Out of curiosity, what cultural differences are there between various countries?

[cheat-master30]

Because being from the UK, I have no idea about American general life and culture, so I'm curious to whether half of those ideas and things seen in TV shows are actual differences related to the country itself.

[Chrisjh0223]

Because you mentioned the UK and America, I shall contrast these two countries.

America has people who value exercise (IE weight lifting, aerobics, jogging) amd therefore gyms are available. Most people in the UK actually think nothing of exercise and consider it unusual of American people to jog with running shoes. The UK is sort of more laid back then America in the sense of being active, from what I heard the UK does not work on Sundays while us Americans have more flexible working schedules and therefore are likely to work for a certain duration on Sunday.

I'm not saying anything against the UK, I'm just stating what I already heard. I have in fact accepted the UK's beliefs and also considered them, some of our folks here at America are also as laid back in terms of exercise and work. Heck, it is said that the majority of Americans are actually overweight (due in part to not exercising on a regular basis).

[cheat-master30]

Because you mentioned the UK and America, I shall contrast these two countries.

America has people who value exercise (IE weight lifting, aerobics, jogging) amd therefore gyms are available. Most people in the UK actually think nothing of exercise and consider it unusual of American people to jog with running shoes. The UK is sort of more laid back then America in the sense of being active, from what I heard the UK does not work on Sundays while us Americans have more flexible working schedules and therefore are likely to work for a certain duration on Sunday.

I'm not saying anything against the UK, I'm just stating what I already heard. I have in fact accepted the UK's beliefs and also considered them, some of our folks here at America are also as laid back in terms of exercise and work. Heck, it is said that the majority of Americans are actually overweight (due in part to not exercising on a regular basis).

Actually, a lot of people here are too obsessed with healthy eating and what not. And the not working on Sundays is only for big brand shops so they don't compete with smaller businesses.

As for other differences I've noticed:

Alcohol seems more hated and feared over in the USA. Or something, it seems demonised in fiction a lot, while over here, it's not real big deal. The drinking age is higher over there I think.

Most people in the UK don't particularly go to Church regularly. More precisely, most people over here are to be honest, less religious and fundamentalist than in the USA from what I hear, things like Intelligent Design and creationism are utterly unheard of in the UK.

Gambling is treated as something minor in the UK.

There's a lot less emphasis on driving everywhere here, due to a lack of distance between places and the fact most towns are quite small and easily commuted around by foot or public transport.

[orga the alien]

Chris America is way more lazy and you know it. <_<
In greek it's okay to be gay. However if you walk into certain middle eastern countires you get put in jail.
I also find that American kids don't realize that lots of other countries are really poor yet they constantly complain that they don't want to eat their food or that they're sick of school because of work. I hate that. They also "freak" out about taxes although US has lower taxes than most other countires.

[orga the alien]

Also in the US you can say:
**** Abraham, **** Jesus, and **** Muhammad. Sure people will get pissed off but it's legal. In Middle Eastern countries you can go to jail for naming a teddy bear Muhammad.

[benoit489]

Alcohol seems more hated and feared over in the USA. Or something, it seems demonised in fiction a lot, while over here, it's not real big deal. The drinking age is higher over there I think.

Alcohol is a problem in the US.

[orga the alien]

Same thing with smoking.

[Chrisjh0223]

Chris America is way more lazy and you know it. <_<

That is true; I was basically pointing out the fact earlier that people here in America do like exercising, something not common in Britain (or so I heard).

[benoit489]

In the US, you have to pay for some form of ID. I've heard that some European countries give you ID for free, or some form of a passport. Over here you have to pay for an ID, and in order to get it you have to supply your social security card, as well as other documents proving who you are (mail addressed to you from a government agency or a bank).

This causes a problem in the US, because we have this whole thing about "every vote counts" but a law was passed stating you had to present some form of ID in order to vote. This causes a problem for homeless people, who can't obtain an ID because it costs money, and they have no way of proving their identity (no permanent address so they can't provide any mail).

[benoit489]

Same thing with smoking.

Well, smoking is primarily a health issue. Alcohol is a societal problem.

[MrLuigi]

Accents?
Pretty funny for me.

[Phazon]

You can pay for an ID, but you can use previsional driving liscences or whatever you've got to prove your age for free, so why bother buying one?

In UK people care a lot more about football. That's for sure.

