Do you feel like society has improved or worsened over the past 11 years?

[Redway]

Heavy one for a Wednesday night but I’m in one of those thread-making moods and I’ve recently been thinking about how much certain things have changed since 2010 (at least in comparison to how we were envisioning it at the beginning of that new decade).

2020 and 2021 have been write-offs (or at least not what was expected) for pretty much everyone so in theoretical terms we might as well still be at the tail-end of 2019, so if you were to envision/place yourself on or at New Year’s Eve 2019/20 (either with all the knowledge of how things would unfold within the following 22-month period or just taking the 2010s into account), how would you describe the state of society compared to ten years prior with regard to general life and social trends (e.g., broadening of L.G.B.T./gender identities, more political correctness, adult millennial culture emerging)?

[DouglasS]

It’s gone too far the other way where everything is offensive now. Therefore it’s got worse. I’d say maybe 5-6 years ago was a good place.

[Redway]

I feel like 2012 was the last properly decent collective year we had and even that had big problems, and was cursed ideologically from the announcement of doomsday (21/22 December that year) on.

The year or two that followed weren’t too bad but I feel like that era between the early noughties and earliest tens (up until the end of 2012) were better vibes overall. TV was closer to its prime and there was broad LGBT acceptance (admittedly to very varying extents) without people worrying about what pronouns to use for people who refuse to align with either of the two primary (aka actual) sexes.

[Oliver_W]

I agree that the late aughts-mid tens were probably best for overall acceptance. It was a time where no-one gave a **** about stuff like LGBT and race. Well obviously there was the odd bigot, but all in all it was better.

There must be a reason that LGBT-acceptance is actually falling among the young, and I'd say it's not surprising it coincides with the rise of "victimhood culture" fostered by social media, and exasperation toward the "97 genders" types. And then furthered by people lynching the likes of JK Rowling for speaking up for (born) women's rights.

[user104658]

Have to agree that if I was to pick a 5 year span where most things were on a decent-ish track it would be 2008-2013. Far from PERFECT of course, there were obviously the issues with the financial crash and the UK was undergoing Tory austerity, but in terms of “non-government” society. There was broader acceptance than previously, but we hadn’t yet splintered into the dogma and tribalism that came “in the backlash”. Individual freedoms were considered important but not to the level of the quasi-religious hyperindividualism that’s been increasing exponentially for the last 5 years or so.

Odd for me to say those years really as I personally was absolutely dirt poor at the time. Fresh out of uni, retail cashier, first daughter was born in 2009… we were straight-up “poor people” from roughly 2009 - 2013 :umm2:

[Nicky91]

what's wrong with Avocado's?


i eat those as well, very healthy for you, loads of vitamins etc

[user104658]

In terms of the poll I've had to go with "too early to tell". I think things are terrible right now however I still hold onto the vague hope that all of the extreme swinging back-and-forth is teething pains that might settle into something more rational, eventually.

[Cherie]

I find society very intolerant now, especially when it comes to political views, uncontrolled social media doesn't help either

[joeysteele]

Worsened.

I think 2016 particularly became a turning point in splitting societies and even families.

I'd say up to 2012 things were okay but even then cracks were there as to society.

From 2012 onwards however.
Intolerance has taken over, suspicion, distrust and a breakdown on lots of levels.

I don't exclude myself from that.
I have got less tolerant too.

It's actually very sad but I can't see it being repaired or rebuilt either.

Yes though, the last coming now up to 10 years have been in my view, the most divisive generated from the top down as to society.

[bots]

Some aspects have improved completely beyond expectation, others have gotten worse and speaking as an old fart, that's the way it has always been

[Niamh.]

Worsened.

I think 2016 particularly became a turning point in splitting societies and even families.

I'd say up to 2012 things were okay but even then cracks were there as to society.

From 2012 onwards however.
Intolerance has taken over, suspicion, distrust and a breakdown on lots of levels.

I don't exclude myself from that.
I have got less tolerant too.

It's actually very sad but I can't see it being repaired or rebuilt either.

