u/william_h_bonney_

The festival has tried to stay modern but massively dropped the ball.

Hyde BST now smashes it in terms of quality headline acts and having a specific Hyde Vibe

4 years ago Duran Duran headlined at Hyde to 300k fanatical fans, while Paul McCartney and Kendrick played to £200k music snobs.

Duran Duran heading Hyde again to unprecedented sales, while Glasto gossip about who deserves to play at their wee gathering.

What tear was Glastonbury’s last credible festival, staying true to the fans before selling out.

I’m late 40s and grew up before smartphones and social media, but not before technology. We had consoles, computers and TVs — yet kids still spent most of their time outside.

What I’ve noticed over the years is:

Streets that used to be full of kids are now mostly empty
Football, kerby, bikes and “going out all day” has largely disappeared
Kids are supervised far longer than previous generations were
Walking to school young or roaming with friends now seems rare
School gate traffic every morning has become normal
Most socialising now seems to happen online rather than physically outdoors

I was guilty of it myself as a parent. My own kids had far less independence than I did at the same age.

The internet, smartphones and social media obviously changed everything, but I wonder if the speed of it caught society out before we fully understood the consequences.

Did constant media fear and “stranger danger” gradually make parents overprotective?

Have we unintentionally traded independence, resilience and natural social development for safety and convenience?

Ironically, when entire streets of kids played outside together, there was arguably more safety in numbers and stronger community awareness than there is now.

Do people think this change is actually positive overall?
Do younger parents feel safer parenting this way?
Do any areas still have streets full of kids playing outside like they used to?
Or has society fundamentally changed too much to ever go back?

When did we stop allowing our kids to be bored? Give them time to think, communicate, create?

Interesting Scottish Government report on children’s physical and sedentary activity:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/growing-up-scotland-sweep-3-food-activity-report/pages/4/

Social media has turned politics, religion and gender issues into 24/7 arguments.

But does anyone actually change their views from random comment sections? I genuinely can’t remember the last time I saw someone say:
“Good point — you’ve changed my mind.”

Feels more like people defending teams than having discussions. Both sides cherry-picking “facts” as proof. It’s exhausting.

So what’s the point? Validation? Attention? Tribalism? Entertainment?