A few technological aspects of life are incredibly easier and more accessible. We have instant access to any form of information, from porn to encyclopedia articles. Comparing prices and ordering things - commonly called "mail order" 30 years ago - took weeks compared to a couple days now. Communication is far easier and cheaper - talking between San Francisco and Stockholm or Singapore would have cost several dollars per minute 30 years ago, and now it's a built-in feature of network access. Most of us have in our pockets a telephone, photo/video camera, advanced computer, entertainment and game console. There have also been some notable medical advances - my friend died from leukemia in the 90s, and it's very treatable now, along with various kinds of tumors.
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HA no. I was there, it was... Well differently bad, maybe less in aggregate. Cultural attitudes really took a HARD turn when 9/11 happened, and the government abused it just about as hard as they could think of. President Obama did try to bring back some of that 90s optimism, but then along came Trump and ground it into dust.
Yes, 30 years ago the AIDS crisis was still going strong and, in the US at least, same-gender relationships were illegal and the LGBT community didn't have a right to work, and on top of that same-sex marriage was illegal. A lot of rights are rolled into marriage, including the ability to remain at the bedside of your loved-one when they are at the hospital or on their deathbed, arranging and/or attending your partner's funeral, and being allowed to remain in your house after your spouse dies. Through the 80s and 90s, gay men were losing partners left and right and some were kicked out of their partners' funerals and then kicked out of the house they had lived in for decades because the title was in their partner's name since they couldn't sign together.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was also started in 1994.
Same sex relationships weren't made legal until June 26, 2003 (Lawrence v TX) Same Sex Marriage on June 26, 2015 (Hodges v Obergefell) Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace was barred in the US June 15, 2020 (Bostock v Clayton)
Even with all the holes Republicans drilled into it, the Affordable Care Act helps many people get health insurance. We also have medication that prevents the transmission of HIV and that prevents the onset of AIDS, saving many lives.
In 1995, the internet was in its infancy, at least compared to today and was largely text-based. If a website had a bunch of pictures, it took take 5-15 minutes to load depending on your location, provided nobody killed the connection with an incoming call.
Sure the mindset nowadays is much more pessimistic, even thought the ruling class from the 90s is aging out of power. We just need people ready to push us forward as more of the silent generation and baby boomer politicians leave office.
You're right that a lot has changed for the better, especially when it comes to legal rights for LGBTQ+ people. The AIDS crisis was devastating and compounded by the cruelty of being denied the most basic recognitions like visiting your partner in the hospital or even being allowed to stay in your home after they passed. Legal victories like Lawrence v. Texas, Obergefell, and Bostock were historic, and they represent real, hard-won progress.
But I think it's also important to recognize that legal inclusion doesn't always mean liberation. A lot of those rights are still tied to institutions like marriage, which leave out anyone who doesn't fit that mold. Marriage shouldn't be the gateway to healthcare or housing security. That just reinforces the idea that some relationships or lives are more worthy of protection than others.
Same goes for healthcare. The Affordable Care Act helped, but it still left healthcare tied to jobs and profit. Life-saving medications exist, but they’re still out of reach for many because of how expensive and inaccessible our system is. PrEP, for example, is amazing in what it can do, but the fact that it's rationed through patents and insurance barriers says a lot about who this system really serves.
And while the internet has opened up huge spaces for connection and organizing, it also turned our identities into data and our attention into profit. Social media connects, but it also surveils and exploits. So even in our victories, the system keeps finding ways to profit off our survival.
I think the pessimism today is more than just a vibe shift. People feel it because they know deep down that we’re still not free. That our progress is fragile, often built on the same systems that oppress others. The question isn’t just whether things are better. It’s whether we’re building something that won’t keep leaving people behind.
Life and the world wasn't as dangerous. It was easier, less stressful. Simpler 😊
In the 90s, people's minds were blown by Crash Bandikoot, now I play Balatro and Hollow Knight. Sometimes I play The Finals, a 3D game so realistic you need to use a sniper scope to see textures, and buildings can be completely destroyed every match. While this may blow the minds of most people in the 90s, honestly it doesn't even phase me, Balatro and Hollow Knight are so good, I prefer them most days.
Yeah, this is way better.
Yeah it’s better than in 1995.
- Vehicles have gotten much more efficient, quieter, and safer (for the occupants)
- Electric-assist bicycles
- Smartphones and fiber internet
- Making orders, reservations, and appointments online rather than with agents or phone calls
- Less crime
- More organic food choices
- Better coffee roasters
- More artisan bread bakers
- More locally made fine beer, wine, and cheese
- Less air pollution (including cigarette smoke)
- Better television and movies at home
- Affordable solar energy, batteries and off-grid living
I’m sure there more I’m not thinking of. I’d have a hard time going back to 1995.
Smart phones are a negative, not a positive
Without elaboration all you're saying is smart phones are poopy.
I like having a high quality camera, mp3 player, and gps in my pocket.