Yes though, the last coming now up to 10 years have been in my view, the most divisive generated from the top down as to society.

Not to sound too much like an old fogie............buuuut I really do believe Social media has to take a huge chunk of the blame for dividing people and riling people up

[Oliver_W]

I find society very intolerant now, especially when it comes to political views, uncontrolled social media doesn't help either

Social media is the cause of a lot of problems in this area. Somewhere along the line, people were made to think their surface level traits were what defined them, instead of being just another aspect of oneself.

If I were to sit down with either of my parents, and tell them I was ashamed of being gay, they'd slap my face and tell me to stop being so stupid. ALSO if I showed up swathed in rainbows and said my name was Gaygay McGay, they'd do the same thing. They understand how little **** like that matters, and how you shouldn't let biological happenstance dictate your life.

It's almost regressive how social media creates the expectation that someone should be defined by that. People figuratively leaping around saying ACCEPT ME YOU BIGOTS when no-one really cares anyway poisons the well.

And when it comes to viotrol toward people with different politics ... The idea of "Everyone I Don't Like Is Hitler (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/everyone-i-dont-like-is-hitler)" used to be a joke, as people would roll their eyes when Hitler comparisons were made, but eventually it became so commonplace that people who used that argument in earnest had decided it was antisemitic :joker:

[Oliver_W]

Have to agree that if I was to pick a 5 year span where most things were on a decent-ish track it would be 2008-2013.


I'd say up to 2012 things were okay but even then cracks were there as to society.

From 2012 onwards however.
Intolerance has taken over, suspicion, distrust and a breakdown on lots of levels.



Tbh I think the world really did end in 2012 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon) and we've been living in Hell World ever since :joker:

[Niamh.]

Tbh I think the world really did end in 2012 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon) and we've been living in Hell World ever since :joker:

bahahahaha good conspiracy theory

[Redway]

what's wrong with Avocado's?


i eat those as well, very healthy for you, loads of vitamins etc

The avocado thing only makes sense when you consider it in the context of millennial culture. Otherwise you won’t get it.

[arista]

2010-2015
Was Conservative-Lib Dem power

Then it was Conservative alone up to now
So it is not 11 Years
Redway

[arista]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative%E2%80%93Liberal_Democrat_coalition_ag reement


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/PM-DPM-St_David%27s_Day_Agreement_announcement.jpg



Redway Ignores who was in power from May 2010

[user104658]

Tbh I think the world really did end in 2012 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon) and we've been living in Hell World ever since :joker:

Well the whole 2012 thing was based on prophecy etc. etc... so you could see it as, the predictions were true, it's just that it was misinterpreted, and 2012 was "the point of no return", which is an end, of sorts, just that things take a while to wind down and don't just end in an instant. Maybe 2012 is when the "show was over" and we're living in a post-credits epilogue scene :omgno:.

[joeysteele]

2010-2015
Was Conservative-Lib Dem power

Then it was Conservative alone up to now
So it is not 11 Years
Redway

Except the Lib Dems were just like a figurehead voting block in that coalition.

They got no real policies implemented that were major ones.

Yes they got a few Ministerial positions and 5 years of appearing to be in power.

However it was in effect a Con government that was able to do all it liked as to its hard-line heartless policies and unnecessary reforms too, on the back of most of the 57 Lib Dem votes.

[arista]

Except the Lib Dems were just like a figurehead voting block in that coalition.

They got no real policies implemented that were major ones.

Yes they got a few Ministerial positions and 5 years of appearing to be in power.

However it was in effect a Con government that was able to do all it liked as to its hard-line heartless policies and unnecessary reforms too, on the back of most of the 57 Lib Dem votes.


Click the Wiki link
it was a Full Conservative -LibDem Power

So its not 11 years

[joeysteele]

Click the Wiki link
it was a Full Conservative -LibDem Power

So its not 11 years

It was officially a coalition yes.

The policies, ALL the major ones were Con ones.
The Lib Dem votes bought for 5 years of coalition with a few crumbs as to policies given.

