I was recently listening to Breaking up was easy in the 90’s and it
got me to thinking just how true that statement really can be.
The 90’s were a very formative time for me so I will always
look back on them with some nostalgia.
Also, I don’t care how old I get, 1990 will forever be 10 years ago;
they stopped counting at the turn of the century.
Joking aside though, I’m very happy that I grew up when I did. As with most folks, I feel there was a golden
age of music and television during this time but most of all, the world just
seemed simpler. We didn’t constantly
know what everyone was doing.
We could disconnect from work and school and simply have a
separate life. Those that experienced
bullying didn’t have it follow them home and into their most sacred places like
they do now. When you left work, you
left. Even cell phones weren’t a big
thing unless you were Zach Morris or a man with a sports car and a mid-life
crisis.
Sometimes I miss the time of “she’s been on the phone for an
hour and I need to make a call!” We used
to pick up the phone without even knowing who’s calling; like a bunch of Neanderthals. Hell, we used to pick up the phone at all.
My first young heartbreaks came during this time and other
than possibly seeing the person in the hallway, it was easy to avoid anyone. You didn’t have to see what was going on in
their life because it wasn’t posted or liked or duet’d. Moment’s happened and then they were gone and
that was ok.
So, based on this, we can conclude that life was easier and
better in the 90’s, right? Ignorance is bliss,
right? To a point I would say yes, but
not so fast on that one.
With the rise of social media over the past decade, everyone
to some degree now has a voice.
Preaching from a street corner can now be in your living room. Hot takes on last nights game can come from
the kitchen. It’s no longer the select
few that can broadcast their voice.
While this has brought with it the “internet celebrity” and “influencer”
it has also brought comradery and openness.
People are sharing their experiences like never before. Whether it’s the LGBTQ experience, or the
Black Lives Matter movement, or even shifting faith and belief structures, we
now have a window into the world that didn’t exist. Prior to the internet and social media, we
had a narrow field of view and only what was basically provided to us.
I know I grew up in rural Canada but in the world that I saw,
the LGBTQ community was RuPaul singing Supermodel. Racism was an American thing and it looked
like Rodney King or something I read about in History class. Even church was what you were taught on Sunday
and questioning any of that was far from encouraged.
Now we are seeing more people for who they are and that
brings with it pros and cons. Powerful
men can no longer hide their misdeeds because someone is recording it. Churches and elders can no longer sweep
things under the rug. Both overt and
subtle racism, while still existing, are starting to be called out more and
more. The LGBTQ community is beginning
to feel free to be themselves in a world that is increasingly becoming more
understanding of both biology and empathy.
The world of “I’m the only one who feels this way” is very quickly going
away because of the voices we now have access to. We can learn from the brightest minds in the
world and also hear the stories of those that struggle every day.
People are being forced to face the issues in this world
that have existed for a very long time.
They can no longer bury their heads in the sand and pretend that these
things happen other places and to other people.
These issues affect us here, and now and are affecting the people we
know.
I don’t have a definitive answer for which time was better because
the black and white, binary world is one I’m quickly leaving behind. There are definitely days that I long for the
calmer times of the 90’s but I like to put it into perspective; if 2021 me was living in the 90’s, I’d be
unemployed and you wouldn’t be reading this right now.
And that my friends, would be a tragedy.
Image: http://howtodonateacars.blogspot.com/2012/06/the-future-of-cell-phones.html
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