"Going to concerts without 500 smartphones blocking your view, taking videos no one will ever watch."
"Watching TV shows and movies and playing computer games with no spoilers, etc. We didn't know what would happen, and you didn't have months of cast lists and story synopses, etc. Things just happened, and it was much better."
"The 'good kind' of ignorance. By that I mean, not being aware of and exposed to the constant 24-hour news cycle. The news used to be something you watched at the end of the day or read about at your own discretion. People talked about the news, but not with such frequency or exaggerated emotions. Now I'm bombarded with information about wars, terrorism, plague, natural disasters, crimes, acts of cruelty, sex offences, impending climate disaster, the dissolution of society, etc. It's actually impossible to fully escape the news cycle unless you're living off-grid somewhere, completely cut off from the internet, all forms of media, and people. Hearing about all this awful news all the time is really awful for your mental health, and sometimes I think that ignorance must really be bliss."
Concerts and live events were experienced without smartphones obstructing views and without the pressure to record for an unseen audience. Television, movies, and games unfolded without pervasive spoilers or exhaustive pre-release information, preserving surprise. Rapidly expanding social media created incentives to document every moment and seek external validation, erasing much youthful privacy. Constant 24-hour news coverage now delivers relentless information about disasters, crimes, and crises, increasing anxiety and eroding mental health. Personal, tangible exchanges such as receiving handwritten letters and practiced penmanship have declined as typing and digital communication replaced analog habits.
Read at BuzzFeed
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