Anyhow it doesn't really matter, it is 11 years of CON led power.
Under a CON Prime Minister for all of it.
Any way you look at it.

[Crimson Dynamo]

It all depends what you mean by "Society"?

and then how on earth you would quantify "Better" or "worse"

[user104658]

It all depends what you mean by "Society"?

and then how on earth you would quantify "Better" or "worse"

We live in a society.

[Crimson Dynamo]

We live in a society.

we live in houses, in streets, in towns, on islands on earth, in a galaxy in the universe

on top of a giant sea turtle

[Crimson Dynamo]

here is an interesting paper on judging the success of a "society" beyond GDP

https://www.oecd.org/site/progresskorea/globalproject/41684236.pdf

"State of the Union Address, 3 January 1934

… Without regard to party, the overwhelming majority of our people seek a greater opportunity for
humanity to prosper and find happiness. They recognize that human welfare has not increased and does not
increase through mere materialism and luxury, but that it does progress through integrity, unselfishness,
responsibility and justice …"

[Redway]

Worsened.

I think 2016 particularly became a turning point in splitting societies and even families.

I'd say up to 2012 things were okay but even then cracks were there as to society.

From 2012 onwards however.
Intolerance has taken over, suspicion, distrust and a breakdown on lots of levels.

I don't exclude myself from that.
I have got less tolerant too.

It's actually very sad but I can't see it being repaired or rebuilt either.

Yes though, the last coming now up to 10 years have been in my view, the most divisive generated from the top down as to society.

Agreed. 2016 is well overrated.
Not to sound too much like an old fogie............buuuut I really do believe Social media has to take a huge chunk of the blame for dividing people and riling people up

Yup. Millennials feel like they have to live the polished fantasy life that people portray on social media and they go bankrupt in the process.

No 19-year-old lad needs a Mercedes and 8 Gucci belts but that’s what certain corners of Instagram will have them thinking.

That and the fact that every other person seems to want to self-identify as neurodivergent (autistic, ADHD, depressed, etc.), all the while trivialising those conditions.

It all depends what you mean by "Society"?

and then how on earth you would quantify "Better" or "worse"

Being the sort of person I am I’m less interested in governmental/political factors and more interested in people and social trends so that’s what I personally took as hallmarks of society. But you can talk about it from any perspective you want.

And it’s a casual thread on a Big Brother forum. No one’s really asking you to statistically quantify better or worse. All you need to do is give an opinion.

[arista]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative%E2%80%93Liberal_Democrat_coalition_ag reement


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/PM-DPM-St_David%27s_Day_Agreement_announcement.jpg



Redway Ignores who was in power from May 2010


It is not 11 years.
2010 was Conserve-LibDem Power

[Zizu]

Heavy one for a Wednesday night but I’m in one of those thread-making moods and I’ve recently been thinking about how much certain things have changed since 2010 (at least in comparison to how we were envisioning it at the beginning of that new decade).

2020 and 2021 have been write-offs (or at least not what was expected) for pretty much everyone so in theoretical terms we might as well still be at the tail-end of 2019, so if you were to envision/place yourself on or at New Year’s Eve 2019/20 (either with all the knowledge of how things would unfold within the following 22-month period or just taking the 2010s into account), how would you describe the state of society compared to ten years prior with regard to general life and social trends (e.g., broadening of L.G.B.T./gender identities, more political correctness, adult millennial culture emerging)?


I wish I still lived in the 60’s .. much quieter, safer , slower pace .

I’d still want the Fibre Broadband , Sky , Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube though !!


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[user104658]

Agreed. 2016 is well overrated.


Yup. Millennials feel like they have to live the polished fantasy life that people portray on social media and they go bankrupt in the process.

No 19-year-old lad needs a Mercedes and 8 Gucci belts but that’s what certain corners of Instagram will have them thinking.

Not to make you feel old Redway, but the youngest millennials are currently 25 :omgno:. Today’s 19 year olds are very firmly GenZ.

That and the fact that every other person seems to want to self-identify as neurodivergent (autistic, ADHD, depressed, etc.), all the while trivialising those conditions
.