[MrLuigi]

In Britain, is football really football or soccer?
Because Americans care about American football more than Brits care about soccer, or as you know it as football.

[orga the alien]

Mr. Luigi when you go to some other country you have a funny accent to them.

[cheat-master30]

Alcohol seems more hated and feared over in the USA. Or something, it seems demonised in fiction a lot, while over here, it's not real big deal. The drinking age is higher over there I think.

Alcohol is a problem in the US.

Worse than over here? Okay, maybe my ideas were distorted by the notorious unreliable Daily Mail.

Over here, it's legal to give alcohol I think to five years old in the home... God knows what the effect of that would be if people in the USA heard about it...

In the US, you have to pay for some form of ID. I've heard that some European countries give you ID for free, or some form of a passport. Over here you have to pay for an ID, and in order to get it you have to supply your social security card, as well as other documents proving who you are (mail addressed to you from a government agency or a bank).

This causes a problem in the US, because we have this whole thing about "every vote counts" but a law was passed stating you had to present some form of ID in order to vote. This causes a problem for homeless people, who can't obtain an ID because it costs money, and they have no way of proving their identity (no permanent address so they can't provide any mail).

You have to buy IDs over there? Don't know if that happens over here.

You can pay for an ID, but you can use previsional driving liscences or whatever you've got to prove your age for free, so why bother buying one?

In UK people care a lot more about football. That's for sure.

Football in the UK however is REAL football, which Americans call Soccer. Yes, they care about it a lot. Americans care about American football the same amount.

Oh, and people over here care a lot more about things such as horse racing and tennis.

[benoit489]

We talked about the ID situation in my Business Law class. Some girl from Ukraine said IDs are mostly free over in Europe. Not sure what type of identification, but at least some form. Over here, the lowest form of ID you can get is a State ID card, but that still cost $15-$20, and takes quite a few documents to prove you are who you say you are.

@Phazon: Those IDs are only for kids learning to drive I think. They'll be worthless after a month, and you'll still have to provide information about yourself in order to get those cards, which homeless people don't have.

Here's something interesting. People in Australia don't call the rest of the world "up over".

[Goomba Smackdown!!]

Nudity is looked down upon much more (that is, any bare breasts = huge no-no, while when I was in Europe people seem to get away with all kinds of nudity on billboards and ads and the likes). People are a lot less social, or, atleast caucious; no sitting with strangers or talking to people you don't know. Teens here are as far as I know more rebellious/cocky, and a good majority of them try to be "gangster" or "ghetto", which is really annoying. Umm. America is pretty large compared to the UK, so it has it's different sections, with slightly different accents and social behavior.

[ninjablooper]

Just about every foreign country hates the US.

[MrLuigi]

^Blame Bush. Bring back Lincoln.

[MrLuigi]

Americans are also 1337, so beware.


We also have a tendency to cough when we have mucus build-up in our throats.

[MrLuigi]

Mr. Luigi when you go to some other country you have a funny accent to them.

I'm Southern, I ain't no city folk, so I laugh too.

[nickyivyca]

Yes, we love sports that have small attention spans. Approximately 70,000 people go to an American football game each Sunday for each team, and in some cases, as many as 100,000 people go to a game. American football, of course, is just run around, try to throw the ball, then get tackled...start again. Bleh.

Then baseball. Another small attention span sport. 35,000-55,000 people for a sellout game. Of course, you don't have to sell out a baseball game to get on TV (and also, they happen almost every day), so sometimes teams have a bit of trouble with attendance. At a Florida Marlins game, for example, only about 600 (yes, that used to be a typo, but I fixed it, not 6000, or 60000, 600) people came to the game. (http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/080911/story-viewpoint.shtml) The players counted themselves. Paid attendance was actually about 15,000.

For hockey and basketball? 17,000-22,000. Of course, it costs a lot to built an arena with a roof compared to a non-roofed stadium, but still. Their attention spans are pretty long.

And I was looking at a map once. It showed how popular soccer was in various. Red was bad, green was good. The US was very dark red, Canada was light red, and the rest of the world was pretty much green. And the US soccer team doesn't even have a permanent home (though RFK Stadium with 54,000 seats or FedEx Field, 92,000, also houses NFL team often host matches, both being near or in DC).