Apart from cigarette smoking inside again I wouldn't really miss those that much
I miss the wild west internet of the late 90s, early 2000s but it wasn't better. Dial-up sucked.
I guess it depends on the person. 30 years ago, I was actually living and working in the US. I was driving a 1988 Volvo 760. I was still driving it 10 years later; best car I've ever had. Gas was under a buck. Interest rates were so high that once I got some savings, I lived off the interest and ended up saving 80% of my salary (years later, when the rates went down, I used those savings as a down payment for my house). I could get lost for a full day at Borders. I was able to hitchhike up the east coast, get odd jobs without any resumes or background checks, while on a road trip across the continent. There was a lot of new and exciting technology: CD's and discmen, computers and the beginnings of the Internet. I read the news via Gopher (unless it was Sunday, then I bought the papers for grocery coupons). I feel that now there are too many limits on people. Lots of them are self-inflicted: I'm middle aged and with kids, so I need to be far more responsible. But when I look at my kids, I feel that they won't have the same opportunities I had, for travel, education, personal growth, or independence.
While medical advanced have improved, acces to medical treatment, at least in the US has declined. What good are cures and treatments that most of the population cannot afford? To me it's just as bad as not having them, or even worse.
Yes. You can fit all the great music from the 90s and before in your pocket now. You can also get newer music if you want but it's up to you. Lemmy is better than a lot of the old forums.
You don't have to use social media, I don't. Information is far more available now than it was 30 years ago.
I was around for that time, and yes in many ways the world is better now, it's a mixed bag but:
My kids were not beat up in school for being queer.
The bay is much cleaner (though that is going in the wrong direction)
Solar power has come down in cost so much that there is hope for the clean energy transition to accelerate.
I was literally paid less than the men doing the same job I was doing, openly, in the early 1990s. And there was smoking in offices.
Violent crime is much less prevalent than it was back then. My kids don't have to be as careful or afraid as I was.
Overall - I don't think it is useful to be nostalgic, there are enough changes in a positive direction, sure we had more hope for the future in the 1990s but the reason we needed it was because things were kinda shitty.
Yup, 100%. Gotta acknowledge the mixed bag.
It's almost certainly better today for anyone who is gay or trans than 30 years ago. We have a long way to go, and there may have been some backsliding in the last 5 years, but things are undeniably better today than in the 90's.
Certain aspects of race are better today. As recently as 1993, a majority of Americans still believed that interracial marriage should be illegal.
Food is way better. Back in the 90's, there wasn't a ton of variety in restaurants available in all except the biggest cities, and a lot of food trends were still boring with flavor (plus we were still in the low fat craze that made things taste worse). Even groceries were pathetic in comparison: fresh produce didn't have nearly as many choices, and was expensive, so most people were eating canned and frozen produce by default. Little things like being able to choose apples that weren't red delicious, or potatoes that weren't russets, tend to be taken for granted today.
Health and safety are better in most ways, but worse in some others. Obviously obesity and related diseases are worse today. So are some conditions like allergies, certain autoimmune disorders, certain cancers. But most cancers are less deadly today than 30 years ago. Traumatic injuries from workplaces and car accidents are down, and are better treated. And the huge diversity in the population for health means that a lot of people are living healthier than ever, even while a lot of people are less healthy than before. Life expectancy keeps creeping up in the cities, health expectancy seems to be up, too.
Air quality seems way better, with smog and acid rain pushed down with successful regulations. And people don't smoke as much anymore, especially indoors.
We can pursue our diverse interests from anywhere. If you drill down on pretty much any hobby, people who are really into that hobby have way more opportunities to share in that interest with people worldwide.
There's a bunch of bad stuff, too. But we should also appreciate the good things that have improved in recent times.
30 years ago? So 1995. As one who was there: fuck no. The 90s where cool, everything seemed fixed, osties travelling through Europe in their Trabant 2 stroke miniature cars. (That was fun on the Autobahn) Only Saddam was jerking around and that was far away, internet was brand new, everything seemed possible. No terrorist threat of the RAF, IRA or the bask separation front. There was even hope for peace in Israel.
But if you would say 40 or 50 years ago? I would say fuck yes. It's much better nowadays.The cold war was wild. The recession of the 80s was bleak af, Thatcher, Reagan. PLO, RAF, IRA, Basks. No man, there was a reason behind films like aliens, Terminator and punk music. Why they resonated with society at that time. Contrary to current popular belief the 80s was not a decade long neon party. Many people lost their jobs. Youth unemployment was at it's highest ever. No jobs, no houses available. It was dark. Darkest time of my life. Everyone thought nuclear war was inevitable. We would all die of radiation or in the cold harsh nuclear winter. Yup. That was the Outlook at that time.
70s was the all time high of the cold war, oil crisis, something else i'm forgetting. But I was a small child back then so everything about that era is hearsay.
But for me? The 90s where good. 80s sucked hard. (End) 70s also had a lot of downs.
