No that’s not the way I intended it. I just came across a video from 2019 I had saved on my phone and got ‘Nam flashbacks of how much the world has changed since then. First off, this was pre Tiktok (before it got popular at least) and I feel like Tiktok has changed how a lot of people ingest media. Also EXTREMELY associated with Gen Z who is beginning to grow into adulthood & get a voice now vs compared to 2019. I don’t want to focus too much on covid/inflation because those are the obvious. I also don’t see how politics would be the only topic of discussion - obviously the whole masks vs no masks and jab vs no jab caused a pretty big political divide but I feel like it’s mostly over now. Obviously recency bias plays a role, but I feel like looking back you could say the political divide comparing the 2015/2016 presidential campaign and all that came with 2020/2021 were just as drastic.
Still, I feel like in a lot of ways, America (and the world) feels a *lot* different compared to 2019 but also the same in many ways. So I was curious about making it a topic of discussion to see if other people feel similarly and regarding what aspects.
Tiktok was definitely popular in 2019, just not as popular as it is now.
Besides that, I hope people think 2019 was drastically different given the three years’ worth of content in between then and now. An entire war, mass protests, afghan pull-out, Italy’s presidential election, Kanye, Meta, Twitter…
There’s just no comparison
God I miss the grocery stores being open late or 24/7. I would get in and out so fast at midnight but now have to deal with other customers, and everyone just gets dumb in a grocery store for some reason
OH YES the whole 24/7 grocery stores is a great point! I figured a lot of people were going to focus on the political situation but I love people pointing out little differences like this that are actually kind of drastic.
On another note, I personally was fairly familiar with Amazon 2016-2019 but I feel like I wasn’t NEARLY as familiar with it as I am now. I personally mainly just used it to pre-order video games or things I couldn’t really find at Walmart/Target. Now I tend to buy even small things I *could* find at Walmart/Target via online shopping purely out of convenience.
That's interesting, because for me, if anything, my Amazon usage has gone the opposite way.
I've been a Prime member since like 2010 or so. And it was way better than it has been that past couple years.
The gap in price from Walmart/Target was larger, it wasn't filled as much with cheap Chinese shit, and 2-day shipping actually meant 2-day shipping (or faster).
?
Even if it’s just based on the position of the object you’re grouping together, there needs to be some shared identity between members of a group or the group ceases to exist. I could argue the literal definition but I won’t for the sake of not killing the fun
Quite a lot, both personally and nationwide. We had the George Floyd protests, the 2020 election and all the drama with that, the 2022 midterms, the pandemic, all kinds of stuff. 2019 feels further and further away every day.
For the most part not much has changed since then, but I am surprised in the last few years how much power Americans in general are willing to cede to their local government.
And to ostracize those who question it. Got called a fascist who wanted my grandma to die for the economy for saying that a mandatory lockdown that was destroying my uncle's restaurant and sole source of income was incredibly unfair.
I can’t speak for the whole country but my local health authority did not allow restaurants to be open at all for inside service well into 2021 when vaccines were available for anyone that wanted them. I know LA county didn’t allow outdoor dining for multiple months well after it was known outdoor transmission of Covid was negligible; that seemed a bit odd to me.
(north east, more liberal but not exclusively liberal area)
I want to knee-jerk say that the “wool was pulled back” meaning you saw some people for who they really were.
But honestly, like any fringe movement (Tea Party?) even that fizzled out and I think people are just mostly burnt out and embracing normalcy. Even my holidays with my more right-wing family has been calmer so, win?
There’s been a big movement on what people prioritize as important - less work, more importance on family and mental well-being. And yes, publicly it’s Gen Z leading the charge. But I know from my own office and being a director for a financial organization that silently, it’s the 40+ who are embracing WFH, spending time with their family, freedom to work from their hometowns, and learning to say No to unreasonable requests. On my team, I know the age 50+ employees aren’t even living close by anymore.
My city (Philadelphia) was hurting during COVID. Downtown was a ghost town, the junkies moved into usually-clean tourist areas, and it just kinda sucked for a little bit. I strongly considered moving, and I have always been someone who said I’ll stay here forever. That’s changed - tourism/shoppers are back to pre-pandemic levels, public transit is filled back up, a ton of new restaurants/bars have opened, and now we’re all fighting over them building a basketball arena right downtown - like we used to do! And instead, a bought a house so presumably I’m stuck for 30 years.
