The Newness Illusion: Why Everything Was Better 'Back in Our Day'(aseemshrey.in)
aseemshrey.in
The Newness Illusion: Why Everything Was Better 'Back in Our Day'
https://aseemshrey.in/blog/the-newness-illusion/
6 comments
We used to have better futures.
A friend said KubeCon "isn't the same anymore." I asked what got worse. They couldn't answer. Turns out there's a name for this.
Three names, actually: 1. Hedonic Adaptation : Brain's inbuilt boredom machine 2. Rosy Retrospection : Your Memory is a Highlight Reel 3. Declinism : The "Kids These Days" Bias
Three names, actually: 1. Hedonic Adaptation : Brain's inbuilt boredom machine 2. Rosy Retrospection : Your Memory is a Highlight Reel 3. Declinism : The "Kids These Days" Bias
Good observation.
These seem to have an effect, alone or together, but all other things being equal it might just be because everything is just more expensive now.
Which effect is bigger may not always be the same, sometimes expense is not the main factor but it can go neck-and-neck against almost anything.
These seem to have an effect, alone or together, but all other things being equal it might just be because everything is just more expensive now.
Which effect is bigger may not always be the same, sometimes expense is not the main factor but it can go neck-and-neck against almost anything.
While this is obviously has truth to it, I also don't buy it whole hog. While I think nostalgia is a powerful force, there's a simultaneously powerful force to feel like you're not prone to it. Oh, nothing is new under the sun.
First of all, there's been substantive shifts in the business model of say cinema such that they literally aren't able to make the kind of movies they used to make. Matt Damon talked about this explictly: https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/ozj2ov/matt_dam...
Second I think music is an interesting category. There's a relatively global phenomenon that classic rock from the 60's to the 90's is like peak Americana. I've heard it almost everywhere I travel.
As a child of the 90's, who did feel that newness teenage obsession with alt rock of the early 90's. I can in retrospect tell you that was not the best age for music, not close. I would probably reference like three things. The classical music of the 1600-1900's, the Modern Jazz age of the like 50's to 70's, and the aforementioned classic rock of the 60's to 90's.
They really just don't make it like they used to. There's a reason WBD just sold for like $90 billion.
Finally I will add, I think there's maybe something adjacent to what your talking about which isn't just the subjective feeling of newness, but an objective one. I think, especially if you're something of a nerd, the the era when things are most changing has an emotional quality to it that can't be beat. Do I want to go back to the 80's-90's era of technological development and listen to Tears for Fears on a walkman, or the pre-social media and streaming internet, or playing video games in an arcade? Maybe not with the memory and hedonic adaptation of someone living in 2026. But if I can live in that world without that memory and the subjective experience of not knowing what was coming? Absolutely. And i think that experience would be better in the 80's and 90's then it would be in other eras. I think a non-negligible number of kids these days feel like they missed out on something not living through those eras.
I think some of this applies to your KubeCon analogy too, for sure for some people it’s about when it was new for them, but some people like things at an earlier stage. Some of those people wouldn’t like say - they’re first year at ReInvent if that happened in 2026. It would have to be an early stage conference for a new technology.
First of all, there's been substantive shifts in the business model of say cinema such that they literally aren't able to make the kind of movies they used to make. Matt Damon talked about this explictly: https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/ozj2ov/matt_dam...
Second I think music is an interesting category. There's a relatively global phenomenon that classic rock from the 60's to the 90's is like peak Americana. I've heard it almost everywhere I travel.
As a child of the 90's, who did feel that newness teenage obsession with alt rock of the early 90's. I can in retrospect tell you that was not the best age for music, not close. I would probably reference like three things. The classical music of the 1600-1900's, the Modern Jazz age of the like 50's to 70's, and the aforementioned classic rock of the 60's to 90's.
They really just don't make it like they used to. There's a reason WBD just sold for like $90 billion.
Finally I will add, I think there's maybe something adjacent to what your talking about which isn't just the subjective feeling of newness, but an objective one. I think, especially if you're something of a nerd, the the era when things are most changing has an emotional quality to it that can't be beat. Do I want to go back to the 80's-90's era of technological development and listen to Tears for Fears on a walkman, or the pre-social media and streaming internet, or playing video games in an arcade? Maybe not with the memory and hedonic adaptation of someone living in 2026. But if I can live in that world without that memory and the subjective experience of not knowing what was coming? Absolutely. And i think that experience would be better in the 80's and 90's then it would be in other eras. I think a non-negligible number of kids these days feel like they missed out on something not living through those eras.
I think some of this applies to your KubeCon analogy too, for sure for some people it’s about when it was new for them, but some people like things at an earlier stage. Some of those people wouldn’t like say - they’re first year at ReInvent if that happened in 2026. It would have to be an early stage conference for a new technology.
A few datapoints.
(https://profectusmag.com/back-for-the-future/)
* 60% of Gen Z wish they could go back to live before a time before they were plugged in.
(https://www.contentgrip.com/nostalgia-marketing-to-gen-z/#wh...)
* 50% of Gen Z feel nostalgic for media from previous decades because it reminds them of simpler times
* Despite being born in the 2000s, 37% of Gen Zers are drawn to 90s-era content, driven by a search for authenticity rather than personal memory.
(https://profectusmag.com/back-for-the-future/)
* 60% of Gen Z wish they could go back to live before a time before they were plugged in.
(https://www.contentgrip.com/nostalgia-marketing-to-gen-z/#wh...)
* 50% of Gen Z feel nostalgic for media from previous decades because it reminds them of simpler times
* Despite being born in the 2000s, 37% of Gen Zers are drawn to 90s-era content, driven by a search for authenticity rather than personal memory.
wow. this is such an interesting perspective. hadn't thought so deeply about my 'shower thought'. This expands my horizon. Might put this into the update.
When I was thinking about it, the fleeting thought was majorly about the 'newness effect' which isn't related to a subjective liking of something but is pervasive across everything, whether it be tech, music, movies etc.
Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for sharing this.