How America Has Changed Over Time
We’ve made some incredible progress since our nation was founded, but there are also many things that have changed for the worse. Technology has transformed just about every aspect of life, creating new opportunities and ways to connect with others, as well as offering up more avenues to consume content and be distracted.
The internet gives anyone access to information, which is great when you want to learn something or compare prices on items. But it can easily distract people by giving them alternatives to what is “normal.”
There are now almost always options available to us, making empty experiences the norm. People lose focus on important tasks because they find entertainment in doing them instead.
We become less intelligent due to technology as we grow accustomed to using it rather than learning how to use other tools. Due to ease of use and convenience, users no longer value efficiency over simplicity.
And while technology makes production of goods faster, quality takes time away from enhancing it. There is a balance needed between the two.
Overall, I believe technology has done more good than harm for society. It has empowered individuals, allowed for communication and connection like never before, and helped make knowledge accessible to everyone.
Huge changes in culture
We’ve gone from an agrarian society to a highly urbanized one, with most of our population living in large cities.
We’ve also experienced two major shifts in how we look at wealth. In the early days of the country, being rich was seen as having lots of land or resources for farming. As time went on, people realized that you didn’t have to be wealthy if you were well-connected.
In today’s economy, those with money are admired more than ever before. People talk about millionaires and billionaires all the time, and everyone wants a piece of The American Dream.
There is no doubt that the perception of what it means to be wealthy has changed over the years. But while some may argue whether this change is good or bad, there can be little dispute that it has left us a richer nation as a whole.
Huge changes in government
For example, back when our country was founded, it was very different than it is today. At that time, there were no national elections to choose your representative in Congress.
Instead, each state had its own election for their representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Only people living within the borders of a given state could vote in these elections, which made it more likely that only people with an interest in that area elected officials.
This system was incredibly unfair to those who lived outside of the big cities in states like California or Illinois, both of which have large populations. In such cases, the voters in less populous areas didn’t get their chance to directly elect their senators and representatives!
It took many years for this problem to be fixed, but now every person in America has a voice in how their senator and congressman are chosen through the popular election process.
Huge changes in everyday life
One of the most significant changes that has occurred over time is how we interact with each other. Social norms have shifted, and today it is very difficult to find examples where people do not try to influence or affect others in positive ways.
We have become so focused on helping others achieve their goals and satisfy their desires that we lose focus on ourselves. People take more care of themselves than ever before, which is an excellent thing.
Self-care is important because you are a person, not one bit of material or money.
Less freedom to do things
In our country, it is much more difficult to go down paths that are not set by social norms. This comes from many sources; popular media, advertisements, societal pressures, and political influence all contribute to this.
Popular culture has become very focused on promoting hedonistic lifestyles that emphasize self-pleasure over spending time with others and having lasting relationships.
Ads constantly promote material goods as important milestones in life, which creates an environment where becoming “successful” means owning lots of toys and going out for expensive dinners every night.
Societal pressure encourages people to conform to what other people are doing instead of encouraging them to pursue their own dreams.
Greater equality
We are living in an extremely unequal time period. Inequality has never been higher, even as the rich get richer. The top 1% have a greater share of wealth than they did decades ago, while the gap between the wealthy and everyone else is wider than ever before.
In fact, according to data from Credit Suisse, the richest 400 people own more money than the rest of the country combined!
That’s not hyperbole — it happened last year. And this isn’t some freak occurrence either – this has been happening for years now.
Wealth inequality has also increased at a much faster rate over the past few decades. According to research done by economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, average total income grew steadily for most of our history up until 1980, but since then it has skyrocketed out of control.
Overall, the wealthiest 10% earned 70 times more than the other 90%. That’s nearly two and half times more than what we were talking about earlier!
This growing divide is very harmful to our society. It creates a sense of injustice that can lead to social unrest and violence. It removes motivation from those who could benefit from learning more about economics, which undermines our capacity for growth. And it fuels a perception that there is no way up for anyone except the already well-to-do.
It also hurts future generations.
Biggest companies
The technology revolution of our time has allowed for ever-expanding corporations that offer varied products and services to cater to every need we have as humans. Technology now makes it possible for even one-person businesses to offer their own brand of merchandise or professional service.
There are many ways people make money these days that were not available earlier in history. Printing presses, internet servers, and software programs made it possible to start your own business without having to work under someone else.
“The individual entrepreneur is thus liberated from his predecessor – who was dependent upon the existence of an established aristocracy,” wrote political economist Adam Smith in his seminal book An Inquiry into the Nature And Causes Of Wealth.
He went on to say that this new form of employment allows individuals to express themselves through their jobs, which can be anything ranging from running a coffee shop to creating computer apps. This idea has been popularized by media such as Netflix and YouTube, where anyone with a passion can create and run their own channel.
Huge population growth
One of the biggest changes in America is its growing population. Due to frequent natural disasters, Americans are living longer than ever before!
In 1800, one year after the United States officially became a nation, there were around 4 million people in the country. That number rose rapidly during the 19th century as Europeans settlers made their way over here and started having lots of children.
The average person lived beyond 30 years old at that time, so there was plenty of room for growth. Unfortunately, not everyone could afford to live very long due to poor health facilities and limited access to medicine.
It took decades until we got serious about improving our overall wellness, but today we enjoy happier lives with better health and fitness opportunities. Programs such as Medicare and Medicaid helped ensure everyone had access to good medical care.
We’ve also got much bigger buildings and spaces to work out in, which helps keep us active.
Huge tech advances
Technology has always changed, but what makes these changes significant is how advanced they are. It’s not enough to have technology, you need to understand it to know its worth.
We live in an era where almost every aspect of our lives can be done completely online. From banking to shopping to finding jobs, everything is possible through the internet. This should come as no surprise since the web was originally designed to do just that- connect people together and create new ways to communicate.
Since then, it has grown into something much more powerful – a tool for everyone to use to learn, interact with each other, and find entertainment.
Not only does it provide easy access to information, but it also gives individuals power by allowing them to share their knowledge and experiences easily. This is very important because literacy is a basic human right and education is key to your future.
