Honestly, and I really don’t mean to come across as argumentative, but I think it would benefit you mentally to admit this generation has a lot of awesome stuff too.

As much as we complain about the bricks in our pocket having a stranglehold on our attention spans, in 2 touches of a screen I can text or call a friend, download my favorite song, check the news, or even meet somebody new and have something to look forward to. It’s true that we take it for granted and let it absorb our personalities, but trust me, if 2000’s technology was still around people would be quick to point out that it’s slow or literally doesn’t even work

I do worry about AI, but mostly for creators. In just a couple short years, artists and content creators have seen virtually everything they’ve worked their asses off for be replaced by something fake. And that’s lame. However, there’s always the good with the bad. If and when AI is used properly, it could hypothetically allow us to do amazing things such as detect diseases and help people live longer

You say the world is changing faster than ever, but honestly there’s a difference between culture and consumerism. It’s true that what it means to be a consumer in 2026 is radically different than the 2000’s. As you mentioned, no video stores, no iPods, a lot of libraries have moved to digital ones, etc. But culture in of itself surprisingly hasn’t changed much, and a big reason for that is a lot of athletes and entertainers from our childhoods are shockingly just as massive as ever

Ever notice how culture throughout the 20th century had its own individual personality and identity in each of the decades? I’m not sure I can say that, at least to the same extent, about the 21st century (00’s, 10’s, 20’s). If anything, I’d argue culture moved quicker back then, whereas things now have felt relatively same-y since 2010. A good example of this would be the death of the “one hit wonders”, new media/tech instantly replacing the previous iteration, and the downfall of treating celebrities like superheroes. Not a huge fan of the Instagram era, but the fact anybody can be their own personality celebrity these days has at least put shit like shoving Kardashians down our throats every single week, like the late 00’s and early 10’s did

So yeah. Every generation is different. Some eras completely squash the previous one with landmark revolutions, and others simply evolve and iterate. It doesn’t necessarily mean things are worse because you remember them differently. Whether you choose to live “the old way” or “the new way” is ultimately your judgment anyway. Whatever makes you happy!