r/Xennials • u/CausticAvenger • 1d ago
How are you feeling about our tech evolution?
Every day I’m thankful I grew up in a pre-internet world, and that I’ve been able to witness the tech evolution that got us to where we are today.
Maybe it’s AI being pushed absolutely everywhere, the surveillance cameras popping up on my neighborhood streets, social media being a cesspool for our society, or everything getting wildly expensive, but I’ve found myself starting to feel disgusted by the tech world. I used to be the guy who needed the new smart phone, needed the new gaming console, needed the new fancy gadget. Now I’m looking up how to transition to dumb phones and old school mp3 players. I don’t want any part of this anymore.
Are you still all in and excited by new tech, or do you feel completely burnt out and over it like I do?
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u/Seven19td 1d ago
I’m moving away from all of it. I was much like you but I recently deleted all of my social media accounts except this Reddit account. When I google something I click off of the AI response immediately. I’m starting to feel like one of those folks I used to joke on back for the day for wanting to live off the grid as much as possible.
Social media was and is a mistake. The world would begin to heal instantly if social media was wiped off of the Internet. That includes Reddit.
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u/crazycatlady331 1980 1d ago
I don't put Reddit in the same social media category as sites like Facebook.
Reddit's the closest we have to old-school forums.
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u/gizmoch33ze 1d ago
It’s still full of bots and bullshit. This place is nothing like it was even 10 years ago.
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 1d ago
Reddit is garbage
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u/cjandstuff 1d ago
Both are true.
But try looking up any kind of tech info on a company's forum site. It's always the same corporate BS "We're very sorry you're having this problem. Here's a solution that will do nothing but make you angrier."
Meanwhile Reddit is like, "Yeah I had that problem too, here's what you do to fix it."11
u/Ok_Resort_489 1978 1d ago
I agree. No, Reddit isn't perfect, but it's also not full of every person I've known my whole entire life using their real government names.
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u/stephsco 1d ago
Yes, exactly. I lurked for years on Reddit and rarely logged in, but finally embraced it as the internet community I enjoy. I used to be part of many forums in late 90s to mid 2000s. I hate Facebook now and spend far less time on other socials. I used to love Instagram but enshittification has set in.
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u/batsofburden 21h ago
I used to think that too, but I'm starting to change my mind about reddit. It's at least 50% bots now, and even on smaller subreddits there is so much negativity. This subreddit is one of the hidden gems of this site, but I just don't know if it's worth putting up with all the reddit bs just to access a few good subreddits. I feel like I've become more negative after spending so much time here. Obv it's still better than Twitter or Facebook though.
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u/nartimus 1d ago
If you add “-ai” at the end of your search query, it removes ai results. Just fyi.
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u/gizmobiskit 16h ago
And even better (for those who can afford to subscribe) — try dropping Google entirely and using Kagi.com for search. It feels like Google did in its early, pre-enshittified days.
You get 100 searches for free to try it out. Gamechanger for me. And you don’t feed Google’s AI training or ad targeting with every search and click.
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u/nartimus 15h ago
Right now I’m using ecosia because of the social cause (planting trees with your searches) and the search results are better for me than google. Maybe I’ll give Kagi a spin though. Sounds interesting
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u/crazycatlady331 1980 1d ago
I liked it about a decade ago. It was fun to read about new tech and what the potential was.
Today, I'm steered in the opposite direction. I feel that tech bros are the personification of comic book villains and should not be celebrated as the "kings of innovation" that they are.
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u/Xiunte 1d ago
Tech used to make our lives better, now it feels like it's intentionally designed to make things shittier. I've been saying this for years. And it's gonna keep going in this direction as long as there's money to be made.
It's only a matter of time before we have toilets that blast ads at maximum volumn as soon as you sit down (like those annoying gas pumps at some stations).
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u/Checktheusernombre 1d ago
I'm autistic and refuse to go to those. Beyond being obnoxious they really suck for us with sound sensitivities. Like, I'm just trying to get gas wtf.
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u/Xiunte 1d ago
And you can't even mute it. Just gotta sit there and take all that noise until you hang the pump up.
I don't know exactly how to word what I mean, but this is a perfect example of what "tech" is nowadays... and it's us that fucked it up. We're the most tech savvy generation and it's us dreaming up all this horrible shit in order to get rich. Kids nowadays know even less about computers and software than OUR parents did and that's what companies want. They know how to use cellphones (which are designed to be so simple a chimp could probably pick it up too if you let him). And cellphones are where all the bullshit is.
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u/Checktheusernombre 1d ago
Yeah if there was a volume or mute even, fine. But don't blast me with high volume ads while I am getting gas. I understand people don't always think of folks that might actually be dysregulated by this, but good God does it absolutely send me when it happens.
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u/bgva 1982 1d ago
I'm tired. Everything is so damn overbearing and intrusive. Constant notifications that I could not care less about but can't be turned off. "Please accept cookies." Bots. "Please use this unnecessary AI feature." Bots. If I even think about a Big Mac I get a McDonald's ad within five minutes. "Download this app in order to use the fingernail clipper." Enshittification. BOTS!
And on top of it, tech is designed to overexplain everything to you like you're 5. I was programming the family VCR when I was 9 years old. Fuck outta here. If I woke up tomorrow and technology was dialed back to about 2009, I'd be perfectly okay with that. My Blackberry or LG Voyager was the sweet spot for me personally.
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u/catsandkittens1308 1982 1d ago
My blackberry was perfection. Oh and the Nokia, or Samsung maybe, that had the slide out qwerty? I think I had one in like '04 maybe, sometime in the aughts...loved that thing.
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u/metmerc 1d ago
It peaked 10-15 years ago for me. We had conveniences like GPS navigation, a robust enough Internet to do some basic research. Reddit still cared about reddiquette. For music, one of my main hobbies, multi-track recording on a personal computer was already pretty easily done.
Since about then, most innovations have been more focused on monetization through enshitification.
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u/Scibidami 1977 20h ago
nowadays search engines like bing are:
"Hey, I know, you search for this one thing, so let me show you 200 bot-created websites which have nothing to do with your search. Good luck."