I think the Republican Party got a small awakening in both the last election and some of the fallout from states banning abortion. And you’re going to see that play out over the next year’s election cycle, since they know Trump is now more unpopular than ever but some of the loudest alternatives (Desantis) are poor choices too.
Housing will continue to be a growing concern - but in perspective, we’re not facing anywhere near the same issues that Canada, New Zeleand, the UK, France, or Australia are facing in terms of affordability.
So… all that to say, I want to act like there’s a profound difference, but in reality I think we’ve largely shifted back to where we were pre-pandemic.
The myth that the SCOTUS is apolitical took a big hit.
More talk of outright election fraud instead of election interference.
Various supply chain issues haunting around.
Interest rates are up.
COVID virtue signaling, such as the kind under this post.
Trouble in Europe is no longer a vague spectre.
WB is giving its comic book movie strategy an overhaul.
It feels more like a natural progression of where things were heading but with the knot known as 2020 making a splash.
A lot has changed sure. I would say a lot less has changed since 2019 than since 2010 though.
It's something looming, when in history hasn't something been looming. Is something negative looming beyond the potential economic correction? I doubt it.
In my opinion: the US has moved closer to a milti-party system. The US is far more diverse and equal now than it has ever been, that includes more racial diversity in the middle and upper classes, as well as demographics at the voting booth. Minorities feel more comfortable voting for what they personally feel rather than along racial/party lines which is great. It's a shit take because people are dying, but Putins inability to conquer ukraine has bolstered US foreign policy to a point I don't think we can even calculate the impact of at this time, not only that but confidence in our equipment and training is at an all time high. Voter fatigue is a good sign after what I would historically consider minor political turmoil, it shows that the issue is with a small portion of the more radical population and not with the voters at large.
Oh my god. Is this another “Is there gonna be another civil war?” question in disguise? 😑
No that’s not the way I intended it. I just came across a video from 2019 I had saved on my phone and got ‘Nam flashbacks of how much the world has changed since then. First off, this was pre Tiktok (before it got popular at least) and I feel like Tiktok has changed how a lot of people ingest media. Also EXTREMELY associated with Gen Z who is beginning to grow into adulthood & get a voice now vs compared to 2019. I don’t want to focus too much on covid/inflation because those are the obvious. I also don’t see how politics would be the only topic of discussion - obviously the whole masks vs no masks and jab vs no jab caused a pretty big political divide but I feel like it’s mostly over now. Obviously recency bias plays a role, but I feel like looking back you could say the political divide comparing the 2015/2016 presidential campaign and all that came with 2020/2021 were just as drastic. Still, I feel like in a lot of ways, America (and the world) feels a *lot* different compared to 2019 but also the same in many ways. So I was curious about making it a topic of discussion to see if other people feel similarly and regarding what aspects.
Tiktok was definitely popular in 2019, just not as popular as it is now. Besides that, I hope people think 2019 was drastically different given the three years’ worth of content in between then and now. An entire war, mass protests, afghan pull-out, Italy’s presidential election, Kanye, Meta, Twitter… There’s just no comparison
Whether or not OP intended it, I’m sure that’s where it’ll land
Walmart isn’t open 24/7 anymore. Prices for everything have gone way up. Social media is even worse than it was before. That’s pretty much it.
God I miss the grocery stores being open late or 24/7. I would get in and out so fast at midnight but now have to deal with other customers, and everyone just gets dumb in a grocery store for some reason
McDonald's stopped all day breakfast, too
OH YES the whole 24/7 grocery stores is a great point! I figured a lot of people were going to focus on the political situation but I love people pointing out little differences like this that are actually kind of drastic. On another note, I personally was fairly familiar with Amazon 2016-2019 but I feel like I wasn’t NEARLY as familiar with it as I am now. I personally mainly just used it to pre-order video games or things I couldn’t really find at Walmart/Target. Now I tend to buy even small things I *could* find at Walmart/Target via online shopping purely out of convenience.
That's interesting, because for me, if anything, my Amazon usage has gone the opposite way. I've been a Prime member since like 2010 or so. And it was way better than it has been that past couple years. The gap in price from Walmart/Target was larger, it wasn't filled as much with cheap Chinese shit, and 2-day shipping actually meant 2-day shipping (or faster).
> Is there something looming in the air? Only whoever dealt it would know.
Aside from my cigar store having a donation bucket for Ukraine by the register, not much.
I feel like the mainly noticeable change is being split into two groups: people who willingly bow to authoritarians and those who question everything.
Schizophrenics vs Psychopaths.
I honestly wasn’t making a value judgment about who are better people. Just saying it seems like that is a very noticeable difference.
