Date: September 12th, 2026 1:46 PM Author: Richard Ames
This is the actual truth. Technology had basically a 25 or so year run of finding a balance between being useful and fun without bleeding into all of life.
1985, with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US, could be the real starting point. With the end point around 2006, just before the iPhone released.
::puts on YouTube video simulating playing SNES on a CRT tv in a mid-90s family room::
Date: September 12th, 2026 8:01 PM Author: harsh stain
100% this. There were emails and instant messages but you weren't expected to be checking for them 24/7. They were mostly a/s/l type bs. We had Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft without subscriptions or microtransactions or any such bs.
The best part was that most proles simply didn't participate in things like the internet. As a result, the elites didn't focus on controlling every aspect of it the way they do now.
Date: September 12th, 2026 1:53 PM Author: Iridescent rigor
Y2K era was just as good or in certain ways even better IMO, but pre-2012 life feels eerily Majora’s Mask-ian to me in retrospect knowing what was coming
Date: September 12th, 2026 2:08 PM Author: Iridescent rigor
Going from Kirby’s dreamland on original game boy to Mario 64 as the first 2 games I ever played (born in 1992) still blows my mind to think about, when my older sister and I first turned the game on and began exploring (okay, me watching her exploring) 😇
Date: September 13th, 2026 12:04 PM Author: Marvelous Property Ape
yeah I get it. I often fantasize about being a boomer born in the 40s in LA. being a kid in the 50s then a teen in early 60s and surfing, then go to USC and be surrounded by hot blondes. oh well, 90s in new jersey was 180 as well.
Date: September 16th, 2026 7:09 PM Author: harsh stain
And without the current societal red lines. For example, celebs were fucking 15 year olds and not thinking twice about it because whatever. No one cared what rich people were doing as long as no one actually died.