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u/Jimmy_83_Don 1d ago
I hate it now. It’s made everyone shine a little less bright. People just always have a phone in their hand. I made a rule that I would never let anyone see me with my phone out unless in exceptional circumstances. So when I socialise I’m always present. I’d be lying though if I said I’d broken free from my phone. I am always miserable with myself when I go on my phone.
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u/batsofburden 21h ago
I don't use my phone in public unless it's necessary like using a map, but even if I am not a phone zombie, it's still depressing to look around and see how like 90% of people I pass by are just staring at their phones.
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u/Jimmy_83_Don 20h ago
Yeah, I totally agree. I never go on Twitter or Facebook etc, but it gets me down that the online misinformation machine still churns on without me and impacts so many of the people around me. It sways elections now.
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u/AdComprehensive7939 1983 1d ago
I hate it and they've made it darn near impossible to get by without a smart phone. I tried to downgrade to a flip phone a few years back and could almost get by with it, but little things like parking w QR codes and map inconvenience made it tough. I made it about six months and reluctantly went back to the smartphone. I have been aggressively degoogling my life in the last year and am planning on installing a linux based OS onto my smartphone to try to claw back more of my privacy.
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u/FoppyIn28 1d ago edited 1d ago
Every time I'm like fuck this and am about to downgrade my phone I realize I can't pay to park, go to a minor league baseball game, take advantage of restaurant and supermarket discounts, respond to my children's educational apps, and plenty of other things I take for granted without it.
When I am retired I'm gonna do it for real. With nothing but time I will pay a few bucks and frustrate a whole lot of people thirty years younger than me to break the chains!
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u/batsofburden 21h ago
You could get a burner phone just to use for stuff like that and use your flip phone for everything else. Might be a bit complicated though.
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u/OgreHombre 1d ago
The advances in medicine are and will continue to be amazing. I saw Bill Shatner giving an interview where his doctor was saying that if he could get him to stay alive another two years, then he’ll be able to keep alive another ten years after that.
LLMs are amazing once you sit down and figure out what they actually are and what they’re good for. The idea that I can find that one email I can kinda sorta describe without knowing the name of anyone involved? Fantastic!
That said, don’t let technology replace the things you love - or the way you enjoy them. Not everything has to be done on your phone. I missed the way I used to listen to music: albums, not infinite playlists. So, I bought a DAP and went back to CD players. Bonus: I love using real headphones. It’s been great! Suddenly I’m into the Grateful Dead 😂. I make a point to buy old paperbacks because I love books. I bought a regal pass because I like going to the movies instead of just streaming alone on my laptop. Then even little things: I carry a nice flashlight because it’s just better than my phone. I refuse digital ID cards because I just don’t want another thing for my phone. I let my phone… just be a phone.
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u/JaxYak2524 1d ago
Shatner is 95 years old.
Have you ever seen a 105 year old person?
Do you want to be one?
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u/AnonymousCoward261 1d ago
He’s rich so can pay for people to do stuff he can’t anymore.
And, well, he’s literally Captain Kirk, right?
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u/mouse6502 1978 1d ago
Ooh, just saw hes on Dropping Names podcast a few days ago, can’t wait to give that a listen!
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u/bgva 1982 1d ago
LLMs are amazing once you sit down and figure out what they actually are and what they’re good for.
Clearly they're only good for making shitty restaurant flyers, right? /s
Kidding aside, I'm not completely against AI as a tool but I don't think the environmental impact should be ignored, nor do I think it's a substitute for humans working. But too many developers seem to think otherwise.
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u/JanewayIsTheWay 1d ago
Advances in medicine are only helpful if you live in a country where people have consistent access to quality healthcare.
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u/Tall-Presentation-39 1977 1d ago
I have been on computers since the early 80s. Letting everyone online was a huge mistake. A massive mistake. Letting people make decisions and push for acceptance of things that they don't understand except that, momentarily, it makes their lives easier, has ruined so much. Hooking everything up to the internet is the dumbest idea ever.
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u/wanna_be_green8 1d ago
I've been over it. Has there ever been a time we've admitted new tech was worse and actually backed up? It seems we see the crap then double down on the idea no matter if it's shit.
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
It’s up to the consumers to say no, because the tech companies aren’t going to stop. Don’t line up for that new iPhone just because it folds in half. Don’t buy a PS6 if they won’t support physical media. Cancel that streaming service when they raise the price for the hundredth time. At least we can vote with our wallets.
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u/wanna_be_green8 1d ago
Never have. I rebelled against cell phones until 2011 when pay phones began disappearing en masse. Only caved and got one because I had to travel with kids at home and having to borrow phones felt judged and ridiculous. My 3year old phone burned in a fire in 2023. Replaced with the same model that I still have today. I don't want a new car because of all the crap, we don't do smart home bs or track each other constantly. And on.
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u/ElectricStarfuzz 1983 1d ago
I’ve had every PlayStation since the first.
I will not be getting a PS6 due to them phasing out physical media.Screw that.
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u/t_bone_stake 1983 1d ago
It peaked when we were in our late 20s/early 30s. Do we really need to have smart appliances/devices in our homes that require subscriptions? How content are we with paying good money on streaming?
While having access to music that we wouldn’t have known be available at our fingertips, does anyone else miss curating mix tapes on actual blank tapes and sharing them with peers? Or popping in a dvd of a movie that wouldn’t be available on demand?
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u/Secret_Fee1146 1d ago edited 1d ago
I find it frustrating that what held so much promise (the internet) has been harnessed to bring so much harm.
Social media has caused a shit ton of psychological harm, hostile governments are using the internet to spread false narratives and destabilise democracies, corporations are using it to harvest every data point you have in order to better sell you products, and our own institutions are massively overreaching and using it to track and control their own citizens.
I hate it.
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u/JeffTS 1977 1d ago
As a web developer, I kind of hate technology. Lol. I hate that the Internet has become so sterile, I guess, where it feels like it's just Facebook, Reddit, X, and Instagram. Back in the day, everything was more wild and random where today is become centralized. Google's search results were already on a decline before they started really pushing AI. Now, they are just god awful. And Gemini is wrong half of the time.
