We (As a Society) Peaked in the 90s

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Digital tech, music, and what “peaked” means

  • Some readers thought the author conflated digital production with digital distribution.
  • Clarification:
    • In the 90s, digital synths and computer-based production were already central to pop and electronic music.
    • Fully end‑to‑end, affordable, non‑linear digital recording for indie musicians only really spread in the early 2000s with cheap hard drives and VSTs.
    • The article’s “digital ruined music” framing was seen as oversimplified or mis-timed; others read it as a complaint about MP3s/streaming, not DAWs.

Nostalgia, age, and perception of decades

  • Many argue “the 90s were best” really means “my youth felt best”; survey links about people favoring their 20s/30s are cited.
  • Others counter that younger people who never lived the 90s are nostalgic for them too (via media like Stranger Things, music, cars), suggesting something more than age-bias.
  • Some insist their kids are objectively better off now (health, wealth, fewer mega-wars), others feel guilty their kids must grow up in a world of housing crises, screens, and anxiety.
  • Multiple comments cite Douglas Adams’ “everything invented after 35 is against the natural order” to frame generational resistance, but several say this doesn’t fully explain current discomfort.

What was special about the 90s (or 00s)

  • Common positives:
    • Early internet/BBS era excitement without social media, algorithms, and enshittification.
    • Scarcity of entertainment: albums, films, and games arrived slowly and carried more “weight”; boredom pushed people toward hobbies like programming.
    • Stronger offline social life, more unsupervised childhood freedom, a feeling of cultural optimism (“things can only get better”).
  • Some instead nominate the 00s as ideal: home internet but pre-smartphone/social network saturation.

Costs and exclusions of the 90s

  • Critics stress the 90s were worse for many: LGBT people (AIDS, no marriage), racial minorities, neurodivergent kids, and poorer regions (e.g., post‑USSR collapse).
  • Lack of cameras and social media also meant more unchecked police abuse, bullying, and exploitation.

Social media, enshittification, and decline vs progress

  • Strong thread blaming social media/algorithmic feeds for echo chambers, fear, political polarization, and kids’ indoor, screen-bound lives.
  • Others say outcomes depend heavily on personal choices: many people live well without social media at all.
  • A more philosophical subthread asks whether “everything’s getting worse” is real or just a recurring illusion; digital platforms show fast “rise → enshittification” cycles that make perceived decline feel plausible.

What now?

  • Suggestions include: limit or ban social media for kids, emulate happier societies, focus on personal tech boundaries.
  • One reply notes you can’t have a “constructive” debate if you presuppose that “things are not okay now.”