People Who Grew Up Before Cellphones Are Answering The Question, “Was Life Actually Better?” And Honestly…It’s A Resounding Yes - BuzzFeed

“It’s funny, isn’t it? How we talked for hours on the phone back then, but now that we all have a phone in our pockets, we rarely talk on the phone.”

"Or, if you were lazy, you could just do drugs. But even that took a bit more initiative than staring at a screen for hours."

"It involved more effort. But we were infinitely better for it. People made plans and stuck to them. There was no last-minute text, 'I need to cancel, I have a headache,' etc. You just got on with it and committed."

"I also think it has something to do with our entitlement mentality. Everything happens in a flash. We pay in a flash, we connect in a flash, and we text without even having to talk in a flash, so there’s this expectation that everything should be done quickly and we should be catered to. I know this is only a small part of that mentality, but it’s added to it."

"Those moments when you're lying in bed unable to sleep, sitting in a lobby waiting for the dentist, hanging out at the theater before the movie starts. Those moments were thoughts about your life, contemplation about the future, making up stories in your head, imagining a better world, and just getting lost in your own thoughts. I don't think a lot of teenagers know how to do this. The moment they have 20 seconds of downtime, they're looking at a meme or a video."

Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.