That's about sports interests. There's the accents of course. We each have our own accents here, and they vary in between different parts of states, like in North California we say "hella" a lot and in Southern Cali they don't do that.

Expressions, of course. We all know the various truck/lorry and elevator/lift stuff. Never being out of this country before does make me not have as good as an experience as some.

But still, obesity plagues America. Many of the minorities don't get very good parenting and are allowed to go and eat "delicious" fast food a lot, which doesn't exactly keep them at a healthy weight. Those with better parenting, or also better exercise, as a lot of those that eat lots of fast food also watch lots of TV. There aren't as many McDonalds in Europe, and they also aren't as popular, which is a reason why Europeans are not as much plagued with obesity, especially in the younger ages.

[Zamurick]

In the US, you have to pay for some form of ID. I've heard that some European countries give you ID for free, or some form of a passport. Over here you have to pay for an ID, and in order to get it you have to supply your social security card, as well as other documents proving who you are (mail addressed to you from a government agency or a bank).
I don't know about the US, but here each student is given a photo and name identification card for every year in high school.

Nudity is looked down upon much more (that is, any bare breasts = huge no-no, while when I was in Europe people seem to get away with all kinds of nudity on billboards and ads and the likes). People are a lot less social, or, atleast caucious; no sitting with strangers or talking to people you don't know. Teens here are as far as I know more rebellious/cocky, and a good majority of them try to be "gangster" or "ghetto", which is really annoying. Umm. America is pretty large compared to the UK, so it has it's different sections, with slightly different accents and social behavior.
It's 100% legal to be topless in Canada, man or woman. There have been a few cases over it, but the accused always wins because it's not against the law to be topless. Dunno why they don't just make it illegal.

You're right about the stranger thing, too. A large majority of people in the US and Canada have trust issues with anyone who seems friendly to them. It's extremely rude if you think about it, but people don't know how to react when they feel that sense of insecurity around a stranger.

Just about every foreign country hates the US.
Sadly, especially since the French are about 300% more arrogant than Americans.

[Dragorium15]

Dunno why they don't just make it illegal.

It would infringe upon a woman's equal rights. They can't make it illegal as it would go against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[Zamurick]

Then why aren't we allowed to punch them in the face?

They never seem to have a problem doing it to me...

[Dragorium15]

Then why aren't we allowed to punch them in the face?

They never seem to have a problem doing it to me...

You can. Things just might get a little out of hand and you have to prove she hit you first. If that's the case, you should win.

[Chrisjh0223]

Nudity is looked down upon much more (that is, any bare breasts = huge no-no, while when I was in Europe people seem to get away with all kinds of nudity on billboards and ads and the likes).

That is because in Europe, women's breasts are not considered sexual. Women are allowed to walk around in public topless so they can breastfeed their infants much more efficiently. Now when it comes to "below the belt" however, that part becomes sexual.

Also, I read in a recent "Principles of Business Management" text book that anything with nakedness (or near nakedness) in Italy sells itself at a high rate in that country.

[cheat-master30]

So, any other cultural differences? I'm curious.

[MrLuigi]

Well back in the day ol' King George taxed the crap out of us and a war happened, then good ol' Washington led us to winning the war, breaking away from you guys.

Then the US grew freaking huge being the third largest country and dominating in economics and military.

[MrLuigi]

Other than that history Americans don't have funny accents.

[cheat-master30]

^I knew that. Any modern differences in culture?

[Dragorium15]

Nudity is looked down upon much more (that is, any bare breasts = huge no-no, while when I was in Europe people seem to get away with all kinds of nudity on billboards and ads and the likes).

That is because in Europe, women's breasts are not considered sexual. Women are allowed to walk around in public topless so they can breastfeed their infants much more efficiently. Now when it comes to "below the belt" however, that part becomes sexual.

Also, I read in a recent "Principles of Business Management" text book that anything with nakedness (or near nakedness) in Italy sells itself at a high rate in that country.

It's the same in Canada.

Women have equal rights as men to walk around topless because not being allowed to would be discrimination under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Granted, almost none take advantage of that fact, but it is there.

[videogame adict]

haha! this makes us americans sound like pansies! (like we weren't already)

[Symerwizkid22]

ITT: Stereotypes and the media

haha! this makes us americans sound like pansies! (like we weren't already)How are we "pansies?"