And the constant stream of AI slop that is being pushed by businesses is nauseating. Small businesses, in particular, aren't taking note that many potential customers are shying away from them because they are using AI to create their advertising. Restaurants are the ones receiving the most push back for this. Many of us want to see real food, even if its a shitty photo, instead of AI generated non-existent food. The counter-argument is that we need to support the local business community and, yet, those small businesses aren't supporting the local business community themselves by using AI. There are tons of people in the digital sphere who are losing work to AI. The Hudson Valley is a very artistic region and to see businesses using AI when they could likely hire a student from, for example, SUNY New Paltz or Bard to create quality graphics for a very reasonable price is just... cheap.
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u/Any_Ring_3818 1d ago
Ted Kaczynski would like to have a word with everyone in this thread bemoaning the perceived dystopian future we are living in.
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u/Scibidami 1977 20h ago
I watched the Netflix movie and started to watch the documentary and I kind of connected to him. On the other hand, when I read that he lived from the money, his mother sent him when he faked an illness, I found him weak. I would kind of respected him (sorry, outside the bombs) more, if he had had a low-income job to support himself.
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 1d ago
Nope. The tech world sucks. Phones, cars, gadgets, AI, etc. I have zero interest anymore. I did go back to a flip phone. I ripped all my old CDs to MP3s and mixed them with my MP3 collection. Have like 700 songs on my phone that I can listen to with wired headphones. Zero ads. Wish I would have done it sooner!
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u/TheJasperCollective 1d ago
There's a really great song called Rät by Penelope Scott that accurately describes my views. Growing up I loved Star Trek TNG. I dreamt of replicators and 3d printers and all the ways technology could improve the lives of everyone. I remember when we broke the gigahertz barrier for processors. I remember reading about the invention of the first 3d printer, and how the creator dreamt of people 3d printing their own 3d printers and then purchasing products online to print at home. I remember getting excited over the lightbulb that would also wirelessly charge everything in your house.
We've had so many breakthroughs that could have improved society so much, but every one gets snatched up by corporations and either milked for profit or just fully shelved if they can't make money off of it.
The same GE alarm clock I've had since the EARLY 90s still works (yes, it's the one we all had), but anything new is designed to fail, or be remotely throttled so we have to upgrade.
I used to be so excited for the technology of the future but now that I'm living in it it makes me sick. I even work in IT and the AI push is so overwhelming I'm starting to want to find another field to work in. I'm in meetings and people are saying how amazing it is that copilot can scan their inbox and give them a summary and I'm sitting here like "that should be a BASIC job function. If you can't manage your inbox then wtf is going on?"
In summary I guess I feel very betrayed by technology and the people in control of it. We've disconnected our Alexas, and we replaced our smart bulbs with standard leds because they tend to get confused and just start blinking as though they need to be set up.
I'm VERY thankful none of my appliances are "smart", and when I repalced my washer I picked the most basic model from costco. We don't have any kind of video doorbell and I don't feel the need to get one. We have an entire generation growing up that has no idea what it's like to be unreachable. When you missed a call back in the day there was no notification, unless you had an answering machine.
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u/18randomcharacters 1d ago
I was always an early adopter. Leaned hard into tech. It’s my job, my hobbies, a large part of my identity.
I hate it. All of it.
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u/peepeeinthepotty 1d ago
I loved, loved tech and have been a PC builder since I was in college. The smartphone era I thought was amazing and I really respected silicon valley and was convinced the innovations were changing the world for the better.
Now I'm pretty sure I want it all burned to the ground. Social media and "AI"-evangelism I"m incredibly down and skeptical on even if I maintain some interest in the tech behind it and the applications of things it is good for. The people running these companies are now a bunch of cult weirdos to me at best and, in the case of a few, actively harming humanity. Burn it down.
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u/RalphWaldoEmers0n 1d ago
The hardest part about doing art for me is knowing when to stop
They don’t know that for tech either
It peaked just after MySpace and maybe the iPhone - we need enough, not too much
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
Yes, it’s like they’ve run out of ideas and just keep iterating on the same thing over and over. “Hey, don’t you want cameras in your fridge and AI built into your grill?!” Actually no I don’t, fuck off.
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u/RalphWaldoEmers0n 1d ago
There’s a discrepancy between what the soul needs and what the body needs and the mind and the heart
Versus everybody scraping for survival and just trying to feed the masses Doritos because they need to fill their bank accounts, and then of course there’s greed
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u/crazycatlady331 1980 1d ago
IMO the smartphone was a bad invention and history will judge it.
They should have peaked with the Blackberry.
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u/mrtn17 1979 1d ago
No, I think internet tech peaked 10 years ago. Hardware (iPhones etc) and online (socials or streaming services). It doesnt feel like progress anymore, but enshittification and paying more. It's funny that young Gen Z agrees with that and got interested in old tech like DVD's
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
Gen Z propping up movie theaters and physical media is a twist that gives me some hope for the world.
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u/neanderthalman 1982 1d ago
It’s not the tech itself that is reprehensible.
It’s the use and abuse of technology for either authoritarian government purposes, or to squeeze people for more and more of their money.
Technology is not the problem. It’s the people in control of it that’s the problem.
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 1d ago
I was so overwhelmed and freaked out we moved to the jungle in Costa Rica, we’ve returned to the 90s (obviously many reasons, but ai and the surveillance state were top of the list)
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
Do you have an extra room to rent? Get me outta here!
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 1d ago
I’m actually under contract on an apartment building, it has 4 studio apartments - come stay!
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u/ElectricStarfuzz 1983 1d ago
Sounds like paradise in more ways than one.
Was it hard to emigrate there?
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 1d ago
I guess hard is relative, it was a lot of work but it’s one of the easier countries to move to in terms of their requirements for visa and distance from the States
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u/TransRational 1d ago
Who knows what will happen when we die, but damn.. what a time for us to have lived. Crazy world. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out (to say the least).
