When were the 'good old days'?

[Lord Percy]

I'm wondering if there was a time when things were genuinely better in society, or if people tend to see things with rose tinted glasses and just pick a time when life was better for them personally.

For me, my 'good old days' were the mid-90s to 2010-ish, after which everything seemed to go a bit downhill.

I suspect I only feel this way because that was my youth and teenage years, so real life hadn't caught up with me yet.

There's also a good correlation between the time at which I started to take note of current affairs, and the time at which I gained a constant sense of 'things getting worse'. Funny that.

[M.C]

Oh yeah watching the news is a bad idea if you want to be happy I'm gonna go full Eeyore here and say things have always been shit, if I had to pick a time I'd say the early to mid 2000s, where everyone seemed to have it a bit better, but then that was also the period where me and my mates were getting robbed, having knives pulled on us, getting beaten up almost daily so it's hard to reminisce.

[Evil Hans]

[M.C]

[Riejufixing]

"The Good Old Days" ran between 1953 and 1983.

HTH.



Clue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZlkScbpwbg

Some rather rude remarks by the audience early on....

[pepperami]

Plenty of times in the past were ‘the good old days’
For example the 70’s were when I discovered bikes
The 80’s , I did a lot of fishing and had a gala
However these times when I discovered bikes and fishing and actually did these pastimes are just small islands in a sea of shit that is my crappy little life

I’ve never been rich enough to enjoy a luxury lifestyle, hey ho!


Can’t think the present will ever be considered ‘the good old days ‘ in the future?
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[P.]

1939-1945.

[chickenstrip]

It depends on what period I set my rose tinted specs to.
I've managed to intersperse the bad times and just plain boring times with periods of enjoyment throughout my life, often by just saving up a bit, then quitting my job to go off and do something.

I could say I'm going through bad times now - skint and a little worried - but even this time I'm using to try to get fit, so it's not a dead loss.

For me, the good ol' days were the mid to late eighties, when I was in a good job and riding lots of different bikes, all of which seemed to have a character of their own.



But then, 2016 and 2017 were my best years for bike touring and exploration, so I could say those were the good, not-so-old days.



I did a lot of long-distance walking from about '98 to 2012, so those, too, were good ol' days for me.

More generally, my interests and outlook haven't changed that much over the years, so I can't really pinpoint a time I'd really say were the good ol' days within my lifetime. I've always kept life simple, and I think that is a key - too much "I want" is likely to leave you feeling miserable when you don't get. When opportunities come, take them, but be flexible in your desires, so you can adjust for changes in circumstances.

TL;DR; the good ol' days come and go. It's just the trick of realising when you're in them, and making the most of it.

I don't think society in this country has really had genuine good ol' days for everyone. When many are doing well, there are always those who don't have it so good.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[bhinso]

I think it's human nature to think everything was better in the past. The brain has a way of remembering good things more than bad.

If you listen to the baby boomers the 'Good old days' were back before we were in the EEC

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

[hellkat]

Now is the best time to be in.
I have a lot of happy (and bad) memories of all my past, what with this and that.

But I got through them, to here and now.
So they can't have been that bad.

"Now" looks fine from here: I'm eating sausage and mash with crunchy onions on top and contemplating the future through rose tinted glasses.

Mustn't grumble.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[bhinso]

I just find it easier to be nostalgic.

I always thought the brain had some sort of mechanism when any severely unpleasant effect was filtered out.

[hellkat]

It does, but sometimes a little assistance "for medicinal purposes only" saves the mechanism from seizing up.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[MarJay]

In terms of my life? Now, without a doubt. In terms of current affairs? Probably that short window between the Berlin wall falling and September 11th 2001. About 12 years of awesome.

It's funny how popular culture went really dark and conspiracy oriented in that time... Now look at us!
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[P.]

[bhinso]

[chickenstrip]

[M.C]

[grr666]

Before everyone got mobile phones.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[bhinso]

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

[M.C]

I like tech I just don't like how mouthbreathers are using it. I genuinely loved how when I first got the internet you could research and dispel all the hearsay and bullshit you get in everyday life, social media's the digitization and dissemination of that BS. Worryingly the media seem to be mirroring this.

[owl]

If Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now is to be believed everything is better than it's ever been and getting better
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Observation is the greatest source of wisdom.