“Fear Of Old Things When They Were New”: 30 Interesting Vintage Newspaper Clippings
Interview With Author
I have to admit, me and AI aren’t exactly friends. I hate the idea of artificial intelligence taking away artists’ jobs, turning all content into lifeless pieces written by computers and eliminating the need for anyone to actually use their brains. While I admit that I should probably be less skeptical of these advancements, being wary of technology is nothing new.
We took a trip to the Pessimists Archive, a project that features news clippings from the past warning about the dangers of technology, and gathered some of their most fascinating posts below. So keep reading to find a conversation with Louis Anslow, the creator of the archive, and enjoy scrolling through these interesting articles from way back when!
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Looking at headlines from past decades is always entertaining. It's fascinating to see how well (or how poorly) journalists predicted the future, and it's interesting to think about future generations chuckling at the news we're receiving today. And one place that might make you realize just how little we knew about technology in the past is The Pessimists Archive. This site describes itself as “a project to jog our collective memories about the hysteria, technophobia and moral panic that often greets new technologies, ideas and trends.”
“We believe the best antidote to fear of the new is looking back at fear of the old,” the site’s About section states. “Only by looking back at fears of old things when they were new, can we have rational constructive debates about emerging technologies today that avoids the pitfalls of moral panic and incumbent protectionism.”
To learn more about how the Pessimists Archive came about in the first place, we reached out to the project’s creator, Louis Anslow. Louis was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share some background information about the archive.
First, we wanted to know what inspired him to launch the project. “A frustration with the cynicism about new technologies and the lack of appreciation for how science and technology has made life so much better than the past,” Louis says.
We were also curious about what it’s been like for Louis to see the site grow so popular. “I thought people would find it interesting, but its early popularity was surprising,” he admitted. “Gwyneth Paltrow follows us on Twitter.”
And as far as how he finds the content that gets shared in the archive, Louis says, “Pessimists Archive would not be possible without online archives that allow you to search newspaper scans as easily as web pages. It allowed me to do the jobs of a team of archival researchers that used to take a long time.”
"Movies, radios, automobiles and popular fiction are to blame for the inability of the modern pupil to concentrate."- The Gazette, Montreal, 1926
It makes me so mad. Netflix swooped in, drove everyone else out and then pulled the rug out from under the customer's feet. The service they once provided (and well) is now gone and it sucks.
We also asked Louis what he believes we can learn from the old newspaper clippings that get shared on Pessimists Archive. “They are a mirror to humanity that show us the irrational fears we can fall prey to and how people with power use those fears to preserve their standing in society,” he told Bored Panda.
Buckley felt we also didn't need integration, minimum wage laws, voting rights legislation, unions, women's rights, etc.
Finally, we wanted to know what headlines from today could end up in a Pessimists Archive of the future. “The conversation around Artificial Intelligence causing mass unemployment, and even wiping out humanity – were floated by one of the pioneers of Artificial Intelligence – Norbert Weiner, in the 1950s,” Louis says. So it's likely that we'll continue to mock those who are scared of AI!
1927: Professor blames Jazz for decrease in bodily health after performing thousands of autopsies on mummies. Yearns for the good old days of ancient Egypt.
While it might sound silly to be fearful of technology, it’s actually quite common to have worries. So common, in fact, that the term “technophobia” has been coined. (And no, that does not mean a fear of techno music.) According to the Cleveland Clinic, adults and seniors are more likely to develop this specific fear than younger individuals, as we tend to use technology less and less as we age. One study found that 60% of adults between the ages of 55 to 59 use the internet, while only a quarter of those aged 65 to 74 get online. And only a measly 6% of adults 74 and older use the internet.
"Doctors say there is no doubt that sheer fright at the sight of the masked throngs caused insanity" (1919)
"It holds a greater danger for this country, if not handled properly, than it has ever held for any country in the history of the world" - Elko Independent, 1915
1928 screed against colour TV
The Cleveland Clinic explains that technophobia can be caused by general anxiety about the future, mass hysteria about unknown technological advancements, and media portrayals of “doomsday scenarios'' where technology starts targeting or overpowering humans. Some of the symptoms that someone who’s technophobic might experience are avoiding getting a new phone or computer, criticizing technological advancements or changes, refusing to use computers or ATMs, being resistant to software updates, and refusing to use automatic processes to pay bills.
Not entirely wrong - literacy has declined alarmingly. I don't think computers are totally to blame though.
Man yearns for the good old days of 1860 when kids didn't have info overload (1910)
“If they got back to the simplicity of fifty years ago, when books were fewer, they would find that the children would take more interest in a better class of books.”
If you’re a little bit technophobic yourself, it might be reassuring to hear a few reasons why we have no reason to fear AI. According to Nigel Barber, PhD, at Psychology Today, AI is simply a tool for improving our productivity. It’s not actually out to take all of our jobs, and it can never replace human interaction. Plus, many of our fears associated with it, along with other new technologies, are irrational. AI is not going to be perfect anytime soon. Anyone who regularly uses ChatGPT knows that it has limitations, and it could take decades to create robots that can successfully mimic what a human can write. Don't be scared to try it out; it might even make your life easier!
The Social Network, 1928
Near as I can tell, the 1928 class at Wellesley had 308 students, so assuming 4 years worth of students on campus at a time counting for ~1232 students, 9% of them receiving a telegram in any given day hardly seems like something to write a newspaper article about. I also wonder what fraction of those telegrams were addressed to women working for the campus newspaper, or were related to course research.
