I'm not prescribing anything. I'm describing the situation.

I'm only speculating that I think the past used to be (a lot) worse. Competition was higher across the board for significantly worse options across the board.

So much of the modern era is defined by the desire for social change, but nobody seems to pause and think what that must mean regarding the perception of their options (and themselves). It means even your worst option today probably isn't that bad or is already more similar to you than you want to believe. I think this all boils down to mortality. Other people change slower than you have time for, so on some level you do have to either compromise or make your own changes at the pace you prefer. You can't spend life looking at the rear view mirror and a horizon that never comes.

A casual look on social media tends to confirm that the same people not liking their options also think they were "born in the wrong era" or similar.