I see this slightly differently actually. I think a combination of poor socialisation in early years + an over reliance on social media has lead to a generation that has a lot of people who are 1) socially awkward and 2) suffer from generalised and/or social anxiety. The combination of those things is symptomatically similar to an autism diagnosis, which is why they believe they actually are neurodivergent, when it’s purely social conditioning.

It’s a bugbear of mine because my youngest is learning disabled with a clinical diagnosis of ASD… but because there are so many anxious teens with no comorbid disabilities self-diagnosing with autism, I feel like I can’t just describe my daughter as autistic. I have to qualify it with “yes, she is ‘properly’ disabled”. People hear “autistic” and think “they’ll be quirky, anxious and shy” not significant neurological disability.

[Oliver_W]

I wish I still lived in the 60’s .. much quieter, safer , slower pace .

I’d still want the Fibre Broadband , Sky , Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube though !!


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Friends sometimes say I was "born in the wrong decade" because most films and music I like are from around the eighties ... BUT if I'd have grown up back then a)I'd have to wait for each thing to come out, rather than having it all available now and b) I'd now be really OLD!

[Niamh.]

Friends sometimes say I was "born in the wrong decade" because most films and music I like are from around the eighties ... BUT if I'd have grown up back then a)I'd have to wait for each thing to come out, rather than having it all available now and b) I'd now be really OLD!It was all part of the enjoyment though, waiting for physical albums to come out, the album covers with the art work and words to the songs etc.

[Beso]

Friends sometimes say I was "born in the wrong decade" because most films and music I like are from around the eighties ... BUT if I'd have grown up back then a)I'd have to wait for each thing to come out, rather than having it all available now and b) I'd now be really OLD!



You would be a happier person though.

[Oliver_W]

It was all part of the enjoyment though, waiting for physical albums to come out, the album covers with the art work and words to the songs etc.
I prefer physical media to digital, and I collect different releases! The few modern things I do like, I do properly :dance:

You would be a happier person though.
Everyone would be happier without social media tbh

[Beso]

Mark Zuckerberg would be a miserable little sod.

[Oliver_W]

Mark Zuckerberg would be a miserable little sod.

As he should be.

[hijaxers]

Mark Zuckerberg would be a miserable little sod.

Is he really happy ? have you read the last words of Steve Jobs , he say's all there is to say about wealth.

[Zizu]

It was all part of the enjoyment though, waiting for physical albums to come out, the album covers with the art work and words to the songs etc.


Twin cassette recorder/players :)


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[Zizu]

I prefer physical media to digital, and I collect different releases! The few modern things I do like, I do properly :dance:


Everyone would be happier without social media tbh


That’s open for debate ..

I personally love social media ... as in TikTok , Instagram, Twitter and YouTube .

I detest Facebook oddly


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[bots]

It was all part of the enjoyment though, waiting for physical albums to come out, the album covers with the art work and words to the songs etc.

i have hundreds of physical albums, i can't remember the last time i looked at them. They are all warping nicely at the back of the garage :laugh:

[arista]

Is he really happy ? have you read the last words of Steve Jobs , he say's all there is to say about wealth.



Yes Mark Z
is happy


His Mother keeps him on the Ground
if she goes
he may not be so cool.

[Niamh.]

i have hundreds of physical albums, i can't remember the last time i looked at them. They are all warping nicely at the back of the garage [emoji23]It's different when you're a teenager though or a teenager in the 90's, music was everything then

[Redway]

Not to make you feel old Redway, but the youngest millennials are currently 25 :omgno:. Today’s 19 year olds are very firmly GenZ.

I’m pretty sure you got the gist of that message either way. Some people use millennial in reference to young people in general because in the most technical sense a millennial is someone who came/will come of age in the early 21st century and that can technically include the year 2049 if we’re really pushing the boat. It’s pop psychologists who think millennial ends at a certain-and-very-definite point in the late ’90s but it’s not as if it or Gen. Z are very scientific concepts in the first place.

