Trad trap

The beliefs and practices of other eras are becoming refuges against the bewilderment of the contemporary world, especially among younger people. A segment that, growing up in a context of political and democratic freedoms, feels it has lived through continuous economic crises, job instability, unequal opportunities and a general sense of dissatisfaction with life.

Digital media are new catalysts for a return to practices that play on a longing for the unlived, a fascination with what has been lost that seeks to anchor the present to an ideal of tradition that some see as a return to order and a new direction in areas such as the home, work, politics or religious beliefs.

These feelings of disenchantment and scepticism towards life models that should have provided stability and progress bring back the narrative that “things were better in the old days”.

However, this idealisation of past eras can carry certain risks, such as a distorted reading of a past that limited rights and freedoms in the name of preserving certain values.

Likewise, this new approach can end up encouraging indifference to the challenges of today’s world, such as global inequality or the climate crisis, reinforcing ideologies that promote tradition based on rejecting the diversity represented by other groups and minorities.