just try to be nice to one another, or, if we can't, just not talk to each other. There's enough fighting in the movie section already - it's all so unnecessary, and it just gives the mods more work and generally makes the forums unpleasant, which I'm sure is not what any of us want.

http://jpegy.com/images/uploads/2013/01/cant-we-all-just-get-along.jpg

[BubblyShell22]

Net, maybe someone made a mistake when you talked to them. It happens sometimes that the people who you're talking to may not know what's going on and misinformed you about the premiums and stuff. I'm not calling you a liar because you're not. Maybe you were just misinformed about it.

[Netkeeper]

That's a distinct possibility, albeit one I didn't think of. So thanks for your input.

I feel the need to mention I'm not being sarcastic, since I am a good chunk of the time.

[CyberCubed]

If you ever went back to the year 1990 and showed people back then what we have now, they would be astounded. Back in 1990 the normal population didn't even have the internet.

Do you guys even remember what life was like before the internet? You had to phone call anyone for an interview or anything important, rather than just send an e-mail. You couldn't keep up to date with what your friends/family were doing. You couldn't order anything online. You couldn't simply read the news without turning on the TV or buying a newspaper. You couldn't watch TV shows or movies online, but wait till they aired on TV or buy a VHS tape.

We have a phone that gives us the internet in the palm of our hands while we're on the move. God be praised.

[Prowler]

If you ever went back to the year 1990 and showed people back then what we have now, they would be astounded. Back in 1990 the normal population didn't even have the internet.

Do you guys even remember what life was like before the internet? You had to phone call anyone for an interview or anything important, rather than just send an e-mail. You couldn't keep up to date with what your friends/family were doing. You couldn't order anything online. You couldn't simply read the news without turning on the TV or buying a newspaper. You couldn't watch TV shows or movies online, but wait till they aired on TV or buy a VHS tape.

We have a phone that gives us the internet in the palm of our hands while we're on the move. God be praised.
I was still a child when we got our first internet modem, so obviously I don't really identify much with the situations above except for missing an episode on TV and not knowing if I'd ever watch it in my lifetime. Of course there were always VHS tapes, but as a kid, I couldn't just tell my parents to buy me a bunch of them so that I could record my favorite shows.

I think it'd be worse to survive without cellphones. If nowadays, there's always a couple of people late or that get lost when a group of people goes out, imagine how it was back in the 80s when no one had cellphones to reach their friends while on the street.

[ssjup81]

I was still a child when we got our first internet modem, so obviously I don't really identify much with the situations above except for missing an episode on TV and not knowing if I'd ever watch it in my lifetime. Of course there were always VHS tapes, but as a kid, I couldn't just tell my parents to buy me a bunch of them so that I could record my favorite shows.

I think it'd be worse to survive without cellphones. If nowadays, there's always a couple of people late or that get lost when a group of people goes out, imagine how it was back in the 80s when no one had cellphones to reach their friends while on the street.We had pay phones everywhere...but I see your point. Only rich people had car or portable phones.

[Wingnut]

We have a phone that gives us the internet in the palm of our hands while we're on the move. God be praised.

Amen.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/GenAn/1380024504-9eb66286a57b93c367bf87c8cdce0e84_zps52176867.png

[Peanut]

We have a phone that gives us the internet in the palm of our hands while we're on the move. God be praised.

Oh, yeah! You mean the thing that has completely and utterly destroyed basic human interactions and the ability for anyone to hold a simple conversation without shoving their head in a phone every 30-60 seconds. I think it's also the cause of the majority of traffic accidents and the reason why absolutely no one watches where they're going on the street anymore!

That thing is great!

[Prowler]

We had pay phones everywhere...but I see your point. Only rich people had car or portable phones.
I know that. But unless your friends were at home or at their workplace, you couldn't reach them by phone.

Oh, yeah! You mean the thing that has completely and utterly destroyed basic human interactions and the ability for anyone to hold a simple conversation without shoving their head in a phone every 30-60 seconds. I think it's also the cause of the majority of traffic accidents and the reason why absolutely no one watches where they're going on the street anymore!