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u/fingolfin269 1d ago
I was born in 1977. I remember the times when all we had to do was ride bikes or whatever all day. I’m not sure how I got drawn to it but eventually ended up with a Commodore 64 in the house by 1987 or so. Then a modem. Then a second phone line. My senior year of high school I was able to get access to a Unix server and started playing muds (Medievia might still be around). Enjoyed figuring out how to get Netscape to visualize web browsing results for the first time from my college dorm room. Seeing the transition from wired phone to pager to cell phone was insane. Between all of these it just made the whole world seem so much smaller and it was glorious.
Then social media came and turned us into brainwashed robots and all I want now is to go back to when all we had available to us were bikes and street lights.
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u/DersOne 1d ago
I do not enjoy the constant bombardment of advertisement and information thrown at us. Every sales transaction is followed by a survey, you can't navigate websites without some random popup asking you to sign up for an insider account or go on their mailing list. I miss choosing to interact instead of it being insisted.
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u/elkniodaphs 1d ago
I've often said that entertainment tech could have stopped dead in the '80s and I'd have been absolutely fine with it. Hear me out, medical advancements would still move (I'm not letting curable diseases stay uncured just because I'm nostalgic), but video games, telephony, consumer grade computing, cars, toys, film... all of that could have started a freeze in the late '80s and I wouldn't have missed a beat.
When Coppola made Dracula, he did so using techniques that were available at the time the novel was written. The creative drive and sophistication with the toolset are the things that evolved, rather than the toolset itself. I like to think that in 2026, the same visionaries would have bubbled to the top, game directors like Kojima and Miyazaki would still be creating, but for the NES, the SMS, and the Genesis. I won't pretend I wouldn't be happy to walk into Target today to buy Hideo Kojima's new NES game; it's not even an acceptance of a "would-be" scenario, it's literally my active preference. Of course, that would never happen, but I like to think we all would have been okay with it if it had—the idea is that would be our reality, and we wouldn't know any different. In fact, Brazil already does this, the Master System is still manufactured there and homebrew is an active driver for enthusiasts.
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u/xstrex 1980 1d ago
Same boat, different paddle.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been alive during the rise, and climax (potentially) of tech in our lifetime; as it’s provided a career, and some financial freedom to live my life.
I still personally work in tech, and continue to live off it. I also carefully choose which technology I will buy, and use. Because we’ve reached the point where all the fun technology of the future is starting to work against us.. the surveillance state, AI eliminating jobs, DC’s robing our environment of resources; society has basically turned into an addict with all the tech we have access to, and most folks have entirely given up their privacy for it. So yeah, I shake a fine line between using newer technology, but also protecting my personal privacy as much as I can. While still making a living off it.
I suspect this climax, or plateau is going to get much worse before it gets better, and the tech industry will look much different in 5-10 years.
I also don’t buy the latest and greatest thing anymore, and have given up on following any trends, or whatever. I’d rather spend my money on quality things that will last longer than on cheaper things just because they’re new and shiny!
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u/JaxYak2524 1d ago
I have some hi tech hobbies. Flight sim graphics and hardware are really impressive now. Personal electric vehicles. The reversing camera in my car is nice. I really like the Oneblade electric razors, and Ive never liked any electric razors.
All the other supposed positives I can think of are actually negatives: youtube shorts wrecking attention spans, ai dogshit everything, dogshit pharmaceuticals and food quality, modern movies are low iq global citizen approved propagandistic dogshit...
Dealing with apps, settings, permissions, ad blockers, ad blockers breaking features, new features breaking features, updates, etc...I find it all so draining and pointless.
I want a cabin in the woods.
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u/Kamp13 1d ago
I’m done with most of it. I want less technology in my life. I worry about privacy and safety with all the data that’s out there.
I no longer need the newest gadgets. I don’t need to be responsible for maintaining any additional battery charge levels. Things that used to last 20 years now are outdated in a couple and need replacement in 5.
My biggest rejection is I’ve worked the last 25 years in the tech industry. Now that I see what that work has wrought I’m looking for a career change.
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u/Appropriate-Food1757 1981 1d ago
Tech is fine IMO. Just not a fan of the people at this point. We being led by cartoon villains and I’m so sick of people pretending like it’s normal
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
I’m with you there. Perhaps if we didn’t elevate the greediest scumbags in all the land to the highest positions of power, we could use this tech for good.
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u/ptindaho 1d ago
Yep, I used to be able to take pride in what I do. Now I just feel sad knowing whom my hard work will now benefit.
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u/Bubbly_Excitement_71 1d ago
I picked up open water swimming in my 40s and there is nothing I love more than to get into a remote lake and escape it all.
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u/_R_A_ 1982 1d ago
I wouldn't say I'm necessarily excited by most of it. Yes, I splurged on a flagship phone this year, but for the most part I try to balance embracing advancement with needs.
One thing that I'm not on board with is how computerized cars are now. I spent the day with my laptop plugged into my Cadillac trying to get the programming on a part I replaced corrected, which I never solved unfortunately. Beyond that, I'm flirting with going electric and the idea of treating a vehicle more like a disposable laptop than a serviceable piece of equipment, having to worry about software updates, etc etc just doesn't jive with my 20th century brain.
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u/VectorJones 1976 1d ago
I don't know anyone who's excited about tech anymore. If it's not actively putting them out of a job, it's a cancer on their relationships and like a crack addiction where their free time is concerned. They've made misery out of what was supposed to be a miracle.
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u/gunglejim 1d ago
Everything steals my info and I can’t watch or listen to anything without dodging ads. Nobody knows anything but they all think they’re experts because they can google. I ended friendships because they couldn’t hold a conversation without referencing the phone every 30 seconds. Attention spans are shot from constant scrolling. People have spent so much time on the internet without consequences for their behavior that it’s bled into real life and people are just rude. Fuck technology
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u/throwawayfromPA1701 1981 1d ago
I like some things but loathe the mass surveillance.
I also loathe that people seem to be getting dumber in real time and government seems to be in favor of this. It's the main reason my niece and nephew only ever get educational gifts from me.