Childhood ruined! - The Evening Independent - Dec 7, 1939
We hope you’re enjoying scrolling through these interesting headlines from the past, pandas. Although some of them aren’t actually very old at all, it’s fascinating to see how things, and opinions, change over time. Keep upvoting the pics you find particularly fascinating, and let us know in the comments what headlines from today you imagine will be mocked in the future. Be sure to check out Pessimists Archive's newsletter, and then, if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda piece discussing technological advancements, look no further than right here!
1941 warning about ‘radio time’
I find it hilarious that this was considered a problem only for women radio listeners.
Do conservatives use "war on the bible" as an excuse Everytime anyone does anything
Pac-Man Banned In Massachusetts Town (1982)
Pinball and Pac-Man caused a quarter shortage! But juke boxes and pool tables are okay. lol
Will A Machine Get Your Job? (1932)
I'm a therapist. They're already using AI in apps to support people. I am okay with this to some extent. Some of it is useful and some of it is doing a really terrrible (and potentially harmful) job. The cost of therapy can be prohibitive so any help is better than none. AI can't reproduce the most life affirming aspect of therapy - another human witnessing you and offering you unconditional positive regard. Be safe out there folks.
No, it's because bicycles gave women independence, it meant men didn't control their lives anymore. It's the same mentality today among the anti-abortion and pro-rape rightwing fanatics of today.
Hey, the service modules for the "Artemis" missions are build in Bremen, Germany - just two hours away from my home
EFFECTS OF MOVIES ON CHILD FOUND BAD (1933)
"72% of Film Themes in 1930 Are Classified Under 'Love,' 'Crime' Or 'Sex'"
They cropped off the the second reason. Radio telephony would have been fantastically expensive (in comparison to radio telegraphy) in 1922. Thereby blunting interest in its amateur application. Also, the quality was not that good. Telegraphy would have had much greater range where the signal would be decipherable in comparison to voice communication. It's the reason HAMs still use telegraphy today for certain purposes.
40s/50s comicbook scare
Women dies in fire, reading in bed blamed. (Daily News, London, 1870)
I wish I had bought Apple stock toward the end of Sculley's presidency there.
From a publication whose competitors offered crossword puzzles, maybe?
Kids these days have lost their marbles (1909)
Are Elevators Dangerous? (1889)
To be fair, if there were accidents happening it`s not unreasonable to establish safety rules till better technologies make them obsolete
I'd much rather get a love letter than a call. Something beautiful to keep forever.
My name is Thomas, and I'm addicted to electricity.
Horses may be self driving, but you'll still catch a DUI for riding one drunk.
British Astronomer Calls Space Travel “Utter Bilage” (1955)
He was right. Sending humans up increases the cost of a mission by ten times or more (re: life support systems, bringing them back). Sending up robots on a one-way mission costs a lot less. India's moon mission in 2023 cost US$74 million. Not "billion", million. And they succeded, unlike China's billion dollar failure.
Is America to be Horseless? (1872)
This thread is gold. I want to download all these pics and post them when people do the "kids these days" rants.
I love these but wish the "this was silly" examples could be regularly extended backwards - 100 years at a time, to around 1,000 CE. We could go further- the Hittite and Sumerian literature is VASTLY more available now than 20 years ago- and they all have the same opinons. About everything. Worth knowing.
Autism-spectrum people are overrepresented in research science. So autism causes vaccines.
Load More Replies... Where's the racist anti-Rock and Roll crusade of the 1950s, when whites panicked about Black musicians "mongrelizing white youth", trying to ban music which they knew would make younger people less racist? And where's the anti-pool nitwits, not just anti-pinball? "Trouble here in river city, capital T, rhymes with P, and stands for pool".
Oh, old hat; the EXACT same racist carp existed in the 1920s for "jazz" - hideous, corrupting 'African rhythms!"
Load More Replies...
It's really interesting seeing this right now. In my Eng class, we're talking about making argument in academic papers, and our instructor had us argue for or against the idea that social media and smartphones were the cause of the rise in mental health issues among teens and young adults.
Journalists, since time immemorial, have loved a good scare story. People love to spit their cornflakes out in anger at the breakfast table and rant about the 'young people of today' Great for slow days, just pick something fairly new and throw a dodgy doctor's quote saying how it rots children's brains, causes violence etc..
This thread is gold. I want to download all these pics and post them when people do the "kids these days" rants.
I love these but wish the "this was silly" examples could be regularly extended backwards - 100 years at a time, to around 1,000 CE. We could go further- the Hittite and Sumerian literature is VASTLY more available now than 20 years ago- and they all have the same opinons. About everything. Worth knowing.
Autism-spectrum people are overrepresented in research science. So autism causes vaccines.
Load More Replies... Where's the racist anti-Rock and Roll crusade of the 1950s, when whites panicked about Black musicians "mongrelizing white youth", trying to ban music which they knew would make younger people less racist? And where's the anti-pool nitwits, not just anti-pinball? "Trouble here in river city, capital T, rhymes with P, and stands for pool".
Oh, old hat; the EXACT same racist carp existed in the 1920s for "jazz" - hideous, corrupting 'African rhythms!"
Load More Replies... It's really interesting seeing this right now. In my Eng class, we're talking about making argument in academic papers, and our instructor had us argue for or against the idea that social media and smartphones were the cause of the rise in mental health issues among teens and young adults.
Journalists, since time immemorial, have loved a good scare story. People love to spit their cornflakes out in anger at the breakfast table and rant about the 'young people of today' Great for slow days, just pick something fairly new and throw a dodgy doctor's quote saying how it rots children's brains, causes violence etc..
