>>519791009 (OP)
>Explain to the zoomers in the crowd what the pre-9/11 world was like.
It was magical. It was the sweet-spot between pre-digital & digital-age. No smartphones, no social media, only crude internet & forums, people actually used the internet for communication, to talk to one another sincerely. Trolling wasn’t widespread, shitposting was a rarity, and misinformation was at a minimum.
Videogames were booming and teeming with potential, we saw videogames go from 2D to 3D for the first time. While they are primitive nowadays, back then, there was so much ‘what if?’ magic surrounding videogames, we didnt know what the ceiling was for them as they rapidly developed.
Society was higher trust society in most places, you could walk up to anyone off the street and meet a new friend or a potential romantic prospect (yes, cold approaching used to be normal and not socially taboo).
People could leave their door open at night if they wanted without real fears. Kids spent lots of time outside playing, exploring, making up their own childhood lore with their buddies.
Nobody cared about Israel or Palestine, no one cared about what Russia was doing, no one cared about race wars no one cared about pajeets, no one cared about demoralising shit. It was all about family, fun, summer time, and meeting with friends and making memories.
Words like ‘recession’ and ‘credit crunch’ and ‘inflation’ and ‘deficit’ and ‘climate change’ were not in the headlines 24/7. No body was tip-toeing around gays or trannies or promoting their garbage, no one had to put up with woke shit.
The world just felt right, stable, and the future was something to look forward to, not fear.
That’s the big difference between pre-9/11 and Now, in a nutshell.
Back then, the future was something that invoked wonder and excitement, and now, when people consider the ‘future’, it does not invoke excitement. It invokes fear and dread.