From all that I can see, materialism and money, have replaced the days of family, friends, and a more relaxed lifestyle.
My own mother was always a stay-at-home mom, yet she treated her position in the household as a fulltime job. Cooking, laundry, baby/childcare, shopping, cleaning, she tackled it all according to her family unit description, as did every other mother and woman I knew back in the day.
Today, double income households have replaced the once stay-at-home mom fixture so many of us grew up to know. Do also that today's generation, even the tail-end generation before it have become somewhat lazy. General mentality today (as far as I can see is), if it can be done for you, hire it out, and if you can't afford it, finance it, hence the double income factor so prominently noticeable today, and the laziness factor carries over into today's young and growing generation.
DH approached two sets of neighbours year before last to seek some help in digging fence posts. The job came with a guaranteed hourly rate, yet not one pre-teen or teen accepted, because today, mommy and daddy often foot the bill, so there's no need to take-on outside work.
Thirty, forty, or more years ago, people lived a more laidback lifestyle. Few people I remember had recreational properties, and the single family car was the norm, and I can count on one hand how many families I knew of that had a powerboat to their name, so people found alternative ways to entertain themselves, and we were better off for it IMO.
Family units were much closer, there was more love, and children were raised properly and didn't run wild. Fast-forward to today. Meet the Joneses. Mr and Mrs Jones on the right, Mr and Mrs Jones on the left, Mr and Mrs Jones to the back, and Mr and Mrs Jones to the front, and all are in competition with one another. SUV's, boats, cars, campers, trailers, miscellaneous other craft and vehicles, and homes financed to the hilt to help shore-up the big put-on and show everyone is so keen on displaying nowadays. I refer to it as it as the look at me generation
In fact, DH and I were just talking about this very thing the other morning, and we both mentioned how we seldom see anyone out enjoying their yards anymore, and how few people are seen doing the more simple things in life such as gardening. Instead, everyone seems to be on a perpetual 24 hour, 7 day a week schedule where they're scratching to keep extra hours, which of course comes at the expense of the once stable and thriving family unit so many of us enjoyed as young and growing children.
Kids are shuffled off to daycare to be raised by complete and total strangers (don't even get me started on that one), and fast-food restaurants are bursting at the seems with families looking for a quick fix and remedy for mealtime, because everyone is run ragged by their need to keep up with the Joneses, they don't have the time or energy anymore to pull together proper balanced meals for the family.
My husband calls it, all show and no go, and he's right. Nobody fixes anything anymore, and if it's not disposable, no one is interested, and when something get's a little soiled or worn, it's out with the old and in with the new, forget about waste.
Additionally, people made time for each other back in the day, and, for the things they loved and cherished, because it was important, and homemakers knew how to dedicate and schedule their time. A sense of pride existed. I honestly think the vast majority don't care anymore.
I often catch myself saying the likes of, if only I could roll the clock back, I'd go back to such and such a time/era, and then someone usually speaks up and says, oh, but... and then they state their take on the matter, but all in all, people were more well-adjusted a few decades ago, and structure and properness existed. Women weren't interested in smoking cigars, drinking beer, and competing with the male figure, they were content being women, and boy were they ever good at it!
Furthering my take on the matter, society has lost class. Years ago, though it still exists today, people prided themselves with looking good, dressing nice, and presenting themselves in a courteous and professional way, hence the ironing and pressing and proper laundering that old-time homemakers practiced and knew.
Today, everything is wash and wear, so the old timey iron we all grew up with and used, has in many regards, gone by wayside, but I still press shirts and pants regularly for DH and myself, and I enjoy it, too.
Yep, I'd cash-in this stinky, rotten, dirty world we live in today for a taste of the 60's and 70's again in a heartbeat! Family picnics, family parties, holiday gatherings, entertaining, a time when kids could be kids, a time when mouth-watering delight wafted from the open window screens of people's homes throughout the summer, a time when everyone had a row of cloth diapers pinned-up on their clotheslines, a time when the innocent laughing of children happily playing outdoors could be heard from morning until night, a time when people took pride in themselves, a time when neighbour helped neighbour, and I could go on and on and on...
The way I see it is, with each new generation that rises, we slide further and further away from all that is important.