thenaturaldisesther:

[comment by Reddit user Sam474:

I think people aren’t giving the internet enough credit.

You grow up being told how great capitalism is and then you get online and find out that people in other countries have the same standard of living we do but without the constant fear of bankruptcy.

You grow up thinking “going to the doctor is expensive, don’t get sick and if you do don’t go until you’re sure you HAVE to” and then you find out most of the developed world can go to the doctor for free, or at least for a very affordable rate.

You grow up thinking “Work hard and be successful and you can retire at 65 and travel a little.” and then you get online and find out pretty much all of Europe gets weeks and weeks of vacation time a year and is doing their travelling in their 20s and 30s and loving it.

The list goes on and on. I grew up in the conservative south and it wasn’t an uncommon conversation starter when I was a kid for people to open up with things like “What church do you go to?” and so that’s what I thought the world was. Church and working for the weekend and be careful to save your pennies and not splurge and don’t get sick. It wasn’t until the internet appeared that I realized how differently a lot of people live and how much more appealing a lot of that sounded.

dontmeantobepoliticalbut:

When you hear that someone else had a kid and it didn’t cost them any money, got a year off to raise it, gets free daycare, and goes to spain twice a year for vacation it’s pretty hard to still feel content with your 60 hour work week, 2 weeks off a year that you’re discouraged from actually using, and health insurance as your second biggest monthly bill.]