Born in '82 - What We Remember
Although I would have loved to participate in the 60s, I'm happy with a 1982 birth. While technically considered a Millennial based on the age range agreed upon by most generation researchers, I've always identified more with Gen X.
We're in the COVID-19 era at the moment and are experiencing life in quarantine. This is week 6. It feels like a real life movie, perhaps what Groundhog Day meets Contagion might look like. Very quickly our reality has flipped upside down, there is no clear end in sight and everyone is asking when/if things will get back to "normal".
Part of what I like about being a 1982 is clearly remembering life before digital technology, the internet and mobile phones completely took over. I got my first phone in 2002 (my soph year of college) and didn't have internet on my phone until 2011, so I experienced my formative years without being tied to a device and remember vividly how marvelous it was. Of course there's no going back no matter how hard anyone tries. It's impossible to efficiently function in society today without mobile tech, but I often think about how I liked life so much more on so many different levels back in the 90s.
1982s also clearly remember what life was like before 9/11, the main change being security. Being able to get on a plane or walk into a concert was a much more pleasant experience than it is today. 9/11 turned many security processes into a cattle herd; it's easy to feel like a farm animal in the TSA line these days. Again, no going back on this one either, it's the new norm.
COVID-19 has the potential to have an even larger impact because it has changed a fundamental part of human life: human contact. It's not out of the realm of possibility to think large gatherings (sporting events, concerts, parades, etc) and physical contact (hugs, kisses, handshakes, etc) will change drastically or entirely. Forget about asking if mosh pits or hot yoga will exist, will anything that involves large groups of people getting together still exist? For us non-germophobes, all of these potential changes sound really, REALLY annoying. I'm annoyed just thinking about the possibility of it and already daydreaming about how great life was in the pre-COVID-19 era.
We're in the COVID-19 era at the moment and are experiencing life in quarantine. This is week 6. It feels like a real life movie, perhaps what Groundhog Day meets Contagion might look like. Very quickly our reality has flipped upside down, there is no clear end in sight and everyone is asking when/if things will get back to "normal".
Part of what I like about being a 1982 is clearly remembering life before digital technology, the internet and mobile phones completely took over. I got my first phone in 2002 (my soph year of college) and didn't have internet on my phone until 2011, so I experienced my formative years without being tied to a device and remember vividly how marvelous it was. Of course there's no going back no matter how hard anyone tries. It's impossible to efficiently function in society today without mobile tech, but I often think about how I liked life so much more on so many different levels back in the 90s.
1982s also clearly remember what life was like before 9/11, the main change being security. Being able to get on a plane or walk into a concert was a much more pleasant experience than it is today. 9/11 turned many security processes into a cattle herd; it's easy to feel like a farm animal in the TSA line these days. Again, no going back on this one either, it's the new norm.
COVID-19 has the potential to have an even larger impact because it has changed a fundamental part of human life: human contact. It's not out of the realm of possibility to think large gatherings (sporting events, concerts, parades, etc) and physical contact (hugs, kisses, handshakes, etc) will change drastically or entirely. Forget about asking if mosh pits or hot yoga will exist, will anything that involves large groups of people getting together still exist? For us non-germophobes, all of these potential changes sound really, REALLY annoying. I'm annoyed just thinking about the possibility of it and already daydreaming about how great life was in the pre-COVID-19 era.
posted by Toastmaster @ 4:59 PM
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