Are things (Australia/society/the world) getting better or worse?

[fairdinkum]

In your opinion.

A broad topic but a relatively straight-forward question.

Do you think things wil be better in ten/twenty/fifty years time or do you think they will be worse?

And why do you think this way? How often do you think about these sorts of things?

Over to you, bigfooty.

 

[JuddsABlue]

Define better

If you're the kind of person that prefers how thing were 30 years ago, then they'll probably get worse for you.

Technology is obviously going to change everything. Things like google glass or whatever it is will change lots of things for people. We'll basically get everything on demand, what we want when we want it.

I think people will become fitter, despite the nay sayers who think more technology leads to fatter kids I think people will live much healtheir and avg life expectancy will grow

As for Australia, I'm a believer that lots of industries will go through massive change. When you have so much of the population willing to work for substantially less money, eventually something is going to give. Either everything will be moved off shore overtime or the Australian public will realise they need to work for less if they want to work at all. I'm not an economist so I'm not sure what it means overall for the country, but I expect avg wages in Australia to drop in the future

I think we are at a real tipping point re energy rescources etc. Whatever path we choose now will have a major impact on the future. I think we'll make the right choices though and sustainable energy will be made to work

 

[King Elvis]

Worse.

Look at the people on Facebook after the Alan Jones crap; huge numbers of borderline irrationally indignant people, spamming everybody to take action.

It used to be that you actually had to care about a cause to take action on it, now, any ****wit can start a FB page or Twitter and kick up a fuss.

Entitlement culture in our Society (GG Howard); general destruction of the concept of 'personal responsibility' - schools that now focus on vague, floating subjects instead of things like English, Maths and Science.

Fairness is basically a forgotten concept; it's no longer about charging a reasonable price for a product - it's about charging as much as you possibly can screw out of people.

Most of the sub-continent spin bowlers are chuckers.

I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I think the World is going to go to shit in the near future.

 

[JuddsABlue]

Worse.

Look at the people on Facebook after the Alan Jones crap; huge numbers of borderline irrationally indignant people, spamming everybody to take action.

It used to be that you actually had to care about a cause to take action on it, now, any silly person can start a FB page or Twitter and kick up a fuss.

Entitlement culture in our Society (GG Howard); general destruction of the concept of 'personal responsibility' - schools that now focus on vague, floating subjects instead of things like English, Maths and Science.

Fairness is basically a forgotten concept; it's no longer about charging a reasonable price for a product - it's about charging as much as you possibly can screw out of people.

Most of the sub-continent spin bowlers are chuckers.

I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I think the World is going to go to shit in the near future.

This is what mothers used to do around the kitchen table, now younger people just do it in a public forum. People have been irrational idiots demanding extreme solutions to minor problems since civilisation. It was up until now that those opinions were kept indoors rather than made public

 

[DESTRUCTOR]

Worse.

Government power and the like grows, freedom is stolen.

Less freedom = worse life.
I think I'm going to take up heroin.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

Fairness is basically a forgotten concept; it's no longer about charging a reasonable price for a product - it's about charging as much as you possibly can screw out of people.

This was different last century?

 

[Unstable]

Define better

If you're the kind of person that prefers how thing were 30 years ago, then they'll probably get worse for you.

Technology is obviously going to change everything. Things like google glass or whatever it is will change lots of things for people. We'll basically get everything on demand, what we want when we want it.

I think people will become fitter, despite the nay sayers who think more technology leads to fatter kids I think people will live much healtheir and avg life expectancy will grow

As for Australia, I'm a believer that lots of industries will go through massive change. When you have so much of the population willing to work for substantially less money, eventually something is going to give. Either everything will be moved off shore overtime or the Australian public will realise they need to work for less if they want to work at all. I'm not an economist so I'm not sure what it means overall for the country, but I expect avg wages in Australia to drop in the future

I think we are at a real tipping point re energy rescources etc. Whatever path we choose now will have a major impact on the future. I think we'll make the right choices though and sustainable energy will be made to work

I understand this is your opinion but it doesn’t make sense. You say it’s going to get better yet everything will be off shored, we must compete with countries with no unions, no entitlements, no OHS standards and no rights and our wages has to be suppressed in a country with high cost of living. I don’t see how this is things getting better,

 

[JuddsABlue]

I understand this is your opinion but it doesn’t make sense. You say it’s going to get better yet everything will be off shored, we must compete with countries with no unions, no entitlements, no OHS standards and no rights and our wages has to be suppressed in a country with high cost of living. I don’t see how this is things getting better,

Overall I think the world will be a better place. I think shortterm the Australian economy could get ugly, but there are other things in the world besides money

People will live healthier, longer and happier. Maybe in the long term future money wont even exist

But yeah majority of my post was in reference the world, not just Australia

 

[King Elvis]

This was different last century?

Considerably better, IMO.

 

[Puntroad]

Worse.

Like you said, it's a very broad topic, but the first issue that came to my mind is the way we treat 'our'/the planet.

 

[Meow]

Definitely worse, open a newspaper, turn on your TV, or jump onto the internet for proof.

It will get better again, but not in my lifetime (I'm already 50 now). The 21st century is going to be make-or-break for mankind. If we can find alternatives to fossil fuels, largely eradicate poverty/disease, make even more technological and scientific breakthroughs, have a fair government, society, and economy, and reduce the mindless destruction we're doing to our planet, then we can solve our problems. If not, then the human race will go down the shitter.