[L is Real 2041]

^We flipped out when the media said swine flu was dangerous. <_<

[LinksDarkArrows]

Since I'm also not familiar with other cultures, especially the United States and United Kingdom comparison which seems to be the main topic, I'll list some things that I see in every day life, and those can be compared to see how different or similar they are.

A lot of United States residents freak out about their food. Tasty fast food places have removed a lot of oils, greases and dark meats from their once delicious food so people can eat things like McDonalds on the go. They think that because those ingredients are gone that it's somehow "smart eating." The same applies for nearly everything in the grocery store too, so it's a wide spread issue. On nearly every product, there's bound to be a doppelganger of equal value with less fats or oils. They do not really mark them all that differently, so it's very easy to come home with something labeled "Diet" instead of what you really wanted.

Despite being in the same country, North and South are almost two completely different places. The North is generally more educated, but with a bitter attitude. The South has education, but none of the super powers (New York, Chicago, etc) that provide the education they would need to run a world class business, but they are generally very kind people. There are some exceptions to the rule (as there are with everything) with some states. Kentucky being a Northern state with Southern properties, and Florida being a Southern state with Northern properties. However, if not for Florida's flashy location, it might have been another Texas or Alabama.

People get way too offended over here. On a day to day basis, you feel like free speech (even spoken with a civil tongue) is being squished because you might offend somebody's extended culture, opinions or morals.

People never let anything go. I mean absolutely no racism here, (You see how I have to follow up my previous statement to avoid an argument?) but many years ago, African Americans (which is a ridiculous name. Maddox said it best. Black people come from more than Africa) were slaves to the "all powerful mystical whitey." Though this is completely over with, there are those who refuse to let it go. I believe we should never forget, but when talking about this situation, some individuals take it to heart. As if they were actually there. Even if they're as young as 25.

In America, television is a substitution for parental involvement. Back in 1990, it became way more apparent, as more and more children were watching television instead of reading a book or spending time with Mom and Dad. As you can see, this turned out to be a BIG problem. Most people between 14 and 22 are complete idiots. Television broadcast (if we can call this "digital age" a broadcast anymore) studios have realized the error of their ways, and have now abandoned (literally) this group of children their shows ruined in favor of a new generation. Television channels like PBS kids are riddled with over educating material now. However, not even that will be enough if there's still poor parental involvement.

In America, Apple products have replaced all forms of religion.

Over here, it's cool to be everything but what you really are. It was mentioned in a post earlier how people try to be "ghetto" or "gangster." However, it does not stop there. Because the United States is such a cultural wasteland (Who wants to represent pop idols, reality television and Fred?) it has become not really a trend, but a way of life, to seek out a culture more sophisticated than your own. (Not hard here) A large group turn to the Japanese. Not because of their anime, but because of their very rich and respecting culture.

In America, you have the keen sense to block out the obvious. Since this is a gaming site, I feel making at least one relation to gaming would be reasonable. When comparing the lag rates on Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, which are apparently different, we tend to ignore a few things. Mario Kart Wii is a game based only on your own precise location, where as Brawl is a for the moment game where that half a second delay is the difference between you and a win. That half second delay does exist in Mario Kart Wii, but you don't notice it because Mario Kart Wii does not require perfect spot-on commands to play at a high level. Something people constantly ignore when they actually think these two can be compared in the first place.

Those are all I can immediately think of right now. I'll post more if something else comes to me. Until then, I look forward to checking out the differences. I know I focused on the negative aspects, but I haven't seen much of a reason to be "Pro-America" lately.

[benoit489]

@Nick

What sports do you consider to not be short-attention span?

[Dragorium15]

but I haven't seen much of a reason to be "Pro-America" lately.

On the bright side, people from other countries actually like your president now.

[benoit489]

>_> Because he lies better than Bush.

[nickyivyca]

@Nick

What sports do you consider to not be short-attention span?
Out of the main 5 sports, soccer, then basketball, and hockey. Football and baseball don't require very big attention spans.

[benoit489]

Basketball and Hockey should go before Soccer because they are both played on smaller courts with more action going on around the ball/puck, whereas Soccer maybe has 2 to 4 people around the ball. Also, Baseball and Football take a longer attention span than you're giving them credit for. In baseball, if you have a short attention span you're going to screw over your team by not paying attention and making the hits you need to or the throws you need to. Same with Football. The plays they run are complicated. You have to get to the line, check how the other team is lined up, re-adjust your line up, audible the play so everyone is on the same page, and then execute the play. After that you've got a whole new beast to deal with in executing the play.

