I am not incredibly nostalgic for the turn of the century, but there is one thing I miss about it.

Sure, the late 90s and early 2000s weren’t perfect — we saw the rise of domestic terrorism, the so-called Republican revolution that served as fertilizer on the seeds of the political discourse we have today, and 9/11, which reshaped the world in all sorts of ways, including but not limited to serving as the justification for two decades-long wars.

But overall, if you look back, it was a simpler time, right?

A lot of folks my age are inclined to think so. If you look at surveys, the age cohort known as elder millennials is more likely than any other group to long for a time when life was simpler, and technology was less prevalent in their lives.

Their intended definition for “technology,” of course, is not more efficient electrical grids, cars with greater mile-per-gallon gasoline usage, or toilets that flush more powerfully while using less water. All of those are examples of technological advances that have happened in our lifetimes but that operate in the background, largely unnoticed once the novelty of their installation wears off – if it is noticed at all....