- New NBC News investigation reveals nostalgia for the past
- 47% of those surveyed want to return to previous years
- Dissatisfaction with modern technologies and applications is a major factor
Dissatisfaction with modern technology and its pitfalls – including AI, subscriptions, data tracking and algorithm-driven apps – is having an impact: Nearly half of Gen Z adults in the US (ages 18-29) would rather live in the past than the present.
This is from an NBC News survey of 3,009 Gen Zers, who were asked about issues including climate change and gun policy, personal finance and religion. The data shows that 14% want to live 50 years or more in the past, and 33% want to live less than 50 years in the past, if given the choice.
In contrast, 38% were happy to live in the present, 5% wanted to live less than 50 years in the future, and 10% wanted to live 50 or more years in the future. While the survey itself didn’t cover technology in great depth, some of those interviewed by NBC News individually pointed to technological issues as reasons for wanting to travel through time.
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These respondents cited the ubiquity of smartphones, lack of “personal experience” and social media among the downsides of modern technology, while one survey participant lamented “so, so much internet” and all the “bullshit” that comes with it as a reason for wanting to go back.
“Nostalgic for the past”
Discomfort with modern technology shapes Gen Z’s desire to live in the past thanks to r/technology
NBC News also spoke with nostalgia researcher and existential psychologist Clay Routledge, who pointed to the feeling of being controlled by phones and technology as the driving force behind feeling “more nostalgic for the past.”
Other reactions to the Reddit investigation included a host of additional complaints: constant subscriptions, lower quality and shorter-lasting products, spying on users, “harmful algorithms”, technology dependency, advertising and AI are all cited, alongside nostalgia for technology that is easier to use and repair.
However, it’s worth noting that most people don’t want to go back too far: the 1990s and early 2000s seem like the perfect time, when technological advancements still seemed exciting and beneficial to the human race in general. For reference, the first iPod was released in 2001 and we received the first iPhone in 2007.
One of the technology topics included in the survey was AI, and opinions on it were quite divided: around half of respondents were “anxious” or “concerned” about AI, particularly in terms of what it could mean for their careers, with the rest of respondents being either “not worried” or “optimistic.”
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