That thing is great!
I heard many people these days break up relationships by text message. That's pretty sad.

[CyberCubed]

I think the phone's usage/internet/apps were perfect. Now waiting in line for something is no longer boring. Waiting in a doctor's office is no longer boring.

I remember being bored out of my mind sitting in a doctor or dentist office sitting for 20-30 minutes waited to be seen. Now I have a phone I can browse the internet while I wait as time goes by.

Seriously, think back to all the times you were bored sitting in public waiting for someone or something to happen. Now our instinct is to take our phones out of our pockets within 10 seconds that we're waiting.

[Prowler]

I think the phone's usage/internet/apps were perfect. Now waiting in line for something is no longer boring. Waiting in a doctor's office is no longer boring.

I remember being bored out of my mind sitting in a doctor or dentist office sitting for 20-30 minutes waited to be seen. Now I have a phone I can browse the internet while I wait as time goes by.

Seriously, think back to all the times you were bored sitting in public waiting for someone or something to happen. Now our instinct is to take our phones out of our pockets within 10 seconds that we're waiting.
You could just bring a handheld gaming system to those places, man.

[Netkeeper]

I think the phone's usage/internet/apps were perfect. Now waiting in line for something is no longer boring. Waiting in a doctor's office is no longer boring.

I remember being bored out of my mind sitting in a doctor or dentist office sitting for 20-30 minutes waited to be seen. Now I have a phone I can browse the internet while I wait as time goes by.

Seriously, think back to all the times you were bored sitting in public waiting for someone or something to happen. Now our instinct is to take our phones out of our pockets within 10 seconds that we're waiting.
Did you never own a game boy CyberCubed

It had TMNT games on it, if not you were missin out

[CyberCubed]

I've owned all the Nintendo handhelds but I usually never took them out of the house.

[Netkeeper]

That

that defeats the purpose of it being portab

im broke

you broke me cybercubed now i have to go reboot

[CyberCubed]

I'm sure most people played handhelds more in their house than outdoors. Its too distracting playing outside especially since in some games you can't save at any time.

[Prowler]

Well, not everyone takes their handhelds outside. When I was a kid, my parents didn't allow me to take my Game Boy to school in fear of me losing it or someone stealing it.

And unless you travel long distances or have to wait a lot of time for something on a public place on a daily basis, then there's not much need in bringing your handheld along with you. You can play them at home, you know. Just like you could bring a console to school/university/work and plug it in some room to play with your classmates.

[ssjup81]

That

that defeats the purpose of it being portab

im broke

you broke me cybercubed now i have to go rebootSame here though. Unless I was on a road trip I rarely used my handhelds as a kid outside.

[Netkeeper]

I'm sure most people played handhelds more in their house than outdoors. Its too distracting playing outside especially since in some games you can't save at any time.
Of course many people played handhelds more indoors than outside their house

But when you know you're gonna be waiting, like at the DMV or something, why would you NOT take a portable game system when it was designed to be taken places

Or on long car rides

Or on a plane

[pennydreadful]

Or you could just read a book. Or a comic. Or a magazine. Or knit. Or bring a sketchpad and draw. Or do a crossword puzzle, or any of a million other things.

We don't have to be attached to mobile phones 24 hours a day - that's one of the things that makes the current era so annoying to me. These sound like wild, philosophical musings, I'm sure...

We have some good stuff, but don't kid yourself - what good is time-saving technology if you don't do anything with the time you save?

[Leo656]

"Progress":
http://bullseyerecruiting.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/people-texting1.jpg

You can keep it.

[pennydreadful]

Exactly. Though I'm aware that snarking about time-wasting on social media is somewhat hypocritical given that I'm doing it on a messageboard... my moral high-horse is a one-legged nag. :P

[Leo656]

Agreed. I take solace in the fact that, at least, this is my only online "presence", so I'm not even close to as "bad" as most people. I don't post or read any other forums and pretty much ignore my FB unless I have a show. Other than this place, I'll read comments on news articles to see what kind of stupid stuff people say but that's about it. I don't even own a smartphone. In fact, my cell doesn't even do texts. It's grand.

