With multiple frustrations with society–ranging from illness and health crises, terrorist attacks, and technology overuse, many teenagers find themselves wishing they lived in another era. In reality however, these teens fail to realize the past would only present them with an alternate set of problems.

All too often I hear my classmates utter the words, “Ugh, everything nowadays is dumb. I should have been born in another generation.” In their minds, they probably believe that living in the 1920s to 1980s would rid them of all their problems. Our generation has a tendency to view the 20s through 80s as a simpler-and therefore less problematic-time. In reality, these time periods did not lack problems; they simply possessed alternate ones.

For example, most often I hear classmates say, “I wish I lived back in the 1950s.” They perceive the 50s as this golden era of perfection and charm. I will admit the 50s did possess some amazing qualities. Rock and roll, television, and the space race had just started, and the clothing and hairstyles changed American culture, but that is not only part of the 50s. Not everything revolved around sock hops and poodle skirts.

The 1950s remained filled with its own set of problems, ranging from war to rampant racism and sexism. This era marked the beginning of the Cold War and watched as the Korean War killed countless men and women. Along with that, women and people of color struggled to prove themselves through misogyny and Jim Crow laws.

The truth is the “good ole days” were only good for heterosexual white men.These time periods would be miserable for women, people of color, or LGBT people.  Up until the 70s, married women holding jobs, especially serious ones, remained strange and practically unheard of. People of color would receive extreme prejudice until the passing of the Civil Rights Act, and even then, still received unfair treatment. As for LGBT rights, those remained nonexistent until recently.

In most cases, being born in the 20s-80s would not rid anyone of his or her problems. Instead, these times would only present them with different issues, if not more. Our generation needs to stop romanticizing the past and deal with our current problems.