It can be hard watching society change as you age. Many factors have contributed to what some may consider a societal nosedive, driven by technology and its subsequent effect on values. It wasn’t always like this — generations before experienced higher levels of marriage, more children, and a robust economy. What did this generation do differently, and can we have it back, please?
1. They Called Their Friends
Before smart mobile technology was even a thing, people did the unthinkable — they called their friends and family just to chat. We have FaceTime and WhatsApp now, and conference calling is fantastic. However, when was the last time you called someone for no reason other than to hear their voice or let them hear yours?
2. They Read Books
According to Gallup, more than half of Americans lack sufficient literacy skills. With literacy levels across America and beyond plummeting since our grandparents’ day, we should welcome a return to reading books. Exhaustive evidence shows exposure to reading from a young age is crucial for building literacy.
3. They Played Board Games
Some of us only play board games like Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit when forced to during vacation or at family get-togethers. Must we have digital entertainment as our (pun-heavy) default setting? Families with young kids benefit from the shared experience, humor, and collective problem-solving opportunities.
4. They Cooked Dinner at Home
What was life without DoorDash and UberEats? Some say home-cooked meals were better for children’s health, with takeout saved for rare occasions that could be savored. Moreover, eating out was a treat, and most housewives would cook two or three meals per day, most days of the year. This custom may return, considering how inflation is making dining out less accessible again.
5. They Kept Calm and Carried On
We need no reminder of the difficulties some boomers and most of their parents faced. My grandparents survived two world wars and a Great Depression sandwiched in between. For instance, during the Second World War’s London bombing, people would have a cup of tea, keep calm, and carry on. Stoicism needs to make a comeback. There’s a reason the word “snowflake” exists in the modern vernacular. Sadly, Western countries seem to have lost the mental toughness necessary to survive wars.
6. They Dressed To Impress
Watch any American city footage made before the ’60s, and the inevitable attire was formal: a smart skirt and maybe a hat for ladies. Men wore a suit and tie and a hat. Even if older generations lived in suburbia, they didn’t leave the house looking anything less than their best. Walk through most modern cities, and the mindset seems to be to choose comfort over aesthetics. For those showing more effort, the style is almost exclusively informal. Sidenote: who decided running shoes and two-button suits looked cool?
7. They Played With Toys
Good parents ensure their kids have toys to enjoy. While kids today still have all the same imaginative, playful traits as their forebears, modern parenting doesn’t necessarily elicit these. Nothing is more joyful than watching your child use their playful imaginations as they play with toys. It can be depressing to see a child’s imagination suppressed by devices.
8. They Showed Restraint
In a short time, the rise of technology has affected young people’s ability to wait for rewards. Although social mobility rocketed between 1950 and 1980, it has since declined. Nevertheless, our grandparents had to show discipline and restraint to achieve their goals. Living within one’s means was (and still is) the backbone of economic thriving. Sadly, today’s young people often live by a FOMO (fear of missing out) mindset, using borrowed money to fund experiences, such as live music events, according to Intuit Credit Karma.
9. They Wrote Love Letters
Of course, love letters died out much later than our grandparents’ generation. I remember writing letters to my now-wife as late as the new millennium. However, those who grew up without email, texting, or Snapchat made letter-writing an art form. In a famous Richard Burton letter to Elizabeth Taylor, he wrote, “My blind eyes are desperately waiting for the sight of you. You don’t realize, of course, E.B., how fascinatingly beautiful you have always been and how strangely you have acquired an added and special and dangerous loveliness.”
10. They Fixed Things
As moralistic as it may sound, older generations didn’t have the preponderance of dirt-cheap consumer technology or appliances Westerners have today. If your transistor radio, push-along lawn mower, or typewriter was on the fritz, one had no choice but to take it to a shop for repair, fix it oneself, or find a friend with the ability to help. Only under a few circumstances would anyone consider throwing it away and buying another.
11. They Carried a Handkerchief
How many people carry handkerchiefs today? Unless you happen to be wearing a suit with an added pocket handkerchief, it’s tissues all the way. We all had grandparents who carried a handkerchief, which was great for them. A fresh, unused handkerchief is a great resource, but carrying a used one in your pocket means a handkerchief should be a gesture more than anything. You may use my handkerchief, but you must now please keep it.
12. They Donated Time
We cannot be too hard on ourselves in modern life, which can be overwhelming, and certain behaviors are forgivable, but being selfish with time isn’t one. Inevitably, you have family members or friends who have invested time in you, so reciprocation is morally right. Moreover, you might have children whose parents prefer social media to socializing with them. Considering how much more time older generations had to spend on tasks we take for granted now, you would think they had less time to spend with their loved ones, but that wasn’t the case and still isn’t.
13. They Took up Hobbies
We have so much talent on this planet. Some humans can achieve outlandish feats most others dream of. There are outstanding painters, musicians, and videographers who transcend norms. However, these people are outliers — we also see a growing number of consumers glued to their phones, shopping, or spending three-quarters of the day playing video games. Objectively, our forebears didn’t have all the distractions or the employment profile-building pressures we have today, but they took up many more hobbies outside of work.
14. They Grew Food
My parents were born in 1947, at the forefront of the baby boomer era. Both were born at home, and their parents’ gardens were full of vegetables — a remnant of World War II’s Dig For Victory legacy. Rationing continued into 1954, so a supplementary garden supply was essential to any family. This ethos continues today. My parents grow vegetables and berries yearly in their English country garden.
15. They Were More Polite
The post-war baby boom meant that American society was flooded with teenagers in the ’60s, leading to a change in civic values, fashion preferences, and social manners. Their silent generation parents had no idea what their fertility rates would do to society, but the counterculture took over. Gone were conservative ideals and family-based dynamics. In their place were freedom, bell bottoms, and rebellion. Sadly, bad manners were a by-product of this teenage revolution, which does far more harm than good.
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