They get too depressed to click

Hell, I'm generation X and we were worse of than or parents and it's gotten worse since. I could realistically get a low wage job with a high school equivalent education back in the nineties. My parents got steady jobs on the same AND bought their own house.

So you'd rather live in your grandparents' era?

They had twice as many water fountains back then. Much easier to stay hydrated.

@scatmandingo- quite a witty subversion. Two thumbs up.

To the question of wether we are better off than our grand parents in GENERAL... yes and no. Polio, TB, Cancer, GI disorders and those with mental or physical health issues... prognoses have become so much better as have the ability to enjoy a “regular” life. We have the internet, cars are safer, planes and trains are safer. Travel is faster, most people have better opportunities to see or visit places far away and the world at large. The average person has more exposure to different cultures and ideas. We have conveniences in our daily lives that have not only made many things so much easier- but they have also made even many common tasks that were once dangerous safe enough for a baby practically.

The environment has its issues. There are more people- more congestion, more competition for resources and jobs and such. Better...? We have largely decreased the quality, craftsmanship, and significance of small and medium items while increasing the quantity the average person owns. The closets in old homes can barely fit a wardrobe of a single person but are often meant for a married couples shared belongings. You’ll probably own more shoes and pants and shirts than Grandma/Grandpa ever did. You’ll probably have more cars available to the household than they did. More televisions. Certainly more computers and video games. You’ll very likely consume more calories in your life than they did.

Is it better? I don’t know. Can we judge it on wether you’d live in their time? Would they want to live in ours? Maybe not- given how many older people talk about how much better things were in their day, or fight tooth and nail to keep things the same as they were for them. But of course- that could also just be because as humans we are biased to the familiar. Getting many people to use computers or technology- the “dad and dog he didn’t want” memes... often what we will say is “better” is that which involves the least change or unknowns right?

Some things are better, some things are worse. It’s not too hard to understand.