Yes and no. Some things got better and easier than 30 years ago. Some things entshittified beyond reasonable expectations.
We got phones which act as a device to connect the world with endless amount if information, entertainment and is a great tool for personal comfort yet the same things are twisted to a degree where we cant live without a phone anymore. Can't not to have a social media account, we got fully compliant to the surveillance that is happening to us not even that we are tracked not only for the governments of our countries but mainly by advertisers in order to manipulate us into buying crap we don't need.
Feels like a double edged sword to me personally.
Yes, everyone will say "civil rights improved"
Gay marriage was only legalized due to a Supreme Court decision that declared same sex marriage bans to be unconstitutional.
Since then, Republicans have appointed replacement justices, and it was they who overturned Roe v Wade and upheld a lot of Trump's recent antics.
I was very happy in the mid 90's. It was my prime time with my friends. Mid-20s and high on life.
Now, I need to put in a lot more effort to be happy and have fun. I am grateful that many of those great friends are still in my close circle.
Yeah a lot of people in this thread seem to be comparing their personal good ol' days with now, rather than thinking broader.
Yes, the ozone hole is healing, we have less lead in the environment coming from leaded fuel, cars in general have become more fuel efficient, there are plenty of things that are way better now, than 30 years ago.
There is great music being made here in 2025, though the general music taste has stagnated for a long time.
Medical procedures have absolutely got better, as has tech in general, in 1995 we used CRT monitors with our computers, we used ball mice that constantly needed to be cleaned.
This is just some of the things that have improved.
But you could throw the mouse ball at someone across the classroom. Throwing an optical sensor doesn't have the same impact.
The teachers at my school had a very smart idea of using super-glue to seal to ball cover to prevent students stealing and/or throwing the balls.
After about a week the every computer mouse was basically useless as it was impossible to clean the gunk off the rollers
Thank you. It's hard to see what's better sometimes but I have definitely benefited from a surgery that was "dark ages" 30 years ago.
Medical technology has greatly improved. More people survive cancer, aids, surgery is far less invasive, and better medications.
Technology in general is getting better.
We have a faster internet. I love having access to so much information. Sure, there are far more gullible fools who believe in all manner of silly stuff but I feel the internet has done more good than bad.
Medical technology has greatly improved.
If you can afford it. Health insurance in the US was certainly better 30 years ago.
Life expectancy has gone up about 2 years since 1995 (from 76 to 78). Not a massive difference TBH.
What about people's overall health? Two years isn't much but if a person's last ten years is lived with less pain and more mobility that is something.
Look at that dip right before 2020! Wonder why America dipped so much lower. Surely, face-masks as a way to prevent the spread of infectious disease wasn't suddenly a controversial issue!
The one grape I have with the medical technology thing is the fact that if I used any of it I would be in debt for the rest of my life which would be longer because of the technology
That is only an America problem though
True
Do you have any other fruits with medical tech?
I've goyes. A pineapple t a pineapple with an
Since it hasn't been mentioned, one thing that I am truly thankful for that we have improved since the 1990s is public smoking. Not having to be prepared for the reek of cigarettes in virtually every public space is such a big win.
Hell, in 1990, which is 35 years ago, you could still smoke on airplanes in the US. Airplanes! Can you imagine flying back then? Your neighbor could light up and there was nothing you could do but sit there and stew in the smoke stream. I'm glad I never had to experience flying with smoke but I had my fair share of being forced to sit in smoking sections of restaurants until my teenage years.
Can you imagine back then? Your neighbor could light up and there was nothing you could do but sit there and stew in the smoke stream
It wasn't just flying. I grew up in the 90s, and you could smoke in so many places, it was awful. I was so happy listening to my mother bitch and complain when they banned smoking in establishments entirely. I could finally breathe, and she had to go outside to keep killing herself (unless we were at home or in the car, in which case there was still nothing I could do but stew in the smoke).
Depends who you ask. Things are better for the LGBTQ+ community. Still not as they should be, but I see a generation of kids now who are accepting, whereas 30 years ago, it was the worst thing anyone could accuse you of.
You say that civil rights may go away, but we do have them right now, and as our kids get older, they might not be so willing to take them away.
The sheer amount of street level crimes, bar fights, car break-ins that existed in those days would blow your mind. Things have changed so much and yet everyone seems to have forgotten. I can't speek for the 'worst' neighbourhoods in the US nowadays but back in the 70s - 80s whole sections of US cities were shitholes. Media make's everything look way worse than reality.
I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this but 30 years ago was the mid 90s, not the 70s-80s
Crime in 1995 was...let's just say... fucking worse in virtually every category...by a lot. Waco and ruby ridge had just happened. As for poverty, there are the same number of people on poverty in 2023 a there were in 1995. Let's talk violence against women. It's tragic today at shockingly high rates. It was much worse in 1995.
Don't be a woman, or a non white man, or poor, or non cis and you are probably just fine back in 1995.
...cept for abortion. Fuck Trump.