Things I Think We Should Bring Back

Maybe this is a sign that I’m getting older. Or maybe some things were genuinely better and we collectively decided to get rid of them for absolutely no reason.

Actually Owning Things

Remember when you bought a DVD and it was yours? Nobody could suddenly decide it wasn’t available in your country anymore. Nobody could increase the subscription price and hold your favourite show hostage.

Now it feels like we’re renting everything.

I miss owning things.

TV Episodes Releasing Weekly

People love binge-watching.

I love binge-watching.

But there was something special about waiting a week for a new episode. That’s why I loved Welcome To Derry so much.

Now people finish an entire season in eight hours and never speak about it again.

Calling Instead of Endless Voice Notes

I know this is rich coming from someone who avoids phone calls like they’re a medieval curse. But hear me out.

At some point we collectively decided that recording seventeen separate voice notes was easier than having a three-minute conversation.

How?

Why?

When did this happen?

Decorating Everything

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like everything is beige now.

Bring back colour. Bring back weird decorations. Bring back homes that actually look like people live in them.

I want personality.

Weird Local Attractions

Every town used to have something strange. Now everything feels increasingly identical.

Give me weirdness.

Physical Tickets

Concert tickets. Cinema tickets. Theme park tickets.

They used to become little souvenirs.

Now everything lives in an email somewhere.

Internet Forums

Before every conversation happened on the same three apps, the internet felt like a collection of tiny communities.

You found people who loved the exact same strange interests as you.

In fact, I realised I was in labour because of an internet forum I found that was created in 2013. Thank you for that.

Silly School Discos

Objectively speaking, they were terrible.

But I feel like they don’t exist anymore? Do they? I don’t know.

I remember my primary school planning discos for everything. Halloween. Christmas. Got my pen license. You name it.

Recording TV Shows

Nothing built character quite like forgetting to record an episode and having to wait months for a repeat.

Was it inconvenient? Absolutely.

Did it make finally watching the episode feel like a major life event? Also yes.

Anticipation

This is probably the biggest one.

Modern life is built around getting things immediately.

Instant streaming. Instant shopping. Instant replies. Instant entertainment.

And while that’s great most of the time, I think we’ve lost some of the excitement that comes from waiting for something. Sometimes the waiting was part of the fun.

Final Thoughts

Maybe none of these things were actually better. Maybe I just miss being younger.

But I do think we’ve lost some small pieces of joy along the way.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to complain about modern technology while using modern technology.

The cycle continues.