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Phones

Then: Phone booths had doors and frosted glass so that you could not hear or see who was on the phone.

Now: People will get on cell phones and discuss the most intimate stuff in public.

Television

Then: Television was in low definition black and white and what you could broadcast was limited

Now: Television is in high definition color and you can broadcast the most shocking things with no problems.

Movies

Then: Moves had poor special effects and barely if ever reached PG.

Now: Movies can do just about anything in both special effects and content and often require the viewer to be 17 or older.

Cartoons

Then: Cartoons were for aimed at the whole audience and any adult material was disguised to avoid getting the cartoon banned and so that kids could enjoy it without their minds being poisoned.

Now: There are adult cartoons. Nuff said.

Why does the "now" example sadden me so?

I don't think the disguising of the adult material really worked that well. When I was a kid, I knew exactly what they were hinting at. It didn't protect me at all, and my brother has told me pretty much the same thing. In some ways, I think we adults can be more naive than kids. xd

The now shouldn't sadden. The people then did things just as horrible as people do now, only now those things have become visible for all to see.