We would also accept "with everything going on today" - what does this even mean? Feels like language I started hearing more frequently after 9/11 (still not a bbq holiday btw) where the country was scared so it was kinda easy to accept obviously boiling of the frog signs of mass eroding of our rights. These feel like phrases parroting by groups that are more equal than others (law enforcement, courts, politicians, the rich and famous, etc.) as maybe a way of us turning up the heat willingly in the name of safety and security. Implied anyways.

When you hear it though, what are you picturing? Like what IS society in 2024?

Honestly when I hear someone say this I’m not thinking about security or violence, it’s more about the economy, lack of jobs, lack of affordable housing, prices of everything, personal life choices etc. especially surrounding children.

I suppose it’s because I live in Australia and we don’t regularly have major security issues or violence. The stabbings happening recently was beyond shocking and police/government instantly cracked down on it so again even if something horrifying happens it’s usually dealt with immediately.

Seeing what happens around the world is heartbreaking and I wish there was more we could do, but it’s also something that has been going on for way longer than everyone wants to admit to. So this day and age doesn’t really apply

Very quickly my mind likely automatically makes a comparison to another period. So when someone says " in this day and age... " I automatically make a comparison to what things were like when I was a similar age to the subject matter.

I don't think we have got it particularly harder today either compared to previous periods, even recently as a few decades ago. In fact we've got it easier.

But the " youth " have lost their spirit and at the same time lost maybe some innocence and definitely a lot of independence. For those too young to remember, being young once upon a time felt like you were in The Smashing Pumpkins' 1979 video and life albeit was boring, but there was some sense of spontaneity and adventure. And now everything is documented and shared online and is OMG #blessed and #stunningandbrave and the intention is less about living in the moment, and more about personal brand.

Travelling really made me value western ideals more when it comes to freedom of speech, democracy and things of that nature.

There’s definitely still issues but I feel like people take for granted what they can talk about in “western” countries.