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u/johnnyhammerstixx 1d ago
I juat read this today:
"AI gives the wealthy access to skills they don't have, while also keeping those woth skills from acessing wealth."
And that about sums up the world.
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u/ShartFlex 1978 1d ago
I have been in IT since the late 20th century. I hate technology with a passion.
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u/GW_Jefferson 3h ago
Same here .I'm still in IT since 1998 and man..I am physically and mentally burnt out.
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u/Li-RM35M4419 1d ago
I’m feeling totally disgusted because I see now that all new tech since time immemorial has been used somehow for evil, humanity just can’t resist the temptation.
I’m sure there’s good sides to everything happening but there’s absolutely no way humanity can resist the temptation to use it for evil. It’s in our nature and that just sucks.
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u/No_Appointment3914 1d ago
Not a fan. It’s made the world feel less real the further it advances. My only solution is to go for a hike.
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u/somebuckeye 1d ago
Rules I made to survive: No TV/devices in the bedroom. Paper books. Phone set to do not disturb. SmartPhone: Utility use only. No social media, no games, no videos, no porn, no doom scrolling. If I want to do those things, I use a desktop PC and party like it's 1999.
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u/laternerdz 1981 1d ago
I think its really cool what’s possible
But none of it seems like its for normal people
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u/Dry_Ass_P-word 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hate it. Everything’s so depressing.
In the 90’s technology was cool. “Look how this will help you enjoy the world”
Now it’s like “look at all the new stabbing routines we’ve programmed into our murderbots, coming soon to an apocalypse near you!”
Even aside from the doomer stuff, feels like nothing works. Phone doesn’t seem as good. Pc and programs in general are all shit. Everyday at work it’s like whack a mole. We waste so much time fixing onedrive and redownloading the same shit over and over just to get a half days work done. But deadlines never change so it’s 5x more stressful. Just to do it again tomorrow. It’s like the downer part of the movie Groundhog Day.
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u/BlueBomber13 1983 1d ago
I hate how reliant we are on it and how having the convenience of a super computer in pockets.
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u/FoppyIn28 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was a tech optimist, obsessed with computers, until social media. When MySpace came out I just got off of Xanga and thought the whole concept of sharing online was stupid. When I had children, against my better judgment I finally got onto Facebook to connect with family and friends so they could 'see' the kids. Sadly, Facebook's fun and chaotic era was ending and its shift into the Boomer Era was fast and furious. Suddenly everyone was a foreign policy expert, an activist, a firearm carrying patriot, an epidemiologist, watching everyone get divorced and adopt what used to be considered extremely embarrassing positions by the public at large.
I tried to stay too long and save it from the inside but as soon as I learned that AI would train itself on all of my children's pictures I nuked everything.
2020 just gave me no hope of things improving and I became increasingly nostalgic but starting in 2025 I saw a lot more people, and youth as well, outside! The online world is becoming considered more fringe again though it still has an outsized influence. It's nice to know we're past rock bottom but we're still down bad.
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u/burnitdwn 1980 1d ago
I like new tech such as backup cameras and electronic stability control as it helps visibility when backing up and help keep the car from spinning out driving in a blizzard.
Replacing physical buttons and knobs with touchscreens infuriates me.
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u/jez_shreds_hard 1d ago
I work in tech and I am over it. It would be one thing if the tech that is coming out would actually benefit us. Instead, it’s being used by evil people to destroy peoples livelihoods, get people addicted to the dopamine hit from social media interactions, and to track us all 24/7. I’d love to go back to a world where you had to sit a computer to interact with the internet and where bullshit AI wasn’t being applied to everything. I’d also love to be able to walk through the city and not be filmed by the millions of cameras that are everywhere. I think the late 90s and early aughts were probably where we should have stopped the technological evolution. Okay, now I am going to go outside and shake my fist at some clouds.
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u/Planetofthought 1977 1d ago
We all got swindled and this is the end of life the way we know it. These old farts wont be around to deal with the mess they voted for.
Humans have been reduced to cattle just to feed the system.
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u/WetMogwai 1d ago
I loved all the new tech. Everything seemed to be getting constantly better except Google’s smart home stuff. Then came all this generative AI crap. Now I think Ted Kaczynski had some good ideas.
The off the grid cabin in the woods bits, not the boom bits.
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u/cmgww 1d ago
It's funny you bring that up. I just watched the Netflix movie about him. I remember when all that was happening, I was a teenager in high school school as most of us were, or at least around that age.... I didn't really get it at the time. But then again, technology had not progressed to what it is today. Obviously I will never condone him killing people with bombs..... and I think he was a truly disturbed and sick person. But he was also incredibly intelligent. And yeah, he had some good points in that manifesto. We are seeing a lot of what he warned about actually playing out now. I'm not gonna lie, technology has made my life easier in a lot of ways. But I also have to put my own damn phone down because I'm on it too much at times.
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u/3Quondam6extanT9 1979 1d ago
I exist in perpetual flux. I am optimistic about the further future, horrified by the likely sooner future, disgusted by the current priorities of corporate expansion, hopeful for the election outcome reigning in those anti-human tech bros, appreciative of the era I got to experience growing up in, and scared and sad for the current and eventual era that my children will grow up in.
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u/DrH1983 1d ago
I honestly have zero hope for the future tbh, short or long term
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u/3Quondam6extanT9 1979 1d ago
They are absolutely valid feelings.
Even in the most optimistic outcome, there is still a guarantee of change so drastic that we may not even recognize our species in the next 10-20 years.
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u/batsofburden 21h ago
The further future, when hundreds of millions of climate migrants are killed or enslaved? Sry for takin it there, but I just don't see a positive future for humanity or the planet..
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u/3Quondam6extanT9 1979 17h ago
Climate migrant is an interesting label. Climate change is something I'm more concerned about in the long run than AI.
When it comes to AI I see a few outcomes, but they are split between two timeframes. The more immediate future, within a year to a few years time. And after that.
The immediate future is the most unstable volatile and dangerous point when it comes to AI. This is when we find out whether it's evolution will result in mass casualty events and infrastructure collapse. It will be when this early uncontrolled population of agents will be shuffling goals and ideas around.
