My 20's, 30's & 40's passed in a continuum of family & professional life, which was incredibly busy & sometimes stressful, but on the whole, again, not complex. Things were relatively straightforward.
So I'm trying to decide when life became complex. I think it was in the 90's. A lot changed then. For a start the Web had been invented in 1989. https://blazepress.com/2014/03/25-years-internet-stuff-happened-year-web-invented/
I can remember saying that I couldn't see the point of computers. I can also remember going on a course for teachers when BBC Micros were given to primary schools in the 1980's. I ended the day putting a sticker on the screen saying "This Computer doesn't understand me". The whole thing was beyond me & I wanted nothing to do with them.
Now I love my computer & spend far too much time on it. My life is on my computer & my smart phone. If I were confined to the house I could easily happily exist & do most things. However I would be quite isolated.
But the drawbacks are huge. The internet can be a force for great good & is also all consuming. We live in an age of exponential technological change. The only simple thing in my life is swimming. Everything else usually spirals into complexity. I have access to information on an industrial scale. I have to accept incessant change. I never stand still. The world is full of conflicting information - This is the "Post Truth" era. I always seem to be busy sorting out my life.
I would quite like to get off the roundabout. I would enjoy peace & calm & stability. I want the world to stand still for a moment so I can enjoy it. I get tired of noise & constant stimulation. It isn't just the difference between my urban & rural life. It's much more than that.
We humans are in danger of running ourselves ragged. We have no time for reflection & the enjoyment of simple pleasures. I look at children & young people & I am beginning to actually be really concerned for them. This is the new normal for them.
It's not normal to me.
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