How things that have changed...
1. Breakdown of the nuclear family - many, many causes... Levittown, the first modern suburb, with houses too small for extended family members, prior it was not uncommon for multiple generations to live under one roof, and Levittown was only possible because the automobile became ubiquitous. Increasing numbers of women in the workforce, not only because it pulled women out of the home and role of primary caregiver, but because it made divorce more affordable, more common, and less stigmatized. It also made it economically possible for women to support children without ever marrying, and for fathers to ignore their responsibilities to their children. The rise of welfare and other social programs, many of which prioritized the needs of single mother households, thus disincentivising marriage. The war on drugs, which gave long sentences to otherwise nonviolent offenders, and contributed to the high incarceration rate of inner-city males, taking fathers away from families. Mostly good, or at least well-intended, changes, but changes which nonetheless undermined the family structure. Children need strong and stable families.
2. The decline of blue collar jobs - through most of the 20th century, a troubled young male could drop out of school and enter the working world and make enough to support himself and a family, often also gaining a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and belonging. Those types of jobs are largely gone now, so young people who may not be a good fit for our educational model must stay in school; there is no realistic alternative.
3. Changes in the treatment of the mentally ill - at one time, people could be easily committed to a mental hospital. Treatments like electroshock therapy and frontal lobotomies offered permanent solutions for out of control patients. Parents were encouraged to institutionalize children who had physical or mental disabilities. The rising awareness of the rights of the mentally ill brought troubled people back into the communities. When funding was cut off for mental hospitals, it became very difficult to hospitalize those who truly needed to be away from society, whether temporarily or permanently. Outpatient treatment also became less available.
4. The shrinking size of the world - it wasn't that long ago that a large percentage of people spent their entire lives in a single community. Telegraphs, then telephones, then faxes, then emails, then FaceTime decreased the perceived distance between people, as did trains, cars, and planes. There is an artificial sense of increasing problems in the world, because we hear about events we never would have even a generation ago. The internet not only brings news instantly from even the most remote parts of the world, it also creates a permanent record of our lives. It used to be a family with a troubled young person could send him off to live with a relative, providing an opportunity for a new start. Now, a person can't leave their past behind in the same way. At the same time, it's easier for people to move long distances, further eroding the sense of family and community. And of course there's the attraction of the echo chamber... Online it's easy to find like-minded people, as well as people who are damaged in similar ways to us. Thus, less incentive to interact with those whose opinions differ, and less incentive to conform to societal norms, and an increasing tendency for people of all sorts to move toward extremes.
5. Decreasing physical activity - hard to believe (sarcasm), but families did not always have three or four cars. People walked to school and to stores. Housework was a lot more physical before dishwashers and washing machines. We warm our homes with a click on an app, no need to shovel coal or chop wood, no need to even walk across the room. Socializing required people to get off their butts and go to wherever other people were; now, one can socialize all day and night without even getting out of bed. Physical activity is important. It's more effective than current medications for treating depression.
6. Population changes - the ever increasing size of classes and schools make personal and meaningful interaction between teachers and students much more difficult. Personal interactions between students are certainly very different. I grew up with everyone I graduated with, now schools are so large many classmates are complete strangers. Over twelve years, a child who has difficulty socializing can get to know and make friends with classmates if they are together every year. How does a child like that make friends when there are a thousand kids in his class? So many strangers, and so much easier to marginalize a misfit when you haven't known them since kindergarten.
These are the major sociological changes that I've come up with. I'm sure there are many more.
Many/most of the changes we've gone through are positives; (I certainly would not want to live in 1950s America), but collectively, I think there have been unanticipated and unintended negatives. But progress marches on. It's not possible to turn back the clock. The world is a very different place than it used to be.
How do we fix the bad without taking away the good? And, perhaps the more important question, how do we ensure our solutions don't give rise to other problems that we can't even conceive of now?
MOO
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