[Broken_Hippo]

And I'm seriously hoping you corrected her romantic view of the past.

Sure, the movies make it seem simple, but... you know, AIDS. It sucked even more if you were queer. "Crack babies" that weren't (that was just poverty we were seeing). Regan starved people with the 'welfare queen' stuff. Misogyny was so much more open.

It wasn't the same. It wasn't better. It was different.

[Thorentis]

It's possible to long for one aspect of the past, without actually wanting to live in the past. If my kid decides that society is better without smartphones, I'm going to be quite proud, and saying "yeah but AIDS" will be the last thing on my mind.

[Broken_Hippo]

I don't expect everyone to think of AIDS specifically, but we all should be immediately reminding ourselves that the past was full of issues and injustices, some of which we do not have today. Long for x or y all you want - they come with the downsides. Were some things better? Sure, possibly. But at what cost?

My comment isn't really about smartphones, but the dangers of rose-colored glasses that tint the past in ways that obscure the downsides and make the positives rosier than they really were.

[grapeskin]

I think young people today wish we could be back in the days of AIDS panic instead of covid panic.

[Broken_Hippo]

So, back to telling folks that if gay men weren't sinning and sleeping with other men, there wouldn't be a disease god sent to wipe out the gay folks? Ignoring that folks were dying because they only saw it with drug users and gay men?

Because that's what the AIDS epidemic was in the 80's.

Edit: I'd add that folks would rather have AIDS from the 80's instead of COVID because for most folks, AIDS wasn't something they thought could affect them.

[grapeskin]

Loads of people today say covid is caused by sinners, 5G networks, a conspiracy to take down Trump, you need 73 boosters until you're finally safe, the world needs to be shut down until we flatten the curve (now until who knows when), etc.

AIDS panic in the west was dumb. Covid panic has become an endless treadmill of insanity pulling in all directions.

[Cthulhu_]

Bruh, seriously?

[Freak_NL]

Smoking. Smoke, everywhere.

[DoingIsLearning]

You say it as if it was all in the past. I remember visiting Austria not so long ago (5 years maybe) and being shocked at the restaurants which still have smoking areas. Whereby the non-smoking area still smells exactly the same! You just don't have someone smoking directly on you.

I remember when the restrictions started in many countries and everyone saying it was draconian, but having experienced the benefits of the restrictions, I can't imagine going back to it.

[someguydave]

AIDS could have been stopped with quarantines like in Cuba.