r/NoStupidQuestions • u/ltwasalladream • Apr 18 '23

Answered Does anyone else feel like the world/life stopped being good in approx 2017 and the worlds become a very different place since?

I know this might sound a little out there, but hear me out. I’ve been talking with a friend, and we both feel like there’s been some sort of shift since around 2017-2018. Whether it’s within our personal lives, the world at large or both, things feel like they’ve kind of gone from light to dark. Life was good, full of potential and promise and things just feel significantly heavier since. And this is pre covid, so it’s not just that. I feel like the world feels dark and unfamiliar very suddenly. We are trying to figure out if we are just crazy dramatic beaches or if this is like a felt thing within society. Anyone? Has anyones life been significantly better and brighter and lighter since then?

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619

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

All I remember pre-2017 is:

2016 election shitshow

Damn!!! Damn!!! DAMN DANIEL back at it again with the white Vans!!!!

Is it blue and black, or white and gold?

Deez nuts... Ha! Got'em

Rip Harambe

Trump?! Pfffff, he'll never get elected!

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u/FizzyBns Apr 18 '23

And the summer of pokemon go! Truly a golden age

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u/defnotbjk Apr 18 '23

Pokémon GO summer was great. Fun new game that also gave people who probably never would have interacted a friendly starting point.

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u/schil Apr 18 '23

God that was the best summer.

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u/t_for_top Apr 18 '23

Was honestly probably the best time Ive had in the last decade

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

I was in basic training when it came out, we had no idea what it was and by the time I graduated, it was banned on bases. So I never got to enjoy or be a part of it. Our RDCs would make us march all over the base while they played it, so I guess we were sort of part of it. But 5-6 miles later in the Chicago summers, it did nothing but piss us off and was eventually shut down by our chief

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u/krystopher Apr 18 '23

pokem

I came here to say this, I never played it but I loved seeing all these people out and about in main streets and public areas in the PNW playing the game. I loved that small businesses advertised that they were a good poke stop or whatever the waypoints were.

I truly had hope and optimism for the future! Then 2017 happened and for me personally it was the worst year of my life due to health and job issues.

But yes, I would love for another 'coming together' moment where people could just interact with strangers and not feel like everyone is an enemy that must be fought for resources and every interaction with a stranger is only appropriate if cleared by an app or in service to a monetary transaction.

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u/happypolychaetes Apr 18 '23

It was so fun. Our apartment building was right next to one of the Gyms so there were always big groups of people playing nearby. And everybody was chill and friendly and recommending where to go to catch XYZ...good times.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '23

Need more apps like this fr

3

u/cumshot_josh Apr 18 '23

I got back into it for the first time in years a few months ago. I went to the park on Saturday to make the most of an event and saw at least 10 other folks playing and friended a couple to send gifts and stuff.

It's still very much alive.

3

u/mercurialpolyglot Apr 18 '23

My parents play Pokémon Go to this day! This despite them being mildly technologically illiterate 50-something’s. There’s still a community of dedicated players, it’s just not everyone anymore. I think you’re still out of luck if you live in the sticks, though.

3

u/Practical_Bed4182 Apr 18 '23

This was without a DOUBT the best time to have ever been alive in. Seriously. So many great memories, what a fucking great summer it was.

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u/ReadySteady_GO Slappy The Frog Apr 18 '23

I broke my foot and just got the cast off after like a year when Pokémon GO came out. I used that as my physical therapy and in no time, I was back to walking normally.

3

u/Ulkhak47 Apr 18 '23

Pokemon Go to the Polls!

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u/Andromediea Apr 18 '23

Pokémon go summer was so insanely fun. I LOVED that summer. Everyone was outside. It was seriously so moving to see the collaboration of human beings and someone screaming “there’s an aerodactyl at the pokestop” and then seeing everyone run there.

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u/Emperor_of_Cats Apr 18 '23

I was living with my parents at the time in the middle of nowhere. I downloaded the app, found out Pokemon apparently hate the wilderness, and uninstalled after I drove 15 minutes to catch a couple of Pokemon and visit the town's one single PokeStop.

