Looking Back to Our Beginnings: Life in 1999
Everyone loves birthdays, and this year, Daybreak is celebrating 25 years as a charity. As part of the series of posts we have planned, today, we’re going to look back on life in 1999 and see how things have changed from then to the present day. So, fuel your DeLorean, prepare the Tardis, and engage the Warp Core, because we’re travelling back to the 20th century.
Life in 1999 was very different from life today. Firstly, chances are that you wouldn’t be reading this article online. Only 19% of UK homes had access to the internet, compared to 98% today. This meant that entertainment especially was very different. DVDs were only beginning to replace VHS tapes as the main means of home-viewing, while video libraries were still a high street staple. Nowadays, VHS is ancient history and DVDs are on the way out, as streaming giants like Netflix redefine the viewing experience.
In fact, many worried that technology was on the verge of catastrophic meltdown as the turn of the millennium approached. Known as the Y2K scare, this was the fear that computer software would be unable to recognise the year ‘2000’, triggering possibly apocalyptic breakdowns as everything from office desktops to nuclear weapons systems went haywire. Thankfully, the prophesised doomsday never materialised, and digital devices have now become a hallmark of everyday life.
In terms of politics, Tony Blair was Prime Minister and Bill Clinton was President. Since then, we’ve had 8 Prime Ministers and 5 US Presidents. We’ve also seen a new monarch arise to the throne of the United Kingdom, as King Charles III took over from Queen Elizabeth II in early 2023. Moreover, 1999 saw the establishment of devolved assemblies in Scotland and Wales, a landmark political shift that set the groundwork for today’s political climate.
In other ways however, 1999 marked the beginning of trends which have only grown through the years. Pokémon was exploding across the UK, while SpongeBob SquarePants first aired in July. Then, while Daniel Radcliffe was only 10 years old, J.K. Rowling published Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to rave reviews, bringing ‘Pottermania’ into mainstream pop culture. Now, there have been over 135 Pokémon games, SpongeBob SquarePants has evolved into two movies and a Broadway musical, while Harry Potter has spawned 11 blockbuster films.
Speaking of the big screen, ever heard of Hugh Jackman? Simon Pegg? What about Idris Elba? Believe it or not, each of these modern movie titans made their on-screen debut in 1999. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace also released, catapulting the now-iconic sci-fi franchise in front of a new generation and spurring the creation of eight further films and more spin-off series than you can shake a lightsabre at.
But what about families? This is Daybreak after all; we exist to empower families, enabling them to work together and find solutions to the problems they face. As such, we’ve kept a weather eye on how the family unit has evolved over our 25-year history, and have developed our services to help families tackle today’s biggest challenges.
All in all, the nature of families and family life has changed enormously in the last 25 years. Since 1999, marriage rates have fallen by almost 20%, as people’s attitudes and work patterns have shifted. Throughout the 1990s, people also began having children later in life, as they strived to balance education, work and parenthood. This trend has continued to this day and intentional childlessness has become more and more common for modern couples. Meanwhile, divorce rates have risen steadily as the social stigma surrounding separation has weakened and the legal process has been simplified.
Throughout 1999, many commentators also noted a reduction in ‘family time’, as CDs, DVDs, game systems, and mobile phones offered new ways for people (especially from the younger generations) to spend their free time. This trend has also continued today: some researchers have estimated that families now spend just three hours of quality time together throughout the week, as new technologies and entertainments have shifted domestic life.
New legislation in 2002 and 2014 also recognised the right of same-sex couples to both marry and adopt children, overcoming significant opposition to create a more inclusive legal definition of what constitutes a family.
Across the last 25 years, families have faced various challenges. Poverty has continued to affect thousands of households. Consecutive economic problems mean that the 2024 poverty rate roughly equals the 1999 poverty rate at around 20% of people. Worryingly, the number of people classed as being in ‘very deep’ poverty, with an income far below the standard poverty line, has increased by over 60% in the last 25 years, as more than 6 million people are now counted among the UK’s poorest families.
The cost of living has been a national issue, most notably since the pandemic. In the last 25 years, the price of a loaf of bread has increased by over 140%, while house prices have rocketed: for the average cost of a house today, you could have bought five in 1999, causing home-ownership to decline too.
Ensuring that everyone can access key services has been a major ask for every recent government. The pandemic hurt these efforts, however. For example, rates for medical appointments and treatments are now only slightly higher than they were in 1999.
1999 was also a crucial year for mental health, as the Department of Health published its National Framework for Mental Health, a then ambitious plan for improving mental healthcare. More recent policies have sought to increase people’s awareness of the importance of mental health and place service users at the heart of decision-making.
Legislation in 2014 took steps to properly support people with special educational needs and disabilities. In the last few years, people with disabilities have entered the workforce in record numbers, supported by new technologies and practices (such as greater home-working following the pandemic) which have created more inclusive working environments.
As major political and cultural events shifted the landscape of society, 1999 emerged as a pivotal year for the UK. From pop culture to technology to the law, trends set in motion 25 years ago have continued to grow and evolve, shaping our lives today. Family life especially has transformed in the last quarter century, as the same currents spurring social change have redefined our understanding of the family and its place in society.
So here we are, safely back in the present after a lightning tour of the events underpinning Daybreak’s 25-year history. If you want to celebrate our anniversary with us, then why not consider donating to our 25-for-25 page? Or, if you want to help us continue supporting families for another 25 years, we’d love it if you had a go at fundraising with us. You can do both right here. Happy birthday Daybreak!
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