Why is 21st C life so stressful

It isn't.

Allira, My father was a 'Man from the Pru' ! I remember him filling in his long black account book and visiting clients with him once or twice when I was young. I phoned the Prudential recently about savings for the grandchildren and they said I needed to do it through a financial adviser!!

Swings and roundabouts all round I guess.

In my mothers era (ie she was dating in the late 1940s through to early 1950s) the "rules" were very simple - ie "Nice women didnt - and nice men didnt ask" and so there was no chance of finding one had just been "used" for free sex. But, on the other hand, she was unfairly dismissed as soon as she married my father (ie because that's what the public sector did in those days) - although she did manage to get a private sector job to replace it (which she did until 3 weeks before I was born in the event).

However, a marriage before the 1970s meant you had no option but to have children - whether you had decided to or no - as there was no Pill or legal abortion. So I'd have had to be a "maiden aunt" or nun or something to stay safe from unwanted pregnancies.

I still think the 1970s to early 1990s constitute "Normal Times" - when we'd got the stuff we needed to live more comfortably but before all the "cuts" by the State and loads of scammers around trying to use our computers and phones against us to steal.

As a former personal secretary - I can sympathise with those being forced to use impersonal call centres and it drives me nuts being put through to them myself. I just want someone doing what I used to do - ie picking up the phone right away and trying to be helpful with "Hang on a minute - I'll find your file" or whatever was appropriate and = job done.

The poster is correct it is draining and infuriating and goodness knows how people with additional needs cope. Whataboutism isn’t very useful. We are talking about the irritations of now.

Barleyfields

That was real stress MOnica. Rather like my many times great grandmother who had her baby baptised and buried her husband in 1809. I would say annoyance with computers, which pales into insignificance, comes from impatience. I had horrible stress when I was working - I can cope with computer saying ‘no’ now and again.

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Why the ?

CariadAgain I have to say that you are wrong in stating that there was no contraception prior to the 1970's and that women had no option but to have children.
My children were born before the '70's and were planned babies, three years apart.

I married in 1970 and advice on contraception wasn’t available, where I lived, unless you were engaged and about to marry.

My son often remarks how easy our life has been if born In the baby boom age.
I felt the 50s were so quiet as a child when with very few able to drive and people obviously had had enough after the war years so were more sociable. Also, if one left their job they could usually find another job quickly.
Now there are too many on our island fighting for jobs which can be stressful.

Monica, my grandmother the same. How did they do it.? They deserved far more. Life's not fair. I get upset doing everything on line, but it's nothing compared to what previous generations went through. My niggle is the knack of community spirit, when it's my turn to go no one in my road sound know.

My mum always said that Britain was lovely, she was very patriotic, but there were too many people crammed into a small island. That was way back in the 1970s. She lived in London but was from Yorkshire. Even then the supermarkets were stressful because you had trouble getting near the counters, I couldn’t stand it.

Ask MOnica and her sidekick Barleyfields......

Never being able to speak to a human being in person or on the phone when things go wrong or you don't understand is a modern stress.

One example: 20 years ago we booked a trip to NZ by walking into a travel agent in the High St - now long
gone.
Last year I booked a similar trip but
on my own. I scanned the internet to
try to work out the best route, gave
up and chose an online agent who
took hours and several calls to find a
travel plan.
I was not made aware of the new entry visa requirements until it was
almost too late so my stress levels were extremely high.

Things which ought to be easier aren't. I do not think YABU.

Ofcourse this doesn't begin to
compare with the hard lives of
others now or in the past but it's not
nearly as streamlined as it should be.

As for saving paper: Have you noticed the number of times you are advised to print out a hard copy?

It just isn’t true that there was no alternative to getting pregnant before 1970.
I was married in 1958 and my first child was born in 1965 and my second in 1970.
Family planning clinics were open at that time.

Too many people blaming others these days. Bad events happen to everyone, it is how we deal with them that counts.

Taking charge of events that happen is how to reduce stress, to actually take control instead of leaving it to others to fix our problems

Stress in the past was real, would the sons go to war, would there be anything to eat, would the house be blitzed? How far can I stretch a penny?

