Nostalgia is not specific to the Soviet Union, lots of Americans think that the past was preferable to the present, too.
Which good old days? - various age groups' perceptions of past times
American Demographics, April, 1996 by Diane Crispell
Baby boomers take the rap for the return of "The Brady Bunch" and other signs of the decline of American popular culture. But they're not the only ones bitten by the nostalgia bug. Over half of adults of all ages think that things were better in the past than they are today, according to Roper Starch Worldwide of New York City. One-third think things are better now than yesterday, and 12 percent aren't convinced there's any difference. This hasn't always been the case. In 1974, despite disco, 54 percent of adults preferred the present over the past.
The share of adults who think the "good old days" were better rises somewhat with age, from 52 percent of those under age 30 to 58 percent of those aged 45 and older. People with more education and money find yesterday less alluring. A lower-than-average 44 percent of college graduates prefer the past over the present, as do 47 percent of those in professional and executive jobs and half of those with household incomes of $50,000 or more. It's no surprise that the societal leaders Roper calls Influentials are the most live-for-today types; just 38 percent prefer the past, while 49 percent vote against.
Sixty-five percent of people who didn't graduate from high school yearn for the past, perhaps because their lives haven't turned out as they had hoped. Another group of adults who strongly prefer the past are those with children under age 8. Sixty-two percent of pooped parents say that some point in the past-presumably any point without rug rats--was superior to today's nonstop circus of diaper rash and helping with homework.
Parents with young children are desperate for a change of pace. When asked what period they consider the epitome of the good old days, they choose the much-maligned 1970s. This reflects a common pattern. Most people look no further than their own youth to define the good old days. Boomers aged 30 to 44 split their vote for best era of the past between the critically acclaimed 1960s and the 1970s.
Younger adults have a shorter time frame for comparison. Those under age 30 are almost as likely as young boomers to vote for the 1970s, but a slightly larger group, 24 percent, considers the 1980s the best of the bunch. To those who've been around longer, the 1980s are too close for comfort. Only 4 percent of those aged 45 and older think that the Reagan and Bush years were golden ones. Predictably, those aged 45 to 59 much prefer the 1950s and 1960s, while those aged 60 and older go for the 1940s and 1950s.
Nostalgia won't sell everything. Kids of the 1990s have accepted tie-dye, but some things are best forgotten. Hopefully, we will never again see the short plaid bell-bottoms sported by the Bay City Rollers. Or their hair, either.
Other Roper surveys reveal that nostalgia doesn't drive media behavior or hobby pursuits. People choose to read about, watch, and do things based on the "here and now." Yet flashes of the past are undoubtedly having an effect on certain purchases. Aesthetic value alone can't explain the resurgence of Troll dolls. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20050523/319e256d/attachment.htm>