Change for the Better, Change for the Worse

#1

Link to December 21 Pew Research Center report, "Public Looks Back at Worst Decade in 50 Years".

Excerpt: As the current decade draws to a close, relatively few Americans have positive things to say about it. By roughly two-to-one, more say they have a generally negative (50%) rather than a generally positive (27%) impression of the past 10 years. This stands in stark contrast to the public's recollection of other decades in the past half-century. When asked to look back on the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, positive feelings outweigh negative in all case.

To be sure, the passage of time may affect the way people view these historical periods. For example, had we asked the public's impression of the 1970s in December of 1979, the negatives may well have outweighed the positives.

Opinions of Technological and Social Changes

Top 5 Changes for the Better
1. Cellphones (69%)
2. Green products (68%)
3. Email (65%)
4. The internet (65%)
5. Increasing racial/ethnic diversity (61%)

Top 5 Changes for the Worse
1. Reality TV shows (63%)*
2. More people getting tattoos (40%)
3. More people in the stock market (34%)
4. Cable news talk & opinion shows (30%)
5. Acceptance of gays & lesbians (28%)

Why does #1 under changes for the worse bring to mind this recent story?