I had my first child in 1967 and the pill was in the early stages I certainly didn’t know anything about Family planning clinics
Usedtobeblond maybe it depended where you lived I m sure the cities had much more information sooner than the small towns and villages

Grammaretto

We have booked a trip to see family in Oz. All done through CoOp Travel, they sorted out suitable dates to choose from, flights, connecting domestic flights, overnight hotel.

And we shall get a few dividend points.

They had contact points they could liaise with, so much less stressful than trying to do it ourselves.

This was in person at the Co Op, not online.

I married in 1964. The Family Planning Clinic would not accept anyone unless we had a date for our marriage and the Bans were being read. Then, the only thing available was the dutch cap horrible thing!!!! It took me four years to conceive our first child, but the second one was born (full term) just eleven months later. No. 3 two years after that and then twins two and half years later. All wanted and actually planned as far as I was concerned, but at no time was anything mentioned to me about contraception.

OP, I share your pain. I have ordered milk in glass bottles from a milkman but find setting up an online account horrendous. The link for the portal is so long. Might go back to paying him in cash

Computers by their very nature, lack the human touch! Before computers there were many things a normal person could not do - no searching on line for medical help for instance so after perhaps taking advice from family, ( face to face) we had to see the GP- or other suitable health professionals ( face to face) who probably sent us to the pharmacy or other professional - all face to face. If a prescription was needed the pharmacist would order it or provide it from stock. Yet another human interaction as the prescription is collected.
Last week as happens most months my disabled son needed a re prescription so I ordered it on line. The pharmacy text to say one of the tablets is out of stock, and he cannot order it in - it is in short supply. This is a regular occurrence., one or other of the required meds is often in short supply. So I go on line then telephone those not on line, to find out which pharmacy has the required stock. Eventually I find who has each of the required tablets and fill in the on line form to request the prescription be split and sent to different pharmacies via the electronic system. The only human contact I’ve had is the telephone calls with the pharmacies. In the past the local pharmacist would have ordered the regular medicines required for regular routine prescriptions. They would have searched around for hard to source tablets.
So life is now different with fewer human interactions with all the people who would have chatted or smiled or served or helped us in the past and more done on line.

My mother is no longer here, so I can’t ask her how stressful she found living in London with a baby during the blitz, and wondering every time there was a knock on the door whether it’d be a telegram to say that my father (RN, N Atlantic convoys) would never be coming home.

Well done Calendargirl enjoy your trip!
Our co-op here in Southern Scotland is just a property company now and a funeral director.

I applied to the Scottish government scheme to help with reducing my energy consumption. They were offering grants and interest free loans.
I eventually achieved a loan but what a time I had! It took me months.
Everything had to be done on-line. 27 page forms which had to be returned with photos, proof of purchase of lagging, boilers, energy performance certificate etc in the same post!
I made the mistake of printing off the form and posting it in the pillar box remember those? to the address at the top of their letter.

Weeks later, when my contractors were demanding payment, I asked
why no-one had replied. "We never
received it", said they, "There's
noone in the office to collect mail as
we all work from home

In desperation, I wrote to (e mailed)
my MP and remarkably the money was in my account that week.

It systems don’t smile!

Your whole life now is just one continual source of stress and anxiety … due to IT which, as you read Computer Science, you will understand more about than many or most. The kinds of systems we have now may have changed but the fundamental principles of design, with the end user in mind, remain the same.

I find IT portals and apps make life very much easier. For example:

I can log into pay and pension portals to access my monthly pay and pension slips and P60s at a glance. No more bits of paper to gather every year to make a tax return

I can log into my banking apps and see what’s in different accounts and what transactions have taken place. I can move money around and pay bills with a few key taps. I can easily access statements of interest for said tax return.

The last time I went into a physical bank was before the pandemic. It was to pick up a new card reader (necessary to authenticate new payees) only because I happened to be in town. I could just as easily have ordered one online.

The Government Gateway portal makes it easy to see pension data, tax codes and assessments and to submit tax returns online … and then I use the banking app to pay anything I owe.

Managing my energy bill is a breeze with the energy supplier’s app.

Two-step authentication where required for security is easy. The code arrives on my phone in seconds.

Of course, I don’t know what applications you are trying to use but your opening post reads as hysterical hyperbole. Are you really implying that people are off work sick with stress because of “difficult” IT portals and apps?