What’s so Bad About Modernity?
You may have heard the expression “the good old days”, or perhaps heard people laud the times of their youth in comparison to the times we live in now. It is a common sentiment that things were simply better some number of decades ago depending on the preferences of the person you’re asking. I myself have been a staunch proponent of this position for much of my life, despite never living in any other time than the present. Contrary to the typical formula, it is only now that I have some measure of past life experience to reflect on, that I feel it is time to abandon this way of thinking.
Cool Bus - Pentax K1000 - Kodak Gold 200
Something that made me question my idea that the times I am living in are necessarily the worst, is that when you inquire about what time period exactly those “good old days” were, you will get different answers. I’ve been told that the 1950s were the best time to be alive and young, I’ve also been told that the 1960s were. There are those who loved the 70s, and my own father believes the 80s to have been the best time. Now as Millennials and Gen X begin to age, we are beginning to see more widespread 90s nostalgia, and in some rare cases, the beginning of nostalgia for the time I was a child. It was when I saw one of my peers first use the “good old days” that it all began to unravel for me.
Pessimistic Gas Station - Pentax ME - Kodak Gold
This was when I realized, the “good old days” is whatever time in your life happened to be the most fun for your personally and is only tangentially related to the year it happened to occur in, or what trends, technologies, or media you experienced in those times. It was never the case that the 80s music and better-looking cars were what made those times the favorite of many, because it is all still here if you want it. You can buy a 1987 Corvette today for a lower price than when it was new, you can put a Pat Benatar cassette tape in, drop the top, and have every experience that you wish you could have had in the 80s, right now, if you really want it.
The same is true of the 50s, one could say what a great time it was to be alive, and for many it was, but today the obstacle to replicating that standard of living is more the personal preferences of modern living than it is the state of the economy. In those days, most 2-child families lived in a 3 bed, 1 bath, sub-1000 square foot home on a single income. When you consider they often only had one, or two cars at the most, didn’t pay for day care, had two or three major household appliances, didn’t pay for subscription services, didn’t use credit cards, didn’t pay for online shopping, and ate at home 90% of the time, one begins to understand how this was possible, and still can be, even with a wild housing market. To have those things today undoubtedly takes a lot of discipline and an extreme effort, but all aspects of life required more effort and attention in that time as well. The most convenient and easy life possible is not necessarily going to be one that is rewarding, or one that perfectly fulfills all your desires.
The truth is revealed when you actually pursue these things. You can completely adopt the aesthetics, culture, and media of a decade you believe to better than now and live that life. What you’ll find is that it wasn’t the stuff that made those the good old days. It wasn’t the cars, or the music, or the fashion, it was the idea of you having fun, hanging out with friends, not being worried all the time, having hope for a better future, living in the moment, and making wonderful memories that are worthy of nostalgia.
Good Old Days by the River, 2025 - Pentax ME - Kodak Gold
My point being that what denotes a good time is relative, it is now upon us to create “the good old days”. It is time for us to evaluate our daily lives and question what it is that we will remember fondly 20 years from now, and what is not memorable at all. I’ve decided for myself that for all intents and purposes, the best times of my life are now, the best time to make memories is now, and that those “good old days” are any days that I spend doing the things I love with the people I love. I was born at precisely the right time to be me, enjoy the things I enjoy, and if something could be better, perhaps I should do something to improve it. Gen Z isn’t missing out on anything, it is just our turn to make good times and remove the distractions and limitations that make us think we can’t. If I believe that the good old days are still ahead of me, and live my life accordingly, then that will most likely be the case.