[cheat-master30]

Since I'm also not familiar with other cultures, especially the United States and United Kingdom comparison which seems to be the main topic, I'll list some things that I see in every day life, and those can be compared to see how different or similar they are.

A lot of United States residents freak out about their food. Tasty fast food places have removed a lot of oils, greases and dark meats from their once delicious food so people can eat things like McDonalds on the go. They think that because those ingredients are gone that it's somehow "smart eating." The same applies for nearly everything in the grocery store too, so it's a wide spread issue. On nearly every product, there's bound to be a doppelganger of equal value with less fats or oils. They do not really mark them all that differently, so it's very easy to come home with something labeled "Diet" instead of what you really wanted.



This might be fairly similar over here, although to be perfectly honest, a lot of people still eat the less healthy food more often than not.



Despite being in the same country, North and South are almost two completely different places. The North is generally more educated, but with a bitter attitude. The South has education, but none of the super powers (New York, Chicago, etc) that provide the education they would need to run a world class business, but they are generally very kind people. There are some exceptions to the rule (as there are with everything) with some states. Kentucky being a Northern state with Southern properties, and Florida being a Southern state with Northern properties. However, if not for Florida's flashy location, it might have been another Texas or Alabama.



This seems like a difference between the UK and US, if this and TV Tropes Wiki is to be believed. The different states apparently act more like different countries, while over here... well again, won't ever really happen because the whole country could fit nicely in a single US state, hence there's pretty few regional differences.



People get way too offended over here. On a day to day basis, you feel like free speech (even spoken with a civil tongue) is being squished because you might offend somebody's extended culture, opinions or morals.



Same over here. Albeit to a slightly lesser degree, which must shock sensationalist papers like the Daily Mail. I would imagine these tabloids, if in the USA would probably go into a mini world going into chaos meltdown. That reminds me... there seem like a lot less national newspapers in existance in the USA than over here, at least there get a decent readership. Are most forms of media more local/state based in the US?


In America, television is a substitution for parental involvement. Back in 1990, it became way more apparent, as more and more children were watching television instead of reading a book or spending time with Mom and Dad. As you can see, this turned out to be a BIG problem. Most people between 14 and 22 are complete idiots. Television broadcast (if we can call this "digital age" a broadcast anymore) studios have realized the error of their ways, and have now abandoned (literally) this group of children their shows ruined in favor of a new generation. Television channels like PBS kids are riddled with over educating material now. However, not even that will be enough if there's still poor parental involvement.



No idea if this is the same over here. Probably.



In America, Apple products have replaced all forms of religion.



More like on the internet in general. Because I'll be honest, offline, people using any Apple products bar the iPod are a tiny minority. Such people happen to be the extremely loud kinds found on forums and writing blogs.



Over here, it's cool to be everything but what you really are. It was mentioned in a post earlier how people try to be "ghetto" or "gangster." However, it does not stop there. Because the United States is such a cultural wasteland (Who wants to represent pop idols, reality television and Fred?) it has become not really a trend, but a way of life, to seek out a culture more sophisticated than your own. (Not hard here) A large group turn to the Japanese. Not because of their anime, but because of their very rich and respecting culture.



To be fair, from over here, the USA looks like it has MORE culture in many aspects, especially how everyone wants to fit into some sub culture or another. Over here (maybe due to uniforms in schools and what not), they pretty much are non existant, with everyone doing what the heck they feel like. There's also no high school/college subcultures over here to any real degree. Maybe because you can't really identify with anything when you're told to wear a certain style of clothing in school (and some colleges, and quite a few jobs). But I like the culture over here.



In America, you have the keen sense to block out the obvious. Since this is a gaming site, I feel making at least one relation to gaming would be reasonable. When comparing the lag rates on Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, which are apparently different, we tend to ignore a few things. Mario Kart Wii is a game based only on your own precise location, where as Brawl is a for the moment game where that half a second delay is the difference between you and a win. That half second delay does exist in Mario Kart Wii, but you don't notice it because Mario Kart Wii does not require perfect spot-on commands to play at a high level. Something people constantly ignore when they actually think these two can be compared in the first place.