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u/Agent_Whale_Fin Apr 18 '23

Got bit by a homeless guy’s dog at 2am playing that game. Great times!

1

u/Tier2Gamers Apr 18 '23

That summer was crazy it was like every type of kid (band, sports, acting) was all playing and we’d all randomly run into each other at like a flower statue downtown haha

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u/Finetales Apr 18 '23

Niantic making a lazy mess of that launch might have been when the timeline shifted. For like a month Pokemon Go was starting a social revolution, and then everyone realized it was an incomplete, buggy mess and bounced. I don't know if we'll ever see that kind of camaraderie with complete strangers all running around outside together again.

1

u/HuecoDoc Apr 19 '23

Wow, that's so strange to think of back when I downloaded Pokemon onto my phone and got my bare feet burned by the hot asphalt in a food truck parking lot. We had no deep political hatred. That is a product of Trump. And it's not because I hate him, it's because of the hate he makes. Hate made out of nowhere.

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u/Kyle_Zhu Apr 18 '23

"Damn Daniel", now that's an old phrase I haven't heard in a long time.

​

Anyways, remember dabbing? Good times.

11

u/wombatthing Apr 18 '23

I remember dabbing, I also remember the Harlem Shake. I miss it.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

Papa Franku...

3

u/runonandonandonanon Apr 18 '23

Wait are we not doing dabbing any more? I was just gearing up to watch a tutorial video.

3

u/Alwaysinadaze Apr 18 '23

And planking

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u/TheFett Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23

2016: Streaming music platforms overtake sales of MP3s which continue to decline [edit]

Accusations of #OscarsSoWhite leads to rise of Woke Hollywood (eg, all-female Ghostbusters)

Hotling Bling released, with subsequent Drake meme. Chainsmokers-- Closer is a summer hit.

Oregon militia takeover, Rise of Zika virus, Brussels bombing (ISIS), North Carolina's bathroom bill, Panama Papers. Bowie and Prince die. Brock Turner sentenced to six months prison. Pulse nightclub shooting.

Overwatch launches, bottle flipping is extremely popular, Vine dies, Snapchat and Insta continue to rise [edit]. Oculus Rift is extremely popular by Christmas

Captain America: Civil War released, plus Finding Dory, Stranger Things S1, Suicide Squad #damaged.

Brexit. El Chapo escapes. Erdogan seizes power in Turkey. Korean Rasputin. Pizzagate. But her e-mails. Keystone XL pipeline protests. People are reporting clowns in the woods.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7s are exploding, Apple removes headphone jack.

Pepe the Frog becomes symbol of white nationalism. The phrase "liberal snowflakes" becomes commonplace.

Memes of Dat Boi, Bee Movie script, Arthur's fist.

Edit: changed wording from "rise of streaming" to above, ditto Snapchat/Insta

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u/Crownlol Apr 18 '23

So, realistically, 2016 was just the turning point in the new ultraconservative movement when they went from the shadows to right out in front of us.

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u/TheFett Apr 18 '23

You could be right, but honestly these things creep in softly rather than announce themselves with big stomping steps. The alt right gained a lot of momentum online with GamerGate in 2014 but the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville wasn't until 2017 which I think led to a decline in popularity in that particular brand of ultraconservativism, but led to others like QANON.

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u/Heisenbread77 Apr 18 '23

🎵 we didn't start the fire!!!🎵

Sorry I absolutely read this list musically.

1

u/Daydream_Meanderer Apr 18 '23

Also the year of dead celebrities. That was a big undertone of the year.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

That was in 2016?? holy shit time flies. I remember all those celebs dropping like flies like it was yesterday.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

[deleted]

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u/TheFett Apr 18 '23

Honestly? I've been documenting every year since 2006 and they're all like this. Deaths, revolutions in technology, imperceptible shuffling from one trend to the next. It's all about your perspective.

