I'm not sure where this thread is heading, since it's a very open-ended topic. Does anyone else notice a stark difference in life dynamics before and after 2013?
Pre-2013 felt like institutions still had intent in trying to keep things civilized, even if they were failing miserably at doing so. Gaming and Youtube weren't that bad yet, and social media was not all-consuming. People were noticeable less neurotic.
Now, I'm not gonna be some retarded coper and say that my life was good before 2013 - it wasn't by any stretch, but there are some keypoints I'd like to share:
Pre-2013 felt like institutions still had intent in trying to keep things civilized, even if they were failing miserably at doing so. Gaming and Youtube weren't that bad yet, and social media was not all-consuming. People were noticeable less neurotic.
Now, I'm not gonna be some retarded coper and say that my life was good before 2013 - it wasn't by any stretch, but there are some keypoints I'd like to share:
- I was never called an overcompensating loser for getting good grades while being a sub5. Perhaps people thought that back then, but simply never voiced their true opinions. Nowadays anything goes, if I do ANYTHING right as a sub5, I either get ignored or accused of overcompensating and being a tryhard.
- I was never called a "disgusting disappointment" by my parents, and back then none of us knew about my health issues. Fast forward to 2026, I have all the medical records to prove that I was suffering, and yet no one cares. There even seems to be a 'schadenfreude' element, where they are glad I was ill in the first place instead of them, because that was the reason why I was so easy to control and manipulate.
- Society wasn't as vicious towards manlets compared to today. There were comments and jokes made about me, but they were really subtle. Nowadays, it's anything goes, and I pretty much can't leave the house without earbuds to keep me distracted.
- Gaming wasn't as flooded with microtransactions and lootbox systems. If woke elements were present in some games, they were really subtle compared to the meat & potatoes of the main storylines. Games were also less buggy on launch and more reasonable hardware requirements.
- Institutions still attempted to do their job, even if they failed miserably. Now many of they don't do jack shit and they're still getting paid by my taxes.
- Public transport was still usable. Not perfect, but things don't need to be perfect anyway
- Higher availability of public toilets, which fostered healthy habits concerning water consumption. Nowadays there's less toilets, and the ones that still exist, you have to pay to use them. If you instead choose to pee outdoors, you need to be very careful to not get caught, as you might be facing Indecent Exposure/Public Indecency/Sexual Assault or Harassment charges. You get labeled the same as actual rapists.
- Better privacy. Nowadays I always get the feeling that some Zoomer's recording me or taking photos of me without my consent, perhaps in an attempt to make me a lolcow (I am short and ugly after all, so I kinda get why they would do something like this).
- News on television had actual information and data on them, that you could extract and use to make decisions in everyday life. Now most of it is fake news or sponsored content.
- Youtube was in an interesting sweet spot. It had some interesting monetization features without the rampant banning & shadow-banning we see today. The content that got promoted was reasonably varied. Nowadays it's all essay-style videos and NOT EVERYONE IS GOOD AT DOING THESE TYPES OF VIDEOS, but they just bend the knee to the algorithm anyway.
- People would generally leave you alone and not look at you if you were a loner, unless they were actual bullies anyway. Nowadays I get stares of disgust and confusion from people, as well as unsolicited questions regarding where I work and how much money I earn (because they're looking for a human ATM). I can't remember the last time I sat down in a bench without feeling neurotic.
- Cost of living & buying property. Doesn't need to be explained.
- Less intrusive hiring processes, and less requirements. Better job conditions and salaries.
- "Why don't you have a girlfriend?" "Why didn't you travel" "Why this" "Why that" questions were less common.
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