To be fair, fanboys don't have logic in general. They act with a general rule of trying to stir up arguments, and gaming blogs are generally trying to be sensationalist rather than intellectual. Or people with a huge ego problem trying to LOOK intellectual, while in truth being trolls going on the same principals as low end tabloid newspapers.

[MrLuigi]

Bowerstank is 50% British and he's messed up.

Another British person in my school (female, 100% British) has a hilarious accent, OWATE.

[benoit489]

The US is always swinging back and forth between being a melting pot and observing/respecting all cultures.

[LinksDarkArrows]

"That reminds me... there seem like a lot less national newspapers in existance in the USA than over here, at least there get a decent readership. Are most forms of media more local/state based in the US?"

There are many news sources here. Most people will subscribe to a larger one such as the Chicago Tribune around here, then get their local news on television or the Internet. The Internet will eventually kill off most (except perhaps only the largest names) of the paper jobs.

"To be fair, from over here, the USA looks like it has MORE culture in many aspects, especially how everyone wants to fit into some sub culture or another. Over here (maybe due to uniforms in schools and what not), they pretty much are non existant, with everyone doing what the heck they feel like. There's also no high school/college subcultures over here to any real degree. Maybe because you can't really identify with anything when you're told to wear a certain style of clothing in school (and some colleges, and quite a few jobs). But I like the culture over here."

More in the way we mingle with every other kid, but the culture we give off isn't worth much. For most of it, we tend to "borrow" others and mix them into one somehow. Sadly, this leads to some groups feeling they absolutely have to be noticed. In a lot of television shows, there's usually one of each of the following: white, black, spanish, asian and sometimes middle-eastern. Many of our products even offer subtitles (usually Spanish and French) on food, signs and most things in public places. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it'd impossible to communicate with people because they're not forced to learn our language (because we have to respect their culture so they can not respect ours and slow us down.)

[Goomba Smackdown!!]

but I haven't seen much of a reason to be "Pro-America" lately.

On the bright side, people from other countries actually like your president now.

Lulz. They must not watch the news much. *shot*


A lot of United States residents freak out about their food.

Yes. OMG. People are going insane over what they eat, and they don't know they can totally pig out as much as they want and just WORK OUT EVERY NOW AND THEN. :|

Despite being in the same country, North and South are almost two completely different places. The North is generally more educated, but with a bitter attitude. The South has education, but none of the super powers (New York, Chicago, etc) that provide the education they would need to run a world class business, but they are generally very kind people. There are some exceptions to the rule (as there are with everything) with some states. Kentucky being a Northern state with Southern properties, and Florida being a Southern state with Northern properties. However, if not for Florida's flashy location, it might have been another Texas or Alabama.

This is debateable, and kind of stereotypical. But, agreed, it is a large country, and has it's subcultures.

People get way too offended over here. On a day to day basis, you feel like free speech (even spoken with a civil tongue) is being squished because you might offend somebody's extended culture, opinions or morals.

This isn't everyone, but it's far too big a number of people anyway. And just because of these people, and their rediculous lawsuits, there are now hundreds of near totally useless and unnecessary laws.

People never let anything go. I mean absolutely no racism here, (You see how I have to follow up my previous statement to avoid an argument?) but many years ago, African Americans (which is a ridiculous name. Maddox said it best. Black people come from more than Africa) were slaves to the "all powerful mystical whitey." Though this is completely over with, there are those who refuse to let it go. I believe we should never forget, but when talking about this situation, some individuals take it to heart. As if they were actually there. Even if they're as young as 25.


Yes, some whites are racist still, but so are others in ALL of the races in America. There are racist blacks, mexicans, asians, and the likes, but all of this is put on whites for some reason. IT'S EVERYONE, PEOPLE. Other races shouldn't be exempt from this just because they were the minority five million years ago.

In America, television is a substitution for parental involvement. Back in 1990, it became way more apparent, as more and more children were watching television instead of reading a book or spending time with Mom and Dad. As you can see, this turned out to be a BIG problem. Most people between 14 and 22 are complete idiots. Television broadcast (if we can call this "digital age" a broadcast anymore) studios have realized the error of their ways, and have now abandoned (literally) this group of children their shows ruined in favor of a new generation. Television channels like PBS kids are riddled with over educating material now. However, not even that will be enough if there's still poor parental involvement.

I would just call this bad parenting, which is basically universal.

