10 Things That Were Deeply Better When They Were Simpler

I’m not one to indulge in excessive nostalgia— I’m convinced that romanticizing the past is a sure way to miss out on the good that’s all around us today. And yet, I also know that there are some lessons from the past that might be worth remembering. In some ways, this recovery of good things from the past might just be the piece that helps us unlock the future.

In this article, I want to highlight some things that seemed better in the past when they were simpler. I doubt we’ll ever be going back to those days, and that’s ok. But I wonder what lessons we can take from what we’ve lost, and see if we can find a way to reincorporate those values back into our lives. Hopefully we’ll enjoy the best of both worlds: the conveniences of modern life with some of the deeply good practices that went along with slower, more intentional times.

Staying connected with loved ones

Before smartphones, maintaining relationships required more effort—including face-to-face visits, fewer but longer phone calls, and hand-written letters. While convenient, the ability to follow and interact with friends and family on social media makes it easy to become lazy and complacent about true connection. Do we really want to live in a world where we simply know about each other’s lives but rarely experience those things together?

How we passed our time

It used to be that you would watch whatever was on TV or listen to music on the radio. Because of this, many people watched the same shows and listened to the same tunes, and there was a sense of shared culture. Now that everyone can pursue their own interests, our society has become more atomized and divided.

A sense of place

I remember the days of pulling out a paper map and navigating the road by landmarks and written instructions. In those days, I would have a mental image of where I was and how it related to all the nearby towns, rivers, and highways. Google Maps has taken that all away, and while it helps me get anywhere I need to go, I have a much weaker sense of my community’s unique geography or of how to get around without GPS.

Knowing what time it was

When everyone wore a wristwatch and kept it in good repair, it was easy to quickly check the time in a meeting or quiet room without being rude or drawing attention. Now, if you do the same with your smartphone it’s assumed you’re bored and checking for any more interesting updates. Sadly, for many people, the watch has become a timeless symbol of elegance and convenience that has been lost to the slow, creeping pace of technological change.

Clearer thinking

Sometimes faster isn’t always better. While it’s nice that we can have all the information in the world at our fingertips, and can connect with anyone instantly, the tradeoff is that our minds are flooded by these inputs. It seems that the mental space needed for deep thinking and creativity has become a casualty of this new world order. While I don’t enjoy the inconvenience of waiting on the computer to do its thing, the slowness of the experience worked as a brake on our mental tempo.

Planning for the future

One of the underrated benefits of limited storage space was that it forced us to be more intentional about our choices and expectations. I remember having to choose which of my CDs to bring with me to a friend’s house, or which photographs to develop and store in a photo album. With digital photography and the rise of streaming platforms, we are at little risk of running out of room, but the value of those individual photographs and CDs have been diminished along with the awe of their scarcity.

Long car trips

When I was a child, I remember my brother and I would be stuffed into the back seat with the rest of the luggage and left to entertain ourselves for hours on end. This wide-open space for boredom gave us the incentive to devise our own games and fill the time with fun, imaginative play. Now that everyone in the family has a device, our children’s imagination has been replaced by the creativity of the TV and movie producers whose own imaginations were inspired by their own long car rides.

Reading

When I was growing up, my parents would take my brother and me to the library and set us free in the children’s section to find the books that seemed most interesting. We would then take our selections home and spend time reading those and only those books. The online world allows us to have access to nearly infinite books, and many of the most difficult questions can be quickly answered with a search. But we’ve lost the sense of discovery and exploration that randomly browsing a library shelf encourages.

Air travel

There was a time when all air travel took place on large airplanes, and it was a big deal to fly. As a result, many people dressed up and treated it like a special event. Now that everyone seems to be flying somewhere every few months and that so many of the flights are just puddle-jumpers, it’s become a joyless experience, prone to delays and the occasional argument. I’m grateful for the wide availability of air travel, but I do wish it was a little more special and a little less like a bus with wings.

How we shopped

Thanks to Amazon we can shop from anywhere, at any time, and have what we buy delivered to our front door the next day. This is an incredible convenience, but I do miss going to the mall with friends or occasionally with my parents as a child. Going to the mall, or any stores that you have to walk around and browse physically, is a multi-sensory experience that can’t be matched by a website. It’s an experience that I occasionally replicate with my own kids, but it’s nothing like the real thing, when you had to go there to see what was new and purchase what you liked.