[gnramires]

> Can you think of other activities that require this?

Well, reading books (and other documents). I also am suspicious of screens (and specially spending too much time on them... I'm certainly guilty), but the existence of books is somewhat confusing in this regard. However, I really don't think the population as a whole was reading quite as many books/documents as we today use digital devices or social media. That could be cutting into other things, like sun exposure, exercising, perhaps face-to-face social relationships, social support networks.

Something I've noticed since about that time as well is a growing unease and pessimism with our collective future (and even present!). Some things are bleak (like climate change, uncertainty with technologies, etc.), but there's a sense of little hope that definitely should have an impact on the youth. I remember the 90s as a quite hopeful time and that definitely had an impact on my mood. My personal contribution would be spreading more hope about life.

My favorite author w.r.t. this right now that I recommend is Jane Goodall:

https://bookwyrm.social/book/391141/s/the-book-of-hope

[andai]

Growing up in the 2000s I remember there was much more excitement and optimism for the future. Now it seems to range from cynicism to dread to abject paranoia. Or perhaps my liberal use of cannabis in my younger years shifted me into a more paranoid timeline... alas!

Re: books being less stressful, I think e-ink is a great example. It feels more solid, more permanent, even though the text changes when you swipe the page. It seems to be a combination of the "paper" look making it seem less virtual (than the blinkenlights matrix), and the impossibility of scrolling on e-ink making it by necessity a more calming medium.

Real books are even better, of course, in both regards, but can't compete on price / delivery time.

[atq2119]

Just as another point of anecdata, I feel the same way in terms of optimism that has shifted more towards dread. It's definitely not cannabis use. It may be a general en fecha of getting older, though.

[andai]

Yeah that's a limitation of my memory, my brain was completely different than it is now! It might be that 8 year olds today feel the same excitement for the future that me and my friends did back then.

I sure hope so, but I find it hard to imagine. Most of my excitement came from the constant positive science news at the time. Seems all I hear now is bad news.

[kenjackson]

> Some things are bleak (like climate change, uncertainty with technologies, etc.), but there's a sense of little hope that definitely should have an impact on the youth. I remember the 90s as a quite hopeful time and that definitely had an impact on my mood. My personal contribution would be spreading more hope about life.

I was a child in the 70s/80s and I was in constant fear of Nuclear War/Winter. The level of fear in kids of that generation I suspect is as bad as any generation after.

[MetaWhirledPeas]

> Something I've noticed since about that time as well is a growing unease and pessimism with our collective future (and even present!).

This is why I like movies and stories about the world coming together to overcome great difficulties. Like Pacific Rim, for instance. I'd love to hear more stories like that, no matter how far-fetched. I'd especially like to get some of the pariah states (North Korea, Iran) to be welcomed in for some more team high-fives. We really do need optimistic visions of the future to keep us going.

[geenew]

> reading books

Not sure how much currency this has lately, but back at the dawn of Web 2.0, this was well-known comedy. Relates 'books' to 'tech'.

Medieval helpdesk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