I think, sometimes.
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In the last decade the world has undergone a monumental shift. I've been trying to figure out why! Long gone are the days of rotary telephones, dial-up internet, VCRs and portable CD players. We're moving toward a new generation, new technology - none of which any generation has ever seen before. The thought of the Jetson's lifestyle being true ten years ago was even still then laughable, but now, with commercialized space flight in the works - it's becoming truer and truer. The question is no longer "how long until we have hover cars?", but more so "how much longer until we can buy a flying car?" As humanity has progressed - some of the world's smartest minds created solutions to our old technologies restrictions and constraints. DSL replaced dial-up, Ipods succeeded CD players, and so forth.
This isn't anything new.
If we flashback almost a hundred years ago anyone can see - civilization was about innovation. The world was about proving the impossible was in fact possible. So many "firsts" were invented that improved the quality of life. The first automobile allowed humans to arrive faster to their destinations than ever before, and the first airplane which eventually lead to commercial flight. Dishwashers eliminated washbasins and drying racks, refrigerators replaced ice boxes, ... etc. Escalators were even invented so we no longer had to walk up stairs! The world was about singling out those minor inconveniences every day life brought upon, and eliminating them through the advancements of technology.
Flash forward though in the last ten years, and we've changed. Social media has replaced interpersonal skills, and now as a society we're irreversibly vain, and seem to be focused heavily on self-improvement. The world has done away with corner stores, Ma & Pa outlets, and is now about white teeth, admiring celebrities, size 00 waists and acne-free skin. Gone are the days where you'd talk to a stranger at a bus stop for 20 minutes while waiting for the bus. Now we sit as spaced out as possible, and think anybody trying to initiate contact, bus or elsewhere, is a pedophile or freak. Gone are the days you'd have close interactions with your neighbors. You might know the adjacent few houses, but what about three doors down? We are now connected with everyone in the world - and yet, so isolated at the same time. When was the last time you physically walked up to someone to talk to them? We're lazy, and would instead rather use Skype in the comfort of our bedrooms to talk for hours, damaging those interpersonal skills, than just walk up and talk face to face.
Gone are the days where nobody cared about what people wore. I used to wear sweat pants and old t-shirts (with horrible labels, like "SNAPPLE") to school in grade six, and GIRLS DID TOO. It just wasn't cared nor mocked about 10-15 years ago. Now, if girls are wearing anything but size 00 designer dresses in grade 6, they're looked at as social outcasts. The fact a "Baby Gap" store exists in the world - I think sheds light on how society's problems with pressuring women to dress or look a certain way has only gotten worse. When I was a kid, the debate was about allowing fourteen year-olds to wear make-up, and whether or not that made them too promiscuous. Now it's about six year-olds. SIX!
Gone are the days of wholesome programming on TV. We used to have cartoons or friendly family shows ahoy. I can admit, some reality programming is entertaining, but I'll be the first to admit some reality programming just goes too far. In even the last 10 years we've kind of lost that initial "Survivor" shock where that's all that was needed to entertain us was a bunch of people trapped on an island. We need more shocking shows to fill that insatiable hunger now.
Some examples:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toddlers_%26_Tiaras
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Super_Sweet_16
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Up_with_the_Kardashians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_People,_Big_World
If a reality show about people with dwarfism was pitched 10 years ago - it would have promptly been denied, and yet, fast forward 10 years - it's humbly accepted because it's probably one of the few remaining things to catch our attention (similarly like watching 6 year-olds compete in beauty pageants.) The worst part about most reality shows is it further perpetuates the belief that everybody in society has to act or behave a certain way AT a certain age. We have TV shows that encourage people to spend the money they earn working trying to win more money ("How the Lottery Changed My Life"), where actual articles such as this one are neglected by mainstream media because the desire of winning millions of dollars in a lottery, far outweighs the reality of actually winning millions of dollars.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_19981108/ai_n14483893/
I think this is partially why the world and society sucks these days! We've lost sight of that universal innovation and drive to make the world a more convenient place, and outside of maybe using technology for medical advancements, have flocked toward personal vanity-driven improvements that only affect the individual seeking them (liposuction, teeth whitening, plastic surgery, giving into pressure from society to look or dress certain ways). Why some parents can look at celebrities who weigh less than 100 pounds, and tell their daughter they're beautiful INSTEAD of horribly unhealthy I'll never understand! I wish I could tell everybody reading this to not conform to societies unrealistic standards, but it probably wouldn't be too effective. Twitter, Facebook and other social outlets have replaced the sound conscious that used to be parents. For every random blurb like this one that will surface, there will be 9 "tweets" about something related to vanity, and the allure is just too strong to avoid for that younger generation. Nobody wants to be that pioneer who goes to school in a flannel overcoat, as they'll be forever judged as a "loser", "poor" or whatever other labels people use these days. Our generation has been successfully converted by the social pressures that didn't exist when we were kids, and those social pressures are slowly bleeding onto the new generation - you, reading this.
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