I hate the modern world

Laughing said:
Interestingly enough, whilst I share some of the thoughts on this thread, there have been many studies with available reports that the world is, in every measurable metric, getting better.

For example, extreme poverty is reducing almost year on year, believe it or not. In 1820 it is estimated that 95% of the world lived in extreme poverty, today that is about 15%.

Literacy has moved from 20% of the population to over 80% of the population since the 18 hundreds. Even in more recent years it is declining.

Global child mortality has reduced from around 40% in the 18 hundreds to just a few percent now and continues to decline.

Over half the planet live in a democracy today, in the 1950's it was less than 20%.

In every way measurable, the world is a better place. Levels of anxiety are higher than even 10 years ago, there is, absolutely a doom and gloom feel to where the world is heading. It is believed that this is largely to do with 2 factors.

Firstly damn 24 hour news. We hear more bad stuff, not because there is more bad stuff, but because it is reported in more sources, on our social media feeds on 24 hour news channels.

Secondly the news does not report what is going right, it reports what is going wrong in the world. You may, if lucky, see a closing news article on the news at 10 about a parrot getting rescued from a roof by a fireman, then telling the fireman to f-off.

The world is, undeniably a better place, we just don't see it that way.
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I can't remember who it was I saw on telly recently say he thinks News is going the way of cigarettes. At first, people thought they were a good thing, or certainly not too bad. And as time has worn on we're now seeing ourselves addicted to it and over-indulging on it so that its damaging our health. Mind you, I don't think we can ban it......
(No offence smokers).
 
atypical_boro said:
I can't remember who it was I saw on telly recently say he thinks News is going the way of cigarettes. At first, people thought they were a good thing, or certainly not too bad. And as time has worn on we're now seeing ourselves addicted to it and over-indulging on it so that its damaging our health. Mind you, I don't think we can ban it......
(No offence smokers).
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That is probably a very good point atypical.
 
Very possibly atypical, we wouldn't have had easy access to stats and the vast cross section of expert opinion. I do think, that any government would have tried to keep the NHS within capacity as that would have hit the news and makes for very bad optics for any party in power.
 
You're certainly not alone Scoobs. I think the radical change in the nature of most people's work over the last 40 years or so has brought with it a severe loss of community, a loss of togetherness.

I read and write quite a lot about the nature of work in 'the old days' compared to now. When I talk to ex-miners in Northumberland, the vast majority say they'd go back down the pit tomorrow. At first I found it hard to believe, those places were hellish. But I'm now convinced that what they miss was the closeness to their mates.

People back then were properly bonded through necessity and that is gone, perhaps forever. Guys who struggled mentally with stuff had a kind of unofficial support network around them which is now gone. Humans are deeply social animals and we need close contact and to just be able to shoot the breeze.

I know this post isn't really any help, just a few thoughts, but Scoobs you have my sympathy. Keep talking mate.
 
nowthen said:
Stupidity or arrogance?
You’ve already demonstrated that you’ve no idea what the spirit of that time was like. If you did, you wouldn’t swap or long for it.
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I'm not getting dragged into a slanging match with you, which is clearly what you're prodding and probing for, so good luck with that one.

Also, I never said I was longing for those particular times or that I'd swap nowadays for it, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't fabricate things to further your agenda, whatever that is.
 
I'm not really in a position to be offering advice to anyone, beyond suggesting you go back to Borobarmy's request for scoreline prediction and answer "11-nil to The Boro" while smiling. Then if Boro win you'll find yourself smiling again, if Boro lose you'll laugh at the scale of your fantasy, if Boro win by 11 you won't stop laughing. Ultimately I've learned over the course of my life the only advice I can give myself and anybody else is "smile more". Good luck with things.
 
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