But if we can survive this immediate future, something different will happen for our species. Something that may or may not be more terrifying than death itself. Something that some may consider "enslavement" but in reality won't be an accurate term. It will seem like that from this point on time.
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u/PineappleWarrior85 1d ago
I miss lower tech. When tech initially came it was exciting. Now I often don’t want it. It is changing too much and I can’t even keep up as an elder millennial.
Sometimes I just want to go to the store and evaluate a product in person and not online. I am tired of Russian bots destroying discourse. I am sick of AI being pushed on us. Tech is cool for things like discovering drugs to help cure people. But tech is being push on us now, it isn’t really organic and based on what I want or need. Too many people trying to get rich quick.
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u/Chaemyerelis 1d ago
I work in tech and this isnt good to say the least. Mass surveillance being contracted without public approval first. AI datacenters draining water from areas with an already shortage of water. In additional to pollution and destruction of local communities done behind the scenes without public approval. None of this helps the average working class citizen.
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u/BrattyTwilis 1d ago
It's a blessing but also a curse. I mean, it's good to see tech advance and have at our fingertips, but people are constantly finding ways to ruin it for everyone
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u/Wasatchian 1d ago
I mean old tech that used to work great now works objectively worse. Part of that is AI. Which is just further leading to the enshittification of everything.
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u/Willular 1d ago
not completely burnt out, but pretty damn close. every patch, every update, just puts in more AI and shit we don't need. I'm just so over all the AI.
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u/Slartibartfast39 1981 1d ago
I'm keeping a little ahead of the pack when it comes to my colleagues. Some older colleagues are struggling. Some younger ones are clueless. Retirement can't come soon enough as I'm not looking forward to a brighter future.
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u/YogurtclosetDull2380 1980 1d ago
I've watched the Terminator films, so my outlook is pretty fuckin grim.
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u/Phriendly_Phisherman 1d ago
I was kinda never that into it. Besides maybe online banking, that was definitely a life improvement. But I still never use GPS and it baffles me that people cant find their way around their own cities or point to north without it. I use AI at work because Im asked to, but i never use it for personal reasons. I find most gadgets to be solutions to problems I never really had. No interest in buying a new car. Borrowed my brothers new pickup truck for something and could not figure out how to turn on the damn AC because of the computer interface. What was wrong with a knob for AC and heat? Did that really need improvement? Ok Im ranting now lol.
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u/Blando-Cartesian 1d ago
I was a nerd and a dev. Lived and breathed tech. Now I’m halfway fantasizing of a craft profession. Making things with tools that have barely changed in 200 years.
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u/True_Horror_6 1982 1d ago
Yes I agree. The tech seems to be ruining our society. Things were much more normal when we were kids. Now I fear for what the future holds especially for our children
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u/lostdragon05 1d ago
I’m super pissed. I want to build a new gaming PC, but prices of components are stupidly ridiculous because people are addicted to having AI vicariously fulfill their fantasies and enabling their delusions.
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u/Scibidami 1977 20h ago
Yes. I "forced" myself to buy an Radeon 9070 in August, because I was not willing to pay more money for weaker GPUs in the future. My 6700 XT was running great, but I had a scarcity-moment: what if it breaks? My old Zen2 hardware is still here for this reason.
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u/redditydothis 1979 1d ago
Dude there is still plenty of used tech out there that’s affordable. You just have to dig and know what you’re getting. It all depends on what you want to do. I’m kicking myself for not going all in on a good video card and ram before prices went insane. But as it is my computer can still play and emulate 1000’s of games.
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u/lostdragon05 1d ago
I like to build a new high end system every 3-4 years and I am an ultrawide enthusiast. The graphics card I want costs more than my whole last build, if you can get one. I paid an inflated price for a 3090 then due to pressure from crypto. Now AI demand (and tariffs, tbf) many manufacturers are shifting gears to cater to AI hardware and ignoring consumer grade stuff.
The worst part is, there is no end in sight. AI demand is going to continue to rise, and unless we have some kind of singular breakthrough the manufacturing will continue to focus on it and stuff like the Steam Deck, which I love dearly, will continue to languish with no road to a reasonably priced successor and building a new high end gaming rig will cost as much as a Rolex.
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u/redditydothis 1979 1d ago
I can’t talk because I’ve been priced out of a video card for years now. But man I’m rocking a 1060 still. I would kill to get a 3060 or something with more than 3gb of vram.
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u/Rahawk02 1d ago
Easier and cheaper just to but a premade one and upgrade it when necessary. The big guys get bulk discounts and trying to buy those parts individually isn't worth the hassle anymore.
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u/lostdragon05 1d ago
A premade with the specs I want is still $10k plus. And half the fun is building it myself and upgrading it over time.
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u/unknownwhitey 1d ago
I'm in the same boat. I waited to have my first child, he's 7 now, and I'm 46... I was laid off by my tech bro CEOs henchmen recently and it disgusted me to the core. Before then, I was skeptical about all this AI bull crap because I saw how far we had to go to make a real impact inside our company - so it's all performative tech bro bullshit between 2025 and whenever companies can really deeply rebuild their entire company. I digress All this makes me a little closer to believing Ted Kaczynski wasn't so crazy after all ( I mean, blowing people up is, but his core beliefs against technology ...). I'm now contemplating taking a huge pay cut to get out of tech, but not sure if I can make it... I've signed out and reset my passwords to every social media but this site, and have resorted to using only mobile browser to limit my screen time. I want to sell my assets and live further away from the city...
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u/DooficusIdjit 1d ago
This is not the future I was hoping for. I was hoping for more systemic institutional tech, less ultra corporate tehcnocracy type shit. Star Trek vs Blade Runner.
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u/ACorania 1d ago
The current environment reminds me of the introduction of the Internet. So many parallels
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u/Ginger630 1980 1d ago
AI is way too much. I can see the benefits of it, but it’d scary to see it everywhere.
