How things have changed...most are too young to recall

I have written about this in the past...

https://dirtybennywrites.blogspot.com/2023/12/this-place-has-changeda-lot.html

Matt does a good job of highlighting WITHIN OUR LIFE TIMES how much this place has changed and not in a good way.  It has all been towards the end of digitizing human behaviour into data that can be tracked and modelled. 

From my own post above....

This place has changed since I was young...changed A LOT.  Life used to be VERY DIFFERENT.

When I was young....

Children walked to and from school.

Children walked to playgrounds and ball fields to play. 

Each neighborhood had its own church.  I mean every 2 blocks.  The religious practices were interwoven with ethnic customs. There was the Irish church, the Slovak church, the Italian church, and the Polish church.

A child would leave the house in the morning and not return till lunch or dinner.  

It was common to randomly walk to relatives houses in town and just visit for a chat. 

In each block or so, there was a small family run store.  They lived in the back and had 2 rooms set up in the front as a storefront.  There was one of these every block or so.  They sold groceries, small toys, penny candy, ice cream, cold cuts, coffee.

Milk was delivered to your door in glass bottles. 

There was a "rag" man or riggy who would drive a truck about and collect rags and unwanted clothes. 

Doctors made house calls. 

Television had 3 channels and went off the air overnight.

Produce was bought at a local farmer's market once or twice a week.  Many local farmers would bring their harvest for sale. 

Nearly everyone in the neighborhood had their own garden. 

Local church bazaars were held in the summer.  Men would play in ethnic bands.  Women would gather to make ethnic foods for purchase. 

There were local hardware stores.  Home Depot and Lowe's did not exist. 

We walked the railroad tracks to go from town to town. 

Bicycles were cherished.  It was freedom to travel and explore the world for the day.  Never used a helmet. 

There were no handheld phones, only on the wall or plugged into a wall jack. 

There were no computers.  Handheld calculators were introduced in the 70's. 

There was no Amazon.

There were no shopping malls. 

Grasscutters were push mowers. 

Storytelling was an important part of family gatherings. 

No child car seats.  No car seatbelts. 

https://www.countryliving.com/life/kids-pets/g4906/things-60s-kids-did-that-would-horrify-us-now/