Everyone Swears Things Were Better "Back In The Day," But Here Are 19 Things That Younger Generations Get To Experience That Older Generations Wish They Had

Okay, we're all a little guilty of romanticizing our own generation while swearing the younger ones are missing out — but we have to admit that some things are undeniably better these days! I'm a millennial, and while I did have YouTube growing up, I'm sooo jealous that kids nowadays can watch it conveniently on their cell phones with HD quality instead of a grainy screened desktop computer that could overheat and implode at any moment. Don't even get me started on Netflix when there was no such thing as streaming yet. If I wanted to watch a movie, I had to patiently wait for a physical DVD to be mailed to me.

I'm not the only one feeling envious of younger generations when it comes to experiencing certain things that just didn't exist yet "back in my day." I asked the BuzzFeed Community, "What are the things you're actually jealous of when it comes to the younger generations?" Here are some of the top responses:

1."Delivery options are amazing. Back in the day, your options were pizza and pizza. That's it! Amazon wasn't popular yet, there was no such thing as grocery delivery, and no food options (besides pizza). Now, you can get EVERYTHING delivered."

2."Good looking and easy to use colorful hair dye. Back in my day — early 1980s — we had to use three boxes of Clairol bleach and Kool-aid powder packets."

—Anonymous

3."I’m a xennial, and I’m super jealous that Gen Z has immediate access to any subject matter they want! I remember having to visit the library for references or ask an expert directly. Now, they can just search YouTube for how-to videos or find articles on the internet regarding any topic. Man, so much time saved! I’m salty!"

—Anonymous

"Remember going to the library and the book you needed was checked out because every other kid in your class also had an assignment on the same topic? Kids don't understand how good they have it on the information front."

—Anonymous

4."They wear sneakers to the club! I am 46 and in the '90s we were dancing in pointy-toed stilettos in a circle around our purses. Girls out here today have on pants! With pockets! And satin freaking Jordans!! These queens are putting their comfort first and looking 🔥 while doing it. I wish my 22-year-old self, freezing in a mini dress and heels while waiting in line in November, had known better or had the nerve."

5."I'm so jealous that girls are taught that they can be anything they want. I was taught that the best I could do was be the wife of a rich man."

—Anonymous

6."I am happy that Gen Z and Gen Alpha didn’t have to come of age during the damaging diet culture of the 1990s and 2000s."

—2dabdeb

7."Makeup tutorials. It seems like the younger generation has amazing makeup skills starting at pre-teen stages, while I don’t feel like I got my makeup routine down until my mid to late twenties. They all look so flawless."

8."I'm jealous of how fearless Gen Z is. They aren't people pleasers like a lot of us millennials are, and they aren't afraid to confront authority when the situation warrants it. Some people might say that they sometimes take it too far, but I admire the confidence they have at such a young age."

—Anonymous

9."I'm Gen X and I'm jealous (but mostly happy) that younger generations seem much more open to a wide range of gender and sexual orientations. I'm so proud of you younger folks for knowing and sharing your authentic selves!"

10."Access to language and resources about queer identities. There’s definitely still widespread bigotry and pushback for it, but having terminology and even an online community when I was a very confused, closeted teenager would have made a major difference. I love that those things exist now!"

—haiarh

11."I work at a school, and I'm so jealous that these kids have mental health professionals available to them. 20 years ago, when I was a kid and suffering with severe depression and anxiety, we had no one to talk to. Nobody took a kid's mental health seriously back then."

12."How easy it is to stream practically any movie in your own home, unlike us boomers who had to go to a movie theater or wait to watch The Wizard of Oz as a special presentation on TV once a year."

—Anonymous

13."Real-time driving directions that allow you to avoid highways or tolls and provide you with alternate routes and the estimated arrival time of each. When I moved away to college in a big city, my dad bought a road atlas for me to use. I thought Mapquest was a huge deal when that came out!"

14."This one is kind of gross, but where was period underwear 20 years ago? All those years of waking up in dismay if I had slept on my back at all the night before."

—ginnyjensen

15."Long distance relationships must be so much easier and more successful now than 20 years ago."

—annak4f45e0f65

16."I like enthusiastic consent. The definition of consent in my day was way, way different."

—buzzkeeper

17."I'm jealous of texting! The first phone I could text from was in 2007 when I was 17. It was pay-by-text style so I couldn't text often. It's wild to think of it now. I just had to wait to see my friends in the hallway to ask them about their day or to spill the tea about a cute kid in class."

18."I’m jealous of the better representation in media. I grew up never seeing anyone who looked like me in a movie, show, or book."

—putzik47

19."I’m definitely happy to see how bullying is taken seriously now. I was mercilessly bullied when I was a kid, and whenever I would try to get help from an adult, the response would always be something like, 'Just ignore them and they’ll go away,' Nowadays, it seems as if kids who are bullied are better protected. Not just by adults, but even by other kids. That’s great to see."

—jmacxjr

Do you have any jealousies to add to this list? Let me know in the comments!