Key Difference – Past vs Present Lifestyle
Although there is a definite difference between past and present lifestyles, the difference between these two concepts may differ according to income, access to modern facilities, equipment, education, and lifestyle. There are some communities in the world who do not get access to many modern facilities and technological inventions. Therefore, the difference between past and present lifestyles can be a very subjective topic and the differences here might differ in various people’s experience.
The key difference between past and present lifestyles is that the past lifestyle can be described as a simple, traditional, home-based lifestyle with a self-sufficient economy and simple tools. Present lifestyle, on the other hand, is complex, efficient, comfortable, and modern, highly technological, and is based on a profit maximizing production economy. The complexity or sophistication of the lifestyle may however depend on the income level, geographical location and culture.
We can compare and contrast the Past and Present Lifestyles under many different areas such as attitudes, feelings of people, and thinking capacity of people, food habits, clothes, housing, transport, use of tools and machinery, education system, economy, etc.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Attitudes, Feelings, and Thinking Capacity
Attitudes and Feelings:
Past: Attitudes of people in the past would have been more peaceful since they did not have any complex economic, social or political problems. Thus, their attitudes and feelings were much simple than the present day.
Present: People in the present are more educated, open and free to express their opinions. With the complexity of their new lifestyle, their attitudes and feelings have become more complex.
Thinking Capacity:
Past: Our ancestors were intelligent and had a great thinking capacity despite the lack of technology and tools such as calculators, computers, etc. The technology we used today is a result of their innovations. In addition, we still have not been able to figure out some of their work. Ex: constructions such as pyramids, ancient irrigation systems.
Present: The thinking capacity of people has widened. Even a person with limited thinking capacity has the ability to improve it with education, access to books, magazines, and the internet.
Modern technology may also have a negative influence on intelligence. For example, some people use the internet to look solutions for their question, without thinking critically.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Food Habits
Changes in Food Habits:
Past: Before Stone Age, people used to eat fruits, leaves and anything they found from the forest. But, this habit changed into hunting animals, preserving food items and planting and growing vegetables, which eventually led into farming different crops like maize, corn, and rice. People were healthy, they rarely had diseases and never needed extra exercise cause their daily work kept their bodies running.
Present: At present, we have turned the agriculture into a mass scale production, including machinery, technology, pesticides and weedicides, all which came in with the green revolution. With green revolution agriculture and the traditional farming culture turned upside down. As for now, farmers who are able to cope up with the multi-national cooperation’s and their large-scale, expensive products, pesticides and high-yielding varieties of seeds, keep producing crops for the market. Yet the traditional, low-income farmers even today, especially in Asian countries, are in a dire state.
Fast food is another major factor in modern food habits. Although many people find it convenient, it leads to many health conditions. Today people are unhealthy, needs medicine and functions on diets and exercise machines.
Past lifestyle was based on agriculture.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Economy
Past: With the Agriculture based economy, people bartered goods.
Present: We are today moving towards an industrial economy which is cooperating with the service sector; as a survival factor agriculture keeps these two sectors running in a successful way by giving the needed supply for their daily demand on food consumption.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles and Clothing
Past: In the past, people used to wear simple clothes made out of dry leaves; later, they slowly moved into different types of clothing. With the industrial revolution, this situation changed. People who had to work in industries had to cover themselves up in order to make sure they didn’t get exposed to the chemicals or any other harmful things. Therefore, long dresses, full body covered clothes came into the society. Later clothing changed in terms of the place you lived, your culture, ethnicity, and religion. For example, Indians used to cover themselves up with salwar, sarees, etc. whereas the western Europe people tend to cover themselves up according to the climate; shorts in warm areas and jeans in cold regions.
Present: Aspects like comfort, trend, and style are what matters in clothing rather than the climate or region you live in. For example, Indians wear their traditional clothes on occasions, but they are more into western fashions like jeans, shorts, blouses, and T-shirts.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Education
Past: In terms of education in the past, people rarely got the chance to educate themselves. Farmers made sure that their children knew how to plot a farm and carry out their daily work. Yet with time, people went to the religious institutes like church, temple, kovil and mosque in order to learn. Later with the industrial revolution and factories and equipment coming into action, even the children of the agricultural families were sent to the town to learn how to work with machinery. Then later with colonization, people started learning languages and sciences with the improvement in knowledge. The most important fact is that all these changes in education happened only in the lives of the males as the females were kept at home to do the daily work like sweeping, sewing, painting, embroidery, cleaning and looking after children.