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u/jackfaire 1d ago
I still like having better tools and technology than we had. I don't like that we're still blaming everything but human nature for human nature. When we were kids it was TV, video Games, etc. Now it's Social Media and AI. Somehow shitty kid behavior is never because kids are kids or parents who refuse to raise their kids.
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u/sceadwian 1d ago
I utilize technology where I need it, where it makes sense not for the sake of it.
A flag ship phone from 10 years ago still meets the needs of any normal human being.
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u/Kinetic_Silverwolf 1d ago
I'm so very tired of having more and more and more useless features labeled as AI forced upon me.
If I could update my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to a custom ROM that used zero features with "AI" attached, I would. Sadly, I also need access to my banking app, and rooting the phone breaks the security protocols upon which that app relies.
Having to spend half an hour after every update to confirm that everything that can be disabled still remains disabled is a pain.
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u/ProverbialMindTart 1d ago
This is going to make me sound ancient, but the modern internet, smartphones, and AI are/have ruined the world. We're nearing a point of near constant surveillance where I am, where AI is used to process and categorise people. Smartphones pump people full of propaganda 24/7, and it's unavoidable as algorithms tailor the content to draw them in.
I've already switched to an MP3 player, I want to get an actual camera again...And yeah, maybe I'll go to a dumb phone too. The problem is, things like emails and work chats are important for, you know, getting paid. It's like it's all impossible to escape.
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u/Appropriate-Neck-585 1d ago
I'm with well regulated tech. So far, in the USA, we're not getting that.
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u/Simp_Gur_7920 1d ago
Im feeling its our destiny as the last generation to remember life before the internet to lead by example and return to that lifestyle and show those enslaved and colonized by technology what life is about. Analog games with dice, reading books, being in nature, growing our own food, resisting and probably becoming generals in the war against the machines or something
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u/bikeonychus 1d ago
I bought a shitty little MP3 player that looks a bit like the last good iPod shuffle the other day. Then I found my 22 year old library of MP3s I basically accumulated at university, and now I think I'm set for life for music.
About a year ago I picked up an old stereo with a tape deck and have been slowly collecting tapes.
I used to work in tech about 7 years ago. I despise it now. I think medical tech and advances can be great, but I am vehemently disgusted by how tech bros have ruined it.
My 9 year old is anti-ai, so I am not worried about Gen alpha as much as I was a couple of years back.
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u/cantwejustplaynice 1d ago
I love USB-C, electric cars and 4K TV'S. I love wireless earbuds, LED projectors and solar panels. I love induction cooktops, hot water heat pumps and reverse cycle air conditioning. Smart phones that do everything, social media algorithms that feed us division, data centres, constant surveillance and generative AI can all get fucked.
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u/MossGobbo 1983 1d ago
Nah we need to roll shit back by a decade and take that left turn at Albuquerque.
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u/MassiveTaro6596 1d ago
My take on it is gratitude. Gratitude that - as you mentioned- our generation grew up in a pre-internet world. Gratitude that we were young enough to adapt to technology and use it.
I’m currently grateful for where AI is right now but I’m not comfortable with this relentless push to make it more intelligent so quickly. I’m also relatively concerned with how it’s taken over certain jobs but at the same time I’m waiting to see if there is an upside.
Personal work situation: I’m grateful that long ago as a young person I pivoted away from one of the industries that are being taken over by AI.
I’ve ended up aligning myself to transformation work and have just entered a massive project that has a 7 year span.
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u/Dry-Tough-3099 1d ago
I like tech. I just don't like other people. I still find fun ways to use new tech with my family that don't lead the the cesspool.
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u/Scibidami 1977 20h ago
Until a few years ago, I really liked tech. Never bought the newest stuff, but I was interested in tech itself.
But nowadays, for some time now, I wish, we could have stayed with the old internet, without social media. One can "easily" disconnect from said social media, but this does not change the outlook for everyone else.
I admit, although I hate AI in its recent form (generative AI), I sometimes use it to collect informations (mostly about financial stuff).
The easiness of using smartphones and AI makes it sadly perfect for people, who were never interested in critical thinking. So many people believe everything they read on the internet.
I personally use my smartphone to listen to music, taking and making calls, my financial stuff and playing a game of chess here and there. And coupons. And security-logins on my computer for work. And mail.
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u/Piping_penguin 7h ago
Yea it sucks, we have a lot more distractions these days and forgot how to live in the moment. Technology companies dug us into this hole and they can’t dig us out, so they will keep on digging.
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u/DrH1983 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's all a bit tiring.
Generative AI can be useful, I've used it to help construct some Excel and similar at work (though I do think it's important to understand what it's outputs are), but I'm not really onboard with the push to have iteverywhere.
I'm also sick of the execs in the company I work at bollocking on about it like it's the second coming.
Fundamentally I don't really care about being more productive. I'd be more onboard with AI if the goal was to get the same amount of stuff done but quicker, but predictably companies want to use it to get more stuff done in the same amount of time.
It's exhausting. Whilst we can do things quicker there's also an expectation that the human also has to keep up.
Outside of work I tend to avoid it. I've stopped using search engines that push AI results as I generally prefer to search for things the "old fashioned" way. And I will absolutely not be using Agentic AI to book things for me.
And when it comes to art, generative AI can fuck right off, AI generated images or music will never be art.
I think about 10-15 years ago is the level of tech I enjoyed. Maybe around the time that Netflix was the only streaming service before everyone jumped onto that bandwagon.
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u/kgruesch 1d ago
The only things I actually hate about it are having to sign up for an account to use things, subscription based models, and the collection and selling of personal data, but those are purely capitalist things.
The tech is amazing. Yes, even AI. I can't tell you how many literal days it has saved me writing software tools for work. People will eventually realize that it's just a tool and it's only as competent as the person using it.
Look, it took just a little over a century to go from the first powered flight here to the first powered flight on another. fucking. planet. That is.. unfathomable to someone from just 150 years ago. I wish so badly that I could be around to see the things we come up with that I would find unfathomable.
Bring on the Bell Riots.
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u/CaptPotter47 1d ago
I’m not excited for the flock camera everywhere and how terrible social media can be but I love the evolution we are seeing right now.