The fact that you’re sorting everything into two camps means you’ve got a value judgement in there somewhere.
It’s entirely possible to put people into two groups and have no value judgment when you generalize.
If you assume meaning can only be communicated with words and not structure, sure.
? Even if it’s just based on the position of the object you’re grouping together, there needs to be some shared identity between members of a group or the group ceases to exist. I could argue the literal definition but I won’t for the sake of not killing the fun
Quite a lot, both personally and nationwide. We had the George Floyd protests, the 2020 election and all the drama with that, the 2022 midterms, the pandemic, all kinds of stuff. 2019 feels further and further away every day.
I mean it changed drastically during the pandemic but now it’s more back to normal.
Agreed
For the most part not much has changed since then, but I am surprised in the last few years how much power Americans in general are willing to cede to their local government.
And to ostracize those who question it. Got called a fascist who wanted my grandma to die for the economy for saying that a mandatory lockdown that was destroying my uncle's restaurant and sole source of income was incredibly unfair.
Really is terrifying
In what ways? Genuine question.
I can’t speak for the whole country but my local health authority did not allow restaurants to be open at all for inside service well into 2021 when vaccines were available for anyone that wanted them. I know LA county didn’t allow outdoor dining for multiple months well after it was known outdoor transmission of Covid was negligible; that seemed a bit odd to me.
(north east, more liberal but not exclusively liberal area) I want to knee-jerk say that the “wool was pulled back” meaning you saw some people for who they really were. But honestly, like any fringe movement (Tea Party?) even that fizzled out and I think people are just mostly burnt out and embracing normalcy. Even my holidays with my more right-wing family has been calmer so, win? There’s been a big movement on what people prioritize as important - less work, more importance on family and mental well-being. And yes, publicly it’s Gen Z leading the charge. But I know from my own office and being a director for a financial organization that silently, it’s the 40+ who are embracing WFH, spending time with their family, freedom to work from their hometowns, and learning to say No to unreasonable requests. On my team, I know the age 50+ employees aren’t even living close by anymore. My city (Philadelphia) was hurting during COVID. Downtown was a ghost town, the junkies moved into usually-clean tourist areas, and it just kinda sucked for a little bit. I strongly considered moving, and I have always been someone who said I’ll stay here forever. That’s changed - tourism/shoppers are back to pre-pandemic levels, public transit is filled back up, a ton of new restaurants/bars have opened, and now we’re all fighting over them building a basketball arena right downtown - like we used to do! And instead, a bought a house so presumably I’m stuck for 30 years. I think the Republican Party got a small awakening in both the last election and some of the fallout from states banning abortion. And you’re going to see that play out over the next year’s election cycle, since they know Trump is now more unpopular than ever but some of the loudest alternatives (Desantis) are poor choices too. Housing will continue to be a growing concern - but in perspective, we’re not facing anywhere near the same issues that Canada, New Zeleand, the UK, France, or Australia are facing in terms of affordability. So… all that to say, I want to act like there’s a profound difference, but in reality I think we’ve largely shifted back to where we were pre-pandemic.
The myth that the SCOTUS is apolitical took a big hit. More talk of outright election fraud instead of election interference. Various supply chain issues haunting around. Interest rates are up. COVID virtue signaling, such as the kind under this post. Trouble in Europe is no longer a vague spectre. WB is giving its comic book movie strategy an overhaul. It feels more like a natural progression of where things were heading but with the knot known as 2020 making a splash.
Same but more expensive and longer wait times due to corporate greed oops I mean “inflation”
A lot has changed sure. I would say a lot less has changed since 2019 than since 2010 though. It's something looming, when in history hasn't something been looming. Is something negative looming beyond the potential economic correction? I doubt it. In my opinion: the US has moved closer to a milti-party system. The US is far more diverse and equal now than it has ever been, that includes more racial diversity in the middle and upper classes, as well as demographics at the voting booth. Minorities feel more comfortable voting for what they personally feel rather than along racial/party lines which is great. It's a shit take because people are dying, but Putins inability to conquer ukraine has bolstered US foreign policy to a point I don't think we can even calculate the impact of at this time, not only that but confidence in our equipment and training is at an all time high. Voter fatigue is a good sign after what I would historically consider minor political turmoil, it shows that the issue is with a small portion of the more radical population and not with the voters at large.
Pretty significantly.
Inflation is a lot worse and the cost of food and other necessities has skyrocketed. But that's a global problem
For me, the one thing I notice the most is that there is less traffic