[Commenter 42]

"Progress":
http://bullseyerecruiting.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/people-texting1.jpg

You can keep it.

Can I also keep the girl on the left?

[Leo656]

:lol: Have at it, she's way better than the stick figure over at center-right.

[Netkeeper]

I'm partial to the dude in brown.

[ssjup81]

Agreed. I take solace in the fact that, at least, this is my only online "presence", so I'm not even close to as "bad" as most people. I don't post or read any other forums and pretty much ignore my FB unless I have a show. Other than this place, I'll read comments on news articles to see what kind of stupid stuff people say but that's about it. I don't even own a smartphone. In fact, my cell doesn't even do texts. It's grand.Before coming to Japan I had no need for a cell phone. Even during my first time here, I had an old prepay phone and it was mandatory for me to have something with a Japanese number. I got the phone from a fellow teacher who had bought a Smartphone. It only was good for calls. I rarely used it, until that big earthquake/tsunami hit and it became expensive. That first year I actually used Skype a lot to make calls.

My second time coming to Japan, my boss insisted that I get a Smartphone so that they could always be in contact with me be it through actual calls, messaging, or e-mail.

With the employer I have now, it's pretty much the same. I need to have access to my email and such in case there's a change at work or if my manager needs to have a meeting or schedule conflict that requires me to come in, etc. I also have to travel sometimes to other companies.

Back home I had a Tracfone for emergencies only. You could text on it but I never bothered. I rarely had a need for it and would tell people unless it's urgent, call the house phone.

Being in Japan though, it's a necessity, especially when it comes to train schedule info and having a dictionary on hand, although I do have a pocket dictionary as well...

[Leo656]

My boss tries to pull that sh*t with me. "What if I add an appointment to your online calendar? How are you gonna know about it?" I'll know when you take 30 seconds to leave me a voicemail about it, how's that grab ya? I tell him every time, he wants me to have a smartphone, he can pay for the phone and I'll handle the bill, but I'm not paying for anything I don't need, and I don't need a phone that costs that much. Shock: he doesn't want to pay for the phone.

I have zero problem keeping in touch with anyone from work, clients or otherwise, he just likes the idea of having people be "on call" 24/7. The kind of guy who'll call you about work stuff at 11pm. Nah.

[ssjup81]

My boss tries to pull that sh*t with me. "What if I add an appointment to your online calendar? How are you gonna know about it?" I'll know when you take 30 seconds to leave me a voicemail about it, how's that grab ya? I tell him every time, he wants me to have a smartphone, he can pay for the phone and I'll handle the bill, but I'm not paying for anything I don't need, and I don't need a phone that costs that much. Shock: he doesn't want to pay for the phone.

I have zero problem keeping in touch with anyone from work, clients or otherwise, he just likes the idea of having people be "on call" 24/7. The kind of guy who'll call you about work stuff at 11pm. Nah.Back home I could see that. Being here, though it's difficult not to have one. As a foreigner here it's very convenient. Can't read a kanji character? I can look up the radicals and figure it out. Need to contact a colleague while on the train since it's bad etiquette to talk on the phone while on the trains here, I can send a message.

I need to contact a colleague or manager at night or early, I can send a message to their phone and to be honest, the Japanese use their phones for practically everything. I think we Americans use internet on the computer way more in comparison.

Having trouble with a student who needs a translation and I don't know it, I use the phone or iPad (depending on where I am).

I can also use Skype to keep in contact with my family back home easily, especially if I'm traveling without a laptop or don't have wifi access to use my iPad.

Everything that I use the phone here mostly is for work. At home I use my laptop.

Also, as I mentioned, my job requires me to travel, sometimes to other cities so it's good to have constant contact I guess.

Ironically, I just received an email from my boss about some essays by the university students that I have to grade and must have finished by Friday morning.