[Crimson Dynamo]

It's different when you're a teenager though or a teenager in the 90's, music was everything then

i was thinking about this the other day and I think peak music influence for me was when i was 12-15 -i am very nostalgic for that period

[Niamh.]

i was thinking about this the other day and I think peak music influence for me was when i was 12-15 -i am very nostalgic for that period

I would say a bit later for me probably 14-17

[user104658]

I would say a bit later for me probably 14-17

Yep, lay in the dark as a 15/16 year old with a CD player and headphones, listening to music and feeling like all of the lyrics are about your life specifically. Peak teen angst. Especially if it was after a few too many Budweisers and some high drama at a house party :joker:.

[Niamh.]

Yep, lay in the dark as a 15/16 year old with a CD player and headphones, listening to music and feeling like all of the lyrics are about your life specifically. Peak teen angst. Especially if it was after a few too many Budweisers and some high drama at a house party :joker:.

aww yeah, so much nostalgia back then. I was right bang in the centre of the Grunge era too so maximum angst. Pretty sure Eddie Vedder is one of the only main singers from the bigger grunge bands still alive today, quite a few of them committed suicide :(

[Mystic Mock]

I believe it's worsened and not because of any prejudice towards any group of people (being accepting of other groups of people has been the best part about society over the last few years) I feel like overall people are a lot more miserable and stressed than I remember people being 11 years ago.

Maybe I'm being biased because of my childhood memories of those times, but a lot of people don't seem to know how to have fun nowadays, and tbf with our current Government I can't exactly blame these people for feeling that way.

[GoldHeart]

It's worse now for sure, but I can't pick an option that fits the correct way to describe it.

But this government is utter garbage , Covid / pandemic is something we have to live with now . People are more worried overall and are definitely having less fun than 11 years ago.

I sometimes think about those times and how non of us could have predicted any of this.

[Zizu]

It's worse now for sure, but I can't pick an option that fits the correct way to describe it.

But this government is utter garbage , Covid / pandemic is something we have to live with now . People are more worried overall and are definitely having less fun than 11 years ago.

I sometimes think about those times and how non of us could have predicted any of this.


“The biggest fear is the fear of uncertainty “

Spike Milligan ( or someone else )


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[Redway]

I believe it's worsened and not because of any prejudice towards any group of people (being accepting of other groups of people has been the best part about society over the last few years) I feel like overall people are a lot more miserable and stressed than I remember people being 11 years ago.

Maybe I'm being biased because of my childhood memories of those times, but a lot of people don't seem to know how to have fun nowadays, and tbf with our current Government I can't exactly blame these people for feeling that way.

You’re absolutely right Mock. Capitalism’s been the death of everyone over a certain age in these past five years. There’s no sense of fun outside weekends anymore. You just wake up, grind and tip-toe around everyone so they’re not offended by anything you say.

[Mystic Mock]

You’re absolutely right Mock. Capitalism’s been the death of everyone over a certain age in these past five years. There’s no sense of fun outside weekends anymore. You just wake up, grind and tip-toe around everyone so they’re not offended by anything you say.

Exactly.

[Redway]

To be fair to my poll-point about avocado-trends, avocado oil (the type that Costco sells) is supposed to be da bomb. Naturally healthy and tastes just like neutral vegetable oil when heated up, apparently. I’ll have to test the hypothesis one day.

[Friendlykev92]

Definitely worse I reckon, The world in general seems a very different place to what it was even 6 years ago and certainly not for the better

[Kate!]

Definitely worse I reckon, The world in general seems a very different place to what it was even 6 years ago and certainly not for the better

Oh how I agree.

[Zizu]

It’s getting worse and worse each and every day … and we live in a lovely place in a lovely part of the country .

Gawd help the rest of you !!


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[Zizu]

To be fair to my poll-point about avocado-trends, avocado oil (the type that Costco sells) is supposed to be da bomb. Naturally healthy and tastes just like neutral vegetable oil when heated up, apparently. I’ll have to test the hypothesis one day.


WT actual F has this to do with our society !?


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[Alf]

Depends which way you look at it. In some cases it's worse, but there are positives.

