How Culture Has Changed Since You Grew Up: A 2024 Perspective
As a 42 year old woman, what do I need to know about how culture is changing from what I grew up in? What do we know now that we didn't know then? How has our sense of what's normal evolve since I was a kid and culture laid down its imprint on me?
ChatGPT: This is a big question, but it’s a good one. Culture has changed a lot since you were a kid, and what was once seen as "normal" or taken for granted has evolved, sometimes in ways that are obvious and other times in ways that are more subtle but still deeply impactful. Here are some key shifts in thinking and awareness:
1. We Understand Mental Health Differently
Then: Anxiety, depression, and neurodivergence (ADHD, autism, OCD, etc.) were often dismissed as "just how people are" or signs of weakness, laziness, or lack of discipline.
Now: There’s a much broader understanding of trauma, neurodiversity, and mental health. We recognize how early experiences shape us, and there’s less stigma around therapy and medication. Concepts like "gaslighting," "boundaries," "attachment styles," and "dissociation" have entered mainstream conversation.
2. The Internet Changed Our Brains and Our Reality
Then: You grew up in a world where information was slower. If you wanted to know something, you had to look it up in a book or ask someone. You didn’t have an infinite stream of content tailored to your interests at all times.
Now: The internet has made people more informed but also more overwhelmed, fragmented, and reactive. Social media rewired human interaction—people perform their personalities, outrage is a currency, and algorithms shape what people believe.
3. Gender and Sexuality Are Understood Differently
Then: Being LGBTQ+ was taboo, often met with silence or outright hostility. Gender roles were rigid, and masculinity/femininity were more strictly defined.
Now: Gender and sexuality are recognized as fluid, and younger generations openly discuss things like being non-binary, asexual, or polyamorous. Language around pronouns, gender identity, and queerness is shifting rapidly. This can be overwhelming for those who grew up with more rigid categories, but it also allows for more people to exist as they are.
4. Work and Hustle Culture Got Examined—Then Mutated
Then: You were likely raised with a “hard work = success” mindset. The American Dream (homeownership, stable job, retirement) was still a guiding idea.
Now: Millennials and Gen Z watched that dream collapse under economic instability, skyrocketing housing costs, and corporate greed. The rise of hustle culture (side gigs, entrepreneurship, burnout) became a response to this, and now there’s a growing backlash where people are prioritizing rest and work-life balance.
5. Relationships and Dating Are Radically Different
Then: Romance followed traditional scripts. You met someone in real life, dated, got married, and had kids.
Now: Online dating changed everything. People have more choices but less commitment. Norms around monogamy, casual relationships, and long-term partnerships have evolved. Many people are delaying or skipping marriage altogether, and polyamory is openly discussed.
6. The Body Positivity and Wellness Movements Changed How We See Health
Then: Diet culture was mainstream. Fat was demonized, and people obsessed over calorie counting and low-fat foods. Exercise was mainly about looking good, not feeling good.
Now: There’s a growing push toward intuitive eating, strength-building, and rejecting unrealistic beauty standards. However, wellness culture also morphed into its own monster, with biohacking, detoxes, and extreme longevity obsession (looking at you, Bryan Johnson).
7. The Way We Talk About Trauma and the Body Has Evolved
Then: If you struggled emotionally, people would tell you to "get over it" or "stop living in the past." Therapy was seen as something for the deeply broken.
Now: There’s recognition that trauma is stored in the body and influences our behaviors and relationships. Somatic therapy, nervous system regulation, and embodiment practices are becoming more mainstream, even though a lot of people still don’t know what to do with this knowledge.
8. The Climate Crisis Went from a Distant Problem to an Imminent Threat
Then: Recycling was the main environmental concern, and climate change was an abstract future problem.
Now: We’re seeing extreme weather events, mass extinctions, and resource depletion in real time. Younger generations are growing up with existential dread about the planet’s future.
9. The Concept of 'Truth' Has Changed
Then: While people had different opinions, there was still a sense that facts were facts.
Now: Conspiracy theories, deepfakes, and fragmented information sources have eroded a shared sense of reality. What you “believe” is often tied to which online echo chamber you’re in.
What This Means for You
Your instincts about what’s “normal” were shaped by a different era. When something feels weird or excessive (e.g., pronoun conversations, TikTok therapy terms, Gen Z's anti-hustle attitude), it might just be unfamiliar, not wrong.
You have an advantage in knowing both worlds. You understand a pre-internet reality and can engage with modern shifts, which gives you a wider lens on what’s happening.
You get to decide what you want to integrate. Not every trend or shift will resonate with you, and that’s okay. The key is recognizing when something is changing and deciding consciously how to engage with it.
What would you call that analysis you just did for me?
I’d call it a Cultural Calibration Checkpoint—a way to assess how the world has changed since the cultural programming of your upbringing, so you can consciously decide what to integrate, challenge, or leave behind.
It’s like updating your mental operating system—not because you have to keep up, but because it helps to be aware of the shifts shaping the world around you.
If you want, we could make this a regular thing—checking in on cultural trends, examining your reactions, and seeing what resonates or conflicts with your internal framework. Let me know if that sounds useful.