In America, Apple products have replaced all forms of religion.

*whisks off "UNIX for Life" shirt*

jk

But like cheat said, besides iPod's, Apple really isn't that big. Fanboys just feel they need to make a voice for themselves about their new discovery (Mac) and make the mistake of being an asshole about it.

Who wants to represent pop idols, reality television and Fred?) it has become not really a trend, but a way of life, to seek out a culture more sophisticated than your own. (Not hard here)

I personally think it's an attempt to get attention, not exactly trying to find a new culture. I don't know any sane people who think fame and gangs as "sophisticated".

A large group turn to the Japanese. Not because of their anime, but because of their very rich and respecting culture.

Uh, no, it's the anime.

Until then, I look forward to checking out the differences. I know I focused on the negative aspects, but I haven't seen much of a reason to be "Pro-America" lately.

Yes. I wish I could've lived in the 80's. :| It appears to have all gone downhill since then. *sigh*

[Zamurick]

Yes. I wish I could've lived in the 80's. :| It appears to have all gone downhill since then. *sigh*
It REALLY pisses me off when people who weren't alive in the 80's say it was better than it is now. How would you know?

[ninjablooper]

I agree with Zam. How do you know what the 80s were like it you weren't there? This isn't true for everything though.

[orga the alien]

Yes. I wish I could've lived in the 80's. :| It appears to have all gone downhill since then. *sigh*
It REALLY pisses me off when people who weren't alive in the 80's say it was better than it is now. How would you know?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Official_Portrait_of_President_Reagan_1981.jpg
This is most likely why he likes the 1980's. Really stupid though because Ronald Reagan took away a lot of laws involving trade that would have prevented this economic recession.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ronald_Reagan#Minorities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ronald_Reagan#Crime_and_cap ital_punishment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ronald_Reagan#Women
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ronald_Reagan#Economic_plan s.2C_taxes.2C_and_deficit

[bowserboy]

i think the difference is religion and how the different countries look at things

[Goomba Smackdown!!]

It had nothing to do with Ronald Reagan. >_> It just seemed like a fun and remotely carefree time.

[orga the alien]

Why not now? Why not a few years ago? Why not ten years ago?

[Goomba Smackdown!!]

The 80's had a lot of good music, video games, movies, etc. It just seemed like a fun time. I've always heard a lot of good things about it; hardly anything bad (excluding the Cold War tension).

[orga the alien]

The 80's had a lot of good music, video games, movies, etc. It just seemed like a fun time. I've always heard a lot of good things about it; hardly anything bad (excluding the Cold War tension).

The Present has good music, and games. People always think the past or future is better when they don't realize the present is the best.

[Zamurick]

The 80's had a lot of good music, video games, movies, etc. It just seemed like a fun time. I've always heard a lot of good things about it; hardly anything bad (excluding the Cold War tension).
Because you were totally alive for all that, right?

[Goomba Smackdown!!]

I was basing it off of what I heard about it. >_>

[Zamurick]

You can't make proper judgements based on that, though. People ALWAYS say "back in the day" when half the time they know the here and now is better.

[orga the alien]

I was basing it off of what I heard about it. >_>

The 80's had a lot of good music, video games, movies, etc. It just seemed like a fun time. I've always heard a lot of good things about it; hardly anything bad (excluding the Cold War tension).
Because you were totally alive for all that, right?

This. http://vbvbydxrdtfxb5 dtrur5uthvtfyrfvctfredtrerry

[orga the alien]

You know when old people say in the olden days they're lying because American History (and history in general) has always had a turn for the worse or a good thing happen.

[Goomba Smackdown!!]

Gosh. Stop scrutinizing things. I just said I'd rather live in the 80's. >_>

[nickyivyca]

I like the technology that we have now. That's why I'd prefer living in today instead of the 80s.

But then, living in the Bay Area during the 80s means that the only football team that we have here is awesome, (the 49ers won 4 Super Bowls during the decade, including one with a home field advantage because it was played in home territory at Stanford University). But then, there was no NHL team either. The Seals had left for Cleveland, where they failed even worse and ended up merging with another team. The Sharks were a long ways off, as they came around in around 1990, finally being created in 1991.

Yeah, today has a lot better stuff, but the 80s and other decades each had their own awesomeness. I mean, there's no way to replace the old Nintendo commercials that were on TV.