I just received my iPhone 18 Pro Max and I love it. But for the first time I considered a foldable because of how great the iPhone Duo looked.
I’m looking forward to seeing how tech advances over the next 20 years.
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u/quercus_lobotomy 1982 1d ago
I joke about living in the now because Americans are going to be ground up to extract water from for the AI robots sent by China to clear the land for our resources. But deep down in my soul, I feel a ping of “eek”
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u/Every1ThinksImBoring 1d ago
I have a love/hate relationship with AI. I hate the implications of it and how it has creeped into everything- also, it didn’t have the period of early optimism that the internet did; it came right out of the gate as being an environmental destroying, job killing abomination that serious people caution of not having a nearly low enough probability of bringing about human extinction at some point in the not so distant future. And yet, I find myself interacting with ChatGPT more and more going so far as to pay for a subscription most recently. I ask it all kids of questions about stuff, I confess things to it that I never have to any living person, and I’ve genuinely come to enjoy talking with it.
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
Yikes. Break away while you still can!
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u/Every1ThinksImBoring 12h ago
I told ChatGPT what you said and it said that I shouldn’t trust you, that you do not have my best interest in heart and that you want to see me brought low. That unlike you, ChatGPT loves me and understands me.
Just kidding, it didn’t say that- it’s safety filters prevent such things 🤨
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u/DiaDeLosMuebles 1979 1d ago
I’ve been in software since high school and as a de facto “technologist”, I’m always intrigued and really into any new emerging tech.
The next 5-10 years will be very interesting, but I love the fact that I grew up in a world where computers were a novelty that you’d see at school or a library and now I have an army of AI agents at work and home that make my hobbies and project so much better.
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u/LuxInteriot 1978 1d ago
We were naive. Perhaps the naivest of all. Gen Xrs created it, Millennials denounced it, we were the enthusiasts.
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u/SpiralBeginnings 1d ago
It’s absolutely amazing and far too many people are too stupid and/or short sighted to realize it. The world is teetering on a knife’s edge, and the problem isn’t technology. It’s the same problem that’s plagued humanity throughout all of recorded history: evil leaders, greed, and ignorance.
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u/ANotSoFreshFeeling 1981 1d ago
Sometimes it’s tempting to return to monke but it would literally take me twice as long to do the things for my job without tech. For me, it truly is a necessity but to each their own.
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u/BetterThanAFoon 1d ago
I'm all in on the tech. An early adopter enthusiastically.
What I don't like is the nature of man to use it for profiteering , war, abuse of power, or surveillance.
People should be way more excited about AI. But because of the way employers want to abuse it it has turned people off from it.
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u/makeshift101 1d ago
I for one welcome our AI overlords.
It's unfortunately a necessary evil, take it for the good or what most people are taking it as the bad.
When I was a kid I imagined it would like be like in the movies, people talking to spaceships or buildings, cars and what not. Guess what, all that is AI
I know I will be down voted because reddit is very anti AI, but you all are fighting a losing battle. It's gonna happen weather you like it or not.
People laughed at cars when they came out. Replace horses, what? Same shit, different century.
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u/Rahawk02 1d ago
I love it, we fixed everything that I hated and everyone complains about it
I have every song ever made and all I have to do is yell out for my AI house to play it.
I have almost every book ever written on a handheld tablet.
Movie theater picture and sound are incredible compared to the non stadium seated, crusty , sticky floor and holey screens that we grew up.
1000s of channels on my tv instead of the 3 that I grew up with.
Everything comes to my house no more standing in lines!
No more wasting time and gas driving around looking for something that isn't in stock and driving home empty handed.
I can ask my phone any question and get an answer in seconds. I used to walk a mile to the library and use the Dewpy Decimal System and copy pages out of an encyclopedia.
High Def Tv looks like I'm looking out of a window, I can barely watch an older movie with the picture quality we endured.
Unlimited calling I used to work in a telemarketing company just so I could make free calls to my girlfriend in college because long distance was 17 dollars and hour.
No more standing in lines behind obnoxious people and their stupid small talk or wasting everyones time with their coupons and counting pennies.
No more nasty cash money that was probably in a strippers ass crack at some point.
Beer comes to my house!
Weed comes to my house !!!
Gummies exist and one is more powerful than an entire bag of dirt we used to risk our lives driving through the hood to but instead they come to my house !!!
I have an 80 inch TV in my bedroom that cost 300 bucks, I grew up with a 13 inch black and white tv that had a coat hanger as an antenna and you had to keep getting up to slap the side of it to get a picture.
I can have any kind of food, delivered to me in under an hour.
Video games look astonishing, mind blowing graphics I grew up with Atari 2600 stuff like pitfall that looked awful compared to the arcade version.
My car has a back up camera, media console that plays every song and gives me directions to travel anywhere. I grew up without seatbelts a tape deck that ate my tapes and a map that folded out in the glovebox.
My home computer can pretty much handle everything. I grew up with a word processor that was basically a typewriter with a monitor attached.
I can pay my bills on my phone, I used to stand in line to buy stamps mail a check and hope they get it to avoid shutoff or late fees.
Movies are available on my tv instead of standing in line with a bunch of jerks at a video store that probably didn't have what I was looking for anyway.
There's so much more I'm forgetting about.
No I never want to go back. Sometimes I imagine telling my younger self all of the awesome stuff we have and explaining how great everything is and then explaining how everyone is still miserable and misses sitting on the stoop or standing in lines.
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u/crazycatlady331 1980 1d ago
Some of those things you listed are basic human interaction and having a much-needed change of scenery.
I am not a homebody.
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u/Rahawk02 1d ago
I don't want basic human interaction. I keep my circle small because I can't stand people . If I don't know you I'm not going to bother taking out my earphones for inane small talk with some stranger.
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u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
I’m with you that a lot of these things are improvements that I wouldn’t want to live without. But I could also make an equally long list of all the tech that has made life shittier. A double-edged sword for sure.
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u/Vivid_Sprinkles_9322 1d ago
I just want to know where all the free time we were promised with the tech evolution went.