Present: With the revolutions and freedom actions taking place all over the world, females started to fight for their rights in terms of voting, education, and politics. These freedom fights were granted after several struggles. Today, women have the opportunity to get a good education despite their religion, ethnicity, and race .
People now have access to books, magazines, and the internet and students are much advanced in terms of education and access to knowledge. However, as mentioned in the beginning, there are exceptions to these facilities.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in Using Equipment and Machinery
Past: In the past, our ancestors used to work with small tools that were made out of animal bones or wood. Animals were also used for ploughing, carrying loads, etc.
Present: With evolution, people started to use metals to make equipment like knives, and other tools. Now, equipment are made out of several material such as carbon, fiber, and especially plastic to make things used for daily usage.
Today we use machines to do the same things with less effort and time. Machinery has made life easier on earth in terms of efficiency. However, weapons can be termed as a negative outcome of the equipment evolution.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Transport
Animals vs Vehicles
Past: In the past, people used animals like horses, donkeys, and camels to travel from one place to another.
Present: With advancement in technology, transportation has become much wider, easier, and faster; there are a variety of vehicles to travel on land, air, and water.
When talking about transportation on water, during ancient times, travels by ships took a long time, and many people died because of the weather and bad conditions of the ships. But today, there are luxury cruisers that carry supermarkets, tennis courts, swimming pools, houses, etc. Many people use airplanes to travel between countries.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Housing
Past: In the past, people lived in caves, mud, and wood huts, etc. They used natural ingredients to build their houses.
Present: Housing over the past few decades have changed in terms of shape, mode of creation, size, place and purpose and so on. Today material such as bricks, cement, plastic and anything and everything is used in housing. Technology advancement has given freedom for the human being to go beyond nature to create human dwellings.
Difference Between Past and Present Lifestyles in terms of Religion and Beliefs
Past: During the past, people lived with the concepts of religion, nature, economy and village. These concepts were always bound to one another. Religion dictated their whole lives.
Present: But today the situation has changed. People are too busy to pay any attention to their religion and beliefs. The advancement of science and technology has also led people to question the validity of religion.
| Past Lifestyle | Present Lifestyle |
| Attitudes and feelings were more peaceful and complex since they did not have any complex economic, social or political problems. People were intelligent despite the lack of technology. Most of the technological innovations we use today are a result of their intelligence. | People in the present are more educated, open and free to express their opinions. The complexity of their lifestyles has made their feelings and attitudes more complicated. The thinking capacity of people has widened. Even a person with limited thinking capacity has the ability to improve it with education, access to books, magazines, and the internet. |
| Religion was a major part of their lifestyles. It dictated their whole lives. | Many people don’t have time for religion. With the advancement of technology, people have begun to question about religious concepts. |
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People were dependent on nature to gather food. Agriculture was simple and traditional. |
People have turned the agriculture into a mass scale production including machinery, technology, chemicals, etc. |
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Agricultural based economy |
Industrial based economy |
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People used simple clothes made out of natural products. |
Production of clothes has become more complex. Style, trend have become important factors. |
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Not everyone had the opportunity to educate themselves. |
There are equal education opportunities. Technology has given more access to educational resources. |
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People used tools made out of wood, rock or animal bones. Simple metals were also used later. |
Complex machinery and tools are made of different metals and alloys. Many machines work using electricity. |
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People used animals and simple vehicles like carts for transportation. |
With advancement in technology, transportation has become much wider and easier; there are a variety of vehicles to travel on land, air, and water. |
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People lived in caves, simple huts made of mud, wood, and stones. |
Different materials are used to create houses of various structures and shapes in various places. |
As explained in the above section, the difference between present and past lifestyles can be discussed under various subtopics such as attitudes, intelligence of people, food, clothes, education, technology, religion and beliefs, housing, etc. As seen from all these subtopics, the present lifestyle is more complex, sophisticated and technologically advanced than past lifestyle.
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