[Alf]

Trump has just ended WWIII with less than 10 fighter pilots. And within a fortnight.

That's a positive.

[The Slim Reaper]

Trump has just ended WWIII with less than 10 fighter pilots. And within a fortnight.

That's a positive.

:laugh2:

[Redway]

WT actual F has this to do with our society !?


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Zizu fails to understand and contextualise basic sub-text yet again. Wow. I’d say I’m shocked but … nah. Clearly not.

You need to get a real grip, you. This is tragic.

[Mystic Mock]

Definitely worse I reckon, The world in general seems a very different place to what it was even 6 years ago and certainly not for the better

Well yesterday, my Brother told me of a woman facing abuse on Social Media because she rescued Foxes.

Sadly it looks like she killed herself, I don't know if it was purely down to the abuse that she was receiving on Social Media, but I bet that it didn't help.

But my point being the fact that people were so upset at someone rescuing Foxes, I honestly don't believe that people would've been so unhinged a decade ago.

[Mystic Mock]

Trump has just ended WWIII with less than 10 fighter pilots. And within a fortnight.

That's a positive.

It weren't WWWIII to begin with.:laugh:

[Redway]

It weren't WWWIII to begin with.:laugh:

Yeah, “Trump” and “positive” don’t go well together. Unless “positive” means testing positive for malignant narcissism tinged with sociopathy.

[BBXX]

I think in some regards it has and some hasn't. I would it say it has gotten worse since around 2017 onwards.

Trump being put into office emboldened the right-wing to hate with fewer consequences, and it also put the left wing into defence mode.

That defence mode was understandable, but pissed off the right-wing and so division grew further and further.

The main issue is social media - it only seems to amplify the most hateful right-wing or the most intolerant left and nothing in-between, which its where 99% of the population sit.

[Jessica.]

Too much hate and ignorance these days but I think it will improve again in a few years as the younger generation ages.

[Ammi]

…it reminds me of that movie quote…’you can’t handle the truth…!!!!!!…’…we don’t live in a world of truth or fact sadly, with social media and much mainstream media also…we live in a world of clickbait and outrage…a world of negative reaction and of divide… because it’s all kind of new virgin unchartered territory with internet influences and internet absorption …it’s hard to say where it will go and lead to..I hope though for our children and their children etc, it will improve…

[Ammi]

…why specifically 11 years, Redway…just out of interest, that seems a bit random…:laugh:..

[Niamh.]

Too much hate and ignorance these days but I think it will improve again in a few years as the younger generation ages.Every generation thinks like that [emoji23] I don't think this is about older generations needing to die out, imo it's because of the era of social media - too much instant news, probably lots of it fake or people looking for stories that confirm their own biases etc, people becoming more nasty because they have the safety of a keyboard in front of them etc etc no "side" is immune from all that (or age group)

[Niamh.]

…it reminds me of that movie quote…’you can’t handle the truth…!!!!!!…’…we don’t live in a world of truth or fact sadly, with social media and much mainstream media also…we live in a world of clickbait and outrage…a world of negative reaction and of divide… because it’s all kind of new virgin unchartered territory with internet influences and internet absorption …it’s hard to say where it will go and lead to..I hope though for our children and their children etc, it will improve…Or what Ammi said [emoji14]

[Glenn.]

Bit of both. We’ve woken up to racism, gender stuff, climate, workers’ rights… but we’re also dealing with more right‑wing hate, rising costs, and online BS

[Mystic Mock]

Yeah, “Trump” and “positive” don’t go well together. Unless “positive” means testing positive for malignant narcissism tinged with sociopathy.

Exactly.:laugh:

[Ninastar]

Bit of both

Both sides of the fun politics have become more extreme. It’s like the worse one gets, the other has to try and upheave them.

In general tho, people are more or less the same as ever. But the only way we can get anyone to change their mind or view on something is to treat them with kindness and educate them rather than call them derogatory names and such

[arista]

It weren't WWWIII to begin with.:laugh:



Yes Alf keeps jumping the Guns