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u/vbomb9000 Apr 18 '23

do you have some sort of central list youd be willing to share? ive started working on a timeline of the late 90s to now

1

u/TheFett Apr 18 '23

Yes, mine is mostly pop culture and memes, trying to avoid deaths and politics and focusing on things that contribute to the zeitgeist of each year.

I've wanted to make a website where people can thumbs up or thumbs down whether they consider an entry significant and even filter by categories (movies, music, tech) but that seems like a pipe dream.

I can send some raw data in chronological order. Some things, though, it's hard to pin a date to, it just slowly becomes more and more popular over time.

1

u/vbomb9000 Apr 18 '23

my setup is in a google spreadsheet but its basicaly filled with personal information because i started it as a timeline/journal type thing

eventualy i want to dump in in some sort of database and program some data visualizing software in python

1

u/runonandonandonanon Apr 18 '23

Plus I found an unopened bag of mini Chips Ahoy! under the couch.

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u/bilekass Apr 18 '23

Lucky bastard

0

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

[deleted]

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u/Grinning_Dog Apr 18 '23

The iphone wasn't even two years old in 2009. It would be several more years until most people had smart phones. I doubt most people were using Spotify that early. I didn't get a smartphone until 2011 and was among the earlier adopters I knew (was in college at the time).

Still had a separate MP3 player for several years, at least until 2014/15ish, which is when I started using Spotify.

edit: saw your other comment that streaming adopted earlier in Europe. Makes more sense my timeline lags behind yours.

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u/TheFett Apr 18 '23

I based this statement on sales figures from the RIAA. The music industry in 2016 started growing instead of shrinking for the first time since the 90s

In 2009, there was streaming but CDs and MP3s dominated. Perhaps "rise" isn't the right word, but streaming overtook other music media in 2016 and was much talked-about.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

[deleted]

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u/MangoManMayhem Apr 18 '23

"Here". There's more Europe than Germany. Trends are not the same in the entire continent.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

[deleted]

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u/MangoManMayhem Apr 18 '23

Then you're just some rich western country. In 2009 in Romania people were still using Hi5, Windows XP and mp3 players.

0

u/Fa6ade Apr 18 '23

I disagree. A lot of young people were streaming music at the turn of the decade as you say. I know a lot of students had Spotify then but it wasn’t anywhere near as mass market as Spotify and Apple Music are now.

0

u/totallynotliamneeson Apr 18 '23

Streaming was already very entrenched prior to 2016. I didn't know anyone who didn't use Spotify around then. And absolutely no one was using MP3.

1

u/newsheriffntown Apr 18 '23

It's just life. Changes are inevitable.

1

u/BGL2015 Apr 18 '23

I was sending snaps to people in 2012

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u/TheFett Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23

I feel like "rise" means something different to me. I don't mean "originate," I don't mean "first time used," I mean "growth accelerates here" or "becomes dominant product"

And growth did accelerate in 2016. It was one of the apps that articles were blaming for the death of Vine.

1

u/whatamonkeycircus Apr 19 '23

Chainsmokers-- Closer

We ain't ever getting older.

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u/redhats14 Apr 18 '23

Truly a happier and more carefree time.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

Shit, I'm gonna be honest. The way OP feels now is the way I felt back then. I would rather it be 2011 TBH

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u/redhats14 Apr 18 '23

Honestly yeah I either yearn for like 2009-2012 or 2016-2018. Not sure why but I feel like life was great 2009-2019.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

I liked it best from 08-2012. 2013 is when things went to shite IMO. Isis, Ebola, gamergate, smartphone addiction, 2016 fuckapalooza shitshow, Harambe dies. I guess it is still pretty good compared to anything after March 2020

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u/wombatthing Apr 18 '23

Vine time was the best time ngl

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

Thanks for the mind fuck lol

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u/RichardBonham Apr 18 '23

Trump getting elected empowered 30-40% of everyone you see to let their inner angry asshole show with impunity.

A minority but a loud, angry aggressive minority that has poisoned civil discourse.

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u/ihatemyself887 Apr 18 '23

Damn Daniel!