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The good old days weren’t, but people wish they were ; nostalgia rules according to Ipsos survey
MUMBAI: The past has never looked so rosy. Despite being born decades after disco died, most people across 30 countries would rather have emerged into the world in 1975 than today. By a ratio of nearly two to one, respondents to an Ipsos survey say they’d prefer to have been born 50 years ago—44 per cent versus a mere 24 per cent who favour 2025.
The nostalgia is particularly acute in India, where 44 per cent believe the environment was superior in 1975 and 41 per cent reckon people were happier back then. Never mind that 78 per cent of Indian respondents weren’t even alive to experience the supposed glory days. They’ve inherited a collective memory of simpler times, cleaner air and closer-knit families—passed down like heirlooms through generations.
Recent floods and landslides have sharpened perceptions that India’s environment has deteriorated. Streets, respondents insist, were safer. Healthcare was more accessible. War seemed more distant. Living standards were better, despite India now standing as the world’s fourth-largest economy, poised to overtake Japan for third place by 2030.
The global picture mirrors India’s wistfulness. Across the 30 countries surveyed, 55 per cent say their nation was happier in 1975, compared with just 16 per cent who believe it’s happier now. Environmental degradation troubles people everywhere: in 26 of 30 countries, majorities believe the natural world was in better shape half a century ago, with the global average hitting 61 per cent.
France leads the nostalgia parade, with 57 per cent preferring to have been born in 1975. Belgium and Mexico follow at 53 per cent, whilst Britain and New Zealand tie at 52 per cent. Only South Korea bucks the trend, with more people choosing the present over the past.
Yet the nostalgia rests on shaky foundations. Respondents consistently overestimate life expectancy in 1975 and underestimate how long people live today—even though many can now expect to reach 75 or beyond.
Not everything tilts backwards. A global majority of 55 per cent believe healthcare has improved, reflecting genuine advances in treatment and access. In India, education stands out as an unambiguous win for modernity. Indians overwhelmingly credit today’s job-oriented, skill-based programmes over the theory-laden curricula of yesteryear.
Living standards tell divergent stories depending on geography. In South Korea, 80 per cent believe life is better now; 70 per cent of Singaporeans and 66 per cent of Poles agree. Meanwhile, 59 per cent of the French, 52 per cent of Turks and 52 per cent of Canadians insist things were superior in 1975.
“Despite India being the world’s fourth-largest economy, nostalgia runs deep,” says Ipsos India chief executive Suresh Ramalingam. “Tech-driven lives bring convenience but also emotional distance and higher living costs. Progress drives pride, yet people view the past through a softer, more sentimental lens—where life seemed simpler and happiness easier.”
Ipsos interviewed 23,772 adults across 30 countries between August 22nd and September 5th, 2025. Even Generation Z, the only cohort showing a slight preference for being born in the 2020s, expresses profound uncertainty about both present and future.
The verdict is clear: modernity delivers longer lives, better medicine and expanded educational opportunities. But it cannot compete with the sepia-tinted allure of a past most people never knew—and which, in all likelihood, was nowhere near as golden as memory suggests.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
