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..

[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.

Originally Posted by arkangel

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:

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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?

[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?