The biggest obstacle I see to this is the narcissistic, selfish, dishonest, and greedy attitudes of so many people nowadays. These did not exist on the scale they exist now when I was growing up. The 20th century was not spent worrying about our problems, instead it brought wave after wave of new technological breakthroughs (the space program, advanced medicine, machines, computers etc.). This century is going to be much, much different, although it will continue to deliver new technologies.

The best time to live in from my experience was probably from the late 70s - early 90s. IMO society has only really gone massively downhill in the 15-20 years, although I probably think this way because I'm a grumpy old fart who hates change.

 

[Roobs321]

Better

Living standards are almost always improving. Regardless of what you say about peoples attitudes and 'values' nowadays, the world is much fairer than in the past, things like family, religion, racism, sexism, classism, etc isnt as harsh as in the past. It will only get better. Sure, some things will be lost, and some countries might have a horror run, but overall the world will be a good place to live.

 

[fairdinkum]

I ought to have asked people to include their age (or age group) in their responses.

Can people please do this from now on?

It is illuminating, as @Meow's post demonstrates.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Although many don’t like to acknowledge or admit it, part of everybody’s underlying make-up is a streak of conservatism. It’s stronger in some than in others. We’re all creatures of comfort to some extent.

The only constant about the world we live in is change.

Add them together, whaddaya get...

The over-riding sentiment to questions like this will always be negative. It would have been 100 years ago, it will be today, and it will be in another 100 years.

 

[King Elvis]

I think it's gotten distinctly worse in the last 5-10 years.

Honestly, I think the Internet, while it's one of the most amazing things we have, is also one of the worst. As much good as it's doing, I think it's also incredibly destructive to society and individuals.

So much good comes from it, but I genuinely wonder whether we, and society, are better off with it.

 

[kickazz]

I think better in general. We sometimes view history through rose-coloured glasses as much of what we read about (not all, but much) is to do with the wealthier classes.

Before the creation of the middle class, most people were very, very poor and worked very very hard just to maintain their meagre existence. We don't hear about them though - we hear about famous artists, scientists, composers, explorers, etc who were part of a very small minority.

 

[Mancey]

It could be great, but if we don't get our shit together re energy and food it's going to be a massive ****ing disaster.

 

[GOAUS!]

Worse.

Look at the people on Facebook after the Alan Jones crap; huge numbers of borderline irrationally indignant people, spamming everybody to take action.

It used to be that you actually had to care about a cause to take action on it, now, any silly person can start a FB page or Twitter and kick up a fuss.

Entitlement culture in our Society (GG Howard); general destruction of the concept of 'personal responsibility' - schools that now focus on vague, floating subjects instead of things like English, Maths and Science.

Fairness is basically a forgotten concept; it's no longer about charging a reasonable price for a product - it's about charging as much as you possibly can screw out of people.

Most of the sub-continent spin bowlers are chuckers.

I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I think the World is going to go to shit in the near future.

Interesting point, doesn't seem particularly relevant. I don't like where we are heading financially (US and Europe) I mean, plus with the Baby Boomers will be retiring soon and it will be Gen Y picking up the slack. We will need some innovative solutions.

fairdinkum I'm 21.

 

[Roobs321]

24 in december

And Gen Y will do just fine.

 

[nicky]

Doom and gloom from me. I don't know if the human race will live out the 21st century. We've probably passed the tipping point of global warming. All species are in decline. The bees aren't finding their way home anymore.

But worse, if we have another world war it will be nuclear - any war after that will be with sticks and stones A LOOOOOONNNNNNNG way into the future.

I probably watch too many documentaries.

 

[benchwarmer5]

God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars, advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of the history man, no purpose or place, we have no Great war, no Great depression, our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives, we've been all raised by television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars, but we won't and we're slowly learning that fact. and we're very very pissed off"

 

[CLUBMEDhurst]

We're ****ed!

Shit scared parents, mollycoddling their kids. You only have to see all the SUV's dropping children off at school to come to the conclusion that the next generation will be entitled, acopic neurotics.

Will keep me in work, though

I'm 44

 

[liam_13]

We're screwed!

Shit scared parents, mollycoddling their kids. You only have to see all the SUV's dropping children off at school to come to the conclusion that the next generation will be entitled, acopic neurotics.

Will keep me in work, though

Or maybe the children will resent not getting their own space and time to be alone at certain instances, and when they are the parents they will go back to the "olden ways" and then everyone will cry foul at how terrible parents are, letting their children walk to school and go to the park, rather than cry foul at how parents mollycoddle children?

Really trying not to sound like I'm attacking your post, because I'm not, I'm merely suggesting that we could go full circle and end up back like as my grandparents used to say "ah the good old days". Also I think things like an xBox and Playstation's will end up like TV's and some people will use them all the time, but the majority will only use it very occasionally and casually and to watch movies and stuff with mates.

 

[nicky]

This recommendation is absolutely on topic. You should download 'black mirror' - an english series with 3 unrelated episodes... It's awesome.

"Black Mirror is a British television drama series created by Charlie Brooker. The series is produced by Zeppotron forEndemol. Regarding the programme's content and structure, Brooker noted, "each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they're all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes' time if we're clumsy."

An Endemol press release describes the series as "a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world", with the stories having a "techno-paranoia" feel. Channel 4describes the first episode as "a twisted parable for the Twitter age".

 

[fairdinkum]

Doom and gloom from me. I don't know if the human race will live out the 21st century. We've probably passed the tipping point of global warming. All species are in decline. The bees aren't finding their way home anymore.

But worse, if we have another world war it will be nuclear - any war after that will be with sticks and stones A LOOOOOONNNNNNNG way into the future.

I probably watch too many documentaries.

If that was intentional, that was very very good.

I'm out.