The world is changing

The world around us is changing very much. Time passes and new developments are flying around our ears. Teenagers and adolescents are not really surprised by this. They are used to living in a world with constant new gadgets and inventions. Today’s thirties and certainly the elderly in society still remember what it was like before the internet, or even television. In this article you will get a brief overview of the changes of the past 50 years.

Facilities for the elderly

Under the leadership of Willem Drees, also known as ‘Father Drees’, the state pension was introduced in 1956. AOW means General Old Age Pension Act. The AOW provided for the elderly over the age of 65. From then on they received benefits from the state. Before that time, they usually did not have a pension themselves (which was not yet built up), and family members took care of the elderly. After years of hard work, they could not really enjoy their ‘old age’.

Nowadays they want to change the provision of care for the elderly. The state pension age must be raised, because people in today’s world are living much older than in the past. Society is also aging , which means that something needs to change in the area of AOW.

The television

In the 1960s, the Philips family was the major force behind the introduction of television in the Netherlands. By 1961, there were already 1 million sets in use and people could watch television about 20 hours a week. By 1970, almost every household had a television. Most televisions were still black and white at the time, but even at this time there were already some forerunners with color television. From 1985 onwards, most households had a color copy.

Nowadays, on average, households have 1 to 2 televisions. However, these are not all large TVs, because the flat screen has already conquered its own place in many homes. Nowadays you can also enjoy various programs on most channels from early in the morning to late at night. Some channels even broadcast 24 hours a day. Quite a change compared to the Netherlands around the 1960s and before.

Multicultural society

After 1945, the Netherlands became an emigration country and the Dutch moved to Australia, Canada, and so on. From the 1960s onwards, an active immigration policy was introduced, which meant that, in addition to immigrants from the former Dutch East Indies, people from Italy, Spain and, for example, Turkey also moved to the Netherlands to work as guest workers. This has made the Netherlands a multi-colored country. This diversity is also due to the removal of European borders and the provision of asylum to political refugees.

Just like the diversity of movements within Christianity, the Netherlands has also had this diversity of movements within Islam since 2000. The minaret and the rise of Islamic schools are now an indispensable part of Dutch society.

European community

1951: ECSC: European Coal and Steel Community.

ECSC signed the Treaty of Paris = trade between the raw materials coal and steel.
This treaty was signed by: the Netherlands, Belgium , Luxembourg, France, Germany and Italy.

1957: EEC: European Economic Community.

EEC signed the Treaty of Rome = free trade in all products between the 6 countries of the ECSC.
Over the years, the abbreviation EEC changed to EG, which means European Community.

1973: Great Britain, Denmark and Ireland joined the EC.
1981: Greece joined.
1986: Spain and Portugal also joined the EC.
1995: Austria, Sweden and Finland also became members. This brought the number of countries to 15.
2002: A new currency: the euro () was introduced.
2004: The largest expansion, with 8 countries from the former Eastern Bloc, including Cyprus and Malta.
2007: EC signed the Treaty of Lisbon = abolition of the pillar structure and further under one denominator: the European Union (EU).

Computer use and the internet

In the early 1980s, computers already entered some Dutch households. Often it was still for professional use. With the rise of the Internet in the early 1990s, computer use increased significantly. This network of computers was mainly used by the government and the educational branch. From 1996 it was available to the general public.

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device that allows you to make wireless telephone calls. This telephoning must take place within a network of antennas. In the early 1990s, this device was mainly used by businessmen, important people. However, if you look around on the street these days, you will see that most people, even from a young age, have a mobile phone.

Social media

A place where one can maintain social contacts online is social media. People can exchange all kinds of knowledge with each other on these platforms. You can also share experiences with others on Twitter or Hyves , these are examples of social media. With minimal intervention from an editor, the user provides the content.

Developments have reached the point where social media can be kept up to date via mobile phones. 50 years ago, we could never have imagined that we would maintain contact with each other in this way in 2011.