10 Cultural Trends of the 20th Century
Things are changing faster than ever. It’s amazing how quickly we adapt. Here are ten trends that have accelerated since the beginning of the 20th century and are still changing our lives.
1 Gender equality and women’s rights
It started when women gained universal suffrage in Norway in 1913. Since then, one male bastion after another has fallen. The final blow to this tribe was the Me Too movement, which ended the careers of a long line of cultural figures and influencers.
2 We’re less formal
The polite forms “De” and “Dem” have all but disappeared from the Norwegian language. Back in the 1960s, it was perfectly normal to address strangers this way. The same was true, for example, of using teachers’ surnames.
3 The Internet has taken over most
Although most people only got online in the last decade of the century, it has launched a rapid development of possibilities that are still being explored, from online gambling with the crypto casino platform https://norwaykryptocasino.com/anonyme-kasinoer/ as a replacement for card nights to various forms of interactive socialization. Social networks, online banking, online newspapers, streaming music and video - yes, we can name a lot!
4 People are moving to the cities
It started with industrialization, which started relatively late in Norway. There has been a steady trend towards urbanization throughout Norway. Recently, there have been attempts to counteract this with targeted district policies, but without success.
5 We are working further and further from home
At the beginning of the 20th century, we worked no further from home than we could walk. Many of those who worked on farms had their workplace right outside their door. With improved transportation, living in one city and working in another was no longer a problem. Thanks to the home office, we can now work from anywhere in the world.
6 The Travel Revolution
Until the 20th century, tourism was reserved for the privileged. We talked about so-called educational trips, which were mostly undertaken by wealthy heirs. With improved transportation, more people had the opportunity to do so. So-called mass tourism gained momentum in the 1960s and 1970s with package tours to Las Palmas and the rest of the South. Today, we are talking about vacations in space. Read what to do instead of lying on the couch after work on this website.
7 Everyone gets an education
Even at the beginning of the twentieth century, school was for everyone, but primary school consisted of only seven classes. From the age of thirteen, it was common to take on various jobs, such as waitering or delivering newspapers. Over the decades, the boundaries have shifted. Today, people are self-taught until they are twenty or even older.
8 Entertainment and information on the small screen
The first test television broadcasts in Norway took place in the early 1960s. It was only ten years later that box office receipts became everyone’s business. By 2025, the most economical mobile screen could accommodate everything from news reports to feature-length feature films.
9. Religion takes up less space
On Sundays, there is probably a lot more space in church than there used to be. We are a much more secular society now than in 1900. The blasphemy case against Arnulf Everland made it acceptable to mock Christianity. The compulsory subject of Christianity in school has been transformed into general religious and ethical education, and the state church system was finally abolished in 2011.
10 Everything is documented in photographs
The art of photography developed in the 19th century, but we only gained real benefit from it at the beginning of the century. Majestic black-and-white photographs of serious men and women can fill a family tree several generations back. Over time, we have learned to smile in front of the camera, and now all we need is a selfie stick and a mobile phone to take pictures of celebrities we meet on the street or the food we eat.