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My kids (10, 7, and 5) try going outside to play every day and all of the neighbor kids are tucked inside doing whatever the hell it is kids do nowadays.

I lived in a very similar suburb in the '90s and had many, many other kids to play with outside every day. Bicycling, sports, adventures, you name it…

For them, I am 100% positive that 2024 does not beat 1994. They all seem so ridiculously lonely.

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I think you're both right, though in different ways.

GP is correct that life today "beats" that from the 90s -- as far as convenience/friction is concerned.

OTOH, just like how "sitting is the new smoking", a 100% frictionless life is not better in every way. It atrophies several important faculties like the ability to deal with boredom (or people who aren't exactly your type), focus for long periods of time on work, etc.

Viewed from this perspective (and as a parent myself), I agree that 2024 does not beat 1994.

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