I don't think that there ever really were good old times. I think that nostalgia helps to fool ourselves into thinking the past was better than it was.

I don't think any rational person would want to go back to the times when slavery was legal, women couldn't vote, churches had all the power.

You couldn't immediately access whatever music you wanted, whatever information you wanted, no matter where you were.

You had to carry money everywhere you went, because banks didn't share information, sometimes banks didn't even recognize currency printed by opposing banks.

Medical technology was a joke compared to today.

I know I'm mixing some time periods, just covering all the bases. The fact is, we have a much better life today than ever before in history.

I live in the present - returning to the past doen't make sense to me.

There are aspects of both the past and present that I would prefer.

They may have seemed simpler at the time but in actuality, they weren't.

Living in the now!

I'm divided, but lean towards modern day. I'd hate to be without modern technology. I'm still quite frustrated that the Worldwide Web hadn't evolved well enough to help me figure out my gender identity and sexuality back in my teens and twenties. If it had, my life would have been very different. Not necessarily better, but certainly different.

But I feel sorry for my son. 13 years old tomorrow. His social network is almost entirely electronic. At age 6, I was out on my bicycle all day. If my mum was lucky, I'd have told her where I was going and I'd have stuck to the plan. But once out and roaming around, anything could happen.

Now, their feet are practically nailed to the floor. We're all petrified of the child molesters who were always out there, but who now have the publicity. And since nobody else is letting their kids go free range these days, that makes yours all the more likely to be a target if you break the mould. I think he's more than ready for less supervision, but to give him more freedom would make me 'a bad parent.'

If we could have today's technology with yesterday's freedom, then that would be the best time to be alive.

good old days are for people with selective memories !

This sentiment is called Juvenoia. And every generation acquires it.

Socrates: "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

1900's Romain Rolland: "[people of the younger generation are] passionately in love with pleasure and violent games, easily duped."

In 1871, the Sunday Magazine published something that is relevant today in regards to texting. "Now we fire off a multitude of rapid and short notes, instead of sitting down to have a good talk over a real sheet of paper."

VSauce, an educational YouTuber, aka Michael Stevens, published a video essay on this several years ago.

(This comment was largely copied from a previous comment that I made on a similar question from a couple of months ago.)

The good old days never really existed. Everything is whitewashed by time and storytelling.

The past. Modern society is degenerate and shameful.

For me, it's all about the present. I like the fact that fifty percent of children don't die before they're five. I like the fact that the vast majority of women survive childbirth, and that women are no longer expected to produce another baby every year from age 14-30, and can vote, and can own property, and that their husbands aren't allowed to rape them (in progressive countries, anyway), and that women can vote. I like the fact that men can vote too, rather than just the aristocratic ones; and the fact that the majority of men understand that beating their partner is not acceptable. It's good that poor children receive an education (but it's shocking that rich children still get a better one. It's good that black people are no longer kept as slaves, and that when someone argues that Jews are responsible for all the world's problems everyone else says they're a nutjob racist instead of launching a pogrom, and that homosexuals are no longer imprisoned for being homosexual - and and I'm very glad that anyone who dislikes other human beings because of the colour of their skin, their race, their religion or their sexuality and feels that physical violence is acceptable will rapidly find out it isn't and will be imprisoned. I like having water I can drink without getting cholera, I've very much enjoyed never having smallpox, polio or bubonic plague. I love being able to talk to people I'd never otherwise have met on this site.

And I can think of many more... in fact, I fail to see what was so good about the good old days.

it's all perspective

I don't really think about it, I was born when I was born. I've made choices to live differently than most Americans, but I don't think less of people for the choices they make. (Well, maybe I do, they're sheeple ) Things weren't necessarily simple or better in the old days. People died from minor crap that we can take care of simply now. JFK's baby died of Hylaine Memebrane Diesease which now we call IRDS Infant Respriatory Distress Syndrome. In 1957 95% of babies with HMD died. Today 95% of babies with IRDS survive. Women had fewer rights, Women stayed married becasue they had no choice. I needed my dad's signature when I was 18 to join the Army because I am FEMALE. OMG, that helped to clarify, for all the shit that is happening in the world, I'm so glad I wasn't born in my grandmother's day.

How about both?

Now. I have more technology than I can use, but I can still write a letter by hand or knit something when the urge strikes.

The good old days weren't so good when they were happening. Looking backward prevents appreciation of today.

It doesn't matter. There are trade-off in almost everything. It is seldom simple when human beings are involved regardless of technology.

I kinda doubt that everything was simple in the good old days. We get to pee inside now. That's a good thing, especially after day, when it's below freezing..

Yeah I don't think there was "good old days". There were certainly parts I'd go back to if I could, though...Theres a lot of first time experiences I'd like to have again. (No, not that kind of experience )

But like, playing a video game or reading a book or watching a movie that moved you more than any piece had done before. and you want that feeling back

I owuld like a cleaner world things have changed so much even in my lifetime, would love to have seen this country as my grandparents did,

I like now but things are not the same or improved with our technologies. In my days work was easy to find and even minimum wage was sufficient.
Money was not that much of a frightening thing.

The good old days. Less asshurt. I just wish I could live the life I'm living now at a younger age. I'm behaving like a horny, drunken, stupid teen on Spring Break and I'm 42.

Here we are. its called the past for a reason. I think my 86 year old mother has seen the very best of this planet.