I don't long for the past. I lived there and sometimes remember. I understand that it's significant that some of us remember a time before mp3s, video games, cell phones and internet. That the things we "grew up with" help define us, even if we don't want to go back.
Television and vinyl mean something different to me, because I come from a time when they ruled. Some things change rapidly; especially our toys, our technology. And some things change slowly; especially our human nature, the way humans treat each other.
So if you remember, you remember lots of things that don't really exist anymore, (people too), so in that way, change is tangible. Then there are the world events that kind of define a time. This war, this time, not that war, that time. This tragedy, this time. This catastrophe. Etc.
There are these "generational" differences. At first they seem sort of unimportant. But as time goes forward, as the trappings of a life change, you realize some of those differences actually define us, mark us out, color our thoughts. And you realize that many of us live in a different world from the others around us. As we go along, the world stretches, lengthens, deepens, and becomes a very unique place, one that may have