Oh and also, there are some things here that require you to have a Japanese cell phone email address. The gym I'm a member of required it for some reason.

So yeah, back home, I don't and doubt I'll ever have a need for a smartphone. Here with constant schedule changes it's pretty much a necessity. I keep a schedule on my phone just in case my boss tries to pull something. One time they added an extra class to my schedule and I didn't know it because they forgot to leave me a memo. I showed them my recent updated schedule and they apologized to me.

[Wingnut]

My boss tries to pull that sh*t with me. "What if I add an appointment to your online calendar? How are you gonna know about it?" I'll know when you take 30 seconds to leave me a voicemail about it, how's that grab ya? I tell him every time, he wants me to have a smartphone, he can pay for the phone and I'll handle the bill, but I'm not paying for anything I don't need, and I don't need a phone that costs that much. Shock: he doesn't want to pay for the phone.

I have zero problem keeping in touch with anyone from work, clients or otherwise, he just likes the idea of having people be "on call" 24/7. The kind of guy who'll call you about work stuff at 11pm. Nah.
Oh I've been through that song and dance. I went without a cell phone for a month or so because it crapped, I was broke, and I had a landline that was paid up. In this day and age it's incredibly difficult to convey this simple concept; If I don't answer my HOME phone on my day off, I'm obviously not HOME. I'm busy.

It also means I am not available to cover your shift because you stayed out until 4AM on the day you open. F*ck off.

[BubblyShell22]

I got a cell phone mainly when I started college so my mom had a way to contact me if there was an emergency or if I needed to contact her. Now I rarely use it at all, but it's still a good thing to have. I don't text on it or have Internet access, and I'm fine with that. I do go online to browse certain TMNT forums or read and post fan fiction on FF.Net, but I only go on twice a day if that. Most of the rest of the time I have other things I do, and that's what I like.

And, Cubed, I always read books at the doctor's office when I had to go. It was great.

[Netkeeper]

Back home I could see that. Being here, though it's difficult not to have one. As a foreigner here it's very convenient. Can't read a kanji character? I can look up the radicals and figure it out. Need to contact a colleague while on the train since it's bad etiquette to talk on the phone while on the trains here, I can send a message.

I need to contact a colleague or manager at night or early, I can send a message to their phone and to be honest, the Japanese use their phones for practically everything. I think we Americans use internet on the computer way more in comparison.

Having trouble with a student who needs a translation and I don't know it, I use the phone or iPad (depending on where I am).

I can also use Skype to keep in contact with my family back home easily, especially if I'm traveling without a laptop or don't have wifi access to use my iPad.

Everything that I use the phone here mostly is for work. At home I use my laptop.

Also, as I mentioned, my job requires me to travel, sometimes to other cities so it's good to have constant contact I guess.

Ironically, I just received an email from my boss about some essays by the university students that I have to grade and must have finished by Friday morning.

Oh and also, there are some things here that require you to have a Japanese cell phone email address. The gym I'm a member of required it for some reason.

So yeah, back home, I don't and doubt I'll ever have a need for a smartphone. Here with constant schedule changes it's pretty much a necessity. I keep a schedule on my phone just in case my boss tries to pull something. One time they added an extra class to my schedule and I didn't know it because they forgot to leave me a memo. I showed them my recent updated schedule and they apologized to me.
Yeah, for you, it definitely seems like a cultural thing. Also, curious, why are you in Japan right now anyway? Is it work-related? It's really interesting.

I think I've stated elsewhere that I have an android device that operates on Wifi but it ISN'T a phone and I don't have to pay anything for it. It's actually just an mp3 player. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Player) I wanted something with playlist functionality and a micro SD slot and didn't require iTunes, so that's what I ended up getting.

I can text with it, but I only do that with my brother and one other friend who might be hiring me for some under the table work. My brother's had to text me while at work before because [x] thing happened, but usually we just use it to discuss the comic we're writing in his off time at work.

[ssjup81]

Oh I just noticed this. I work here in Japan. Teaching.

[Darthknuxward]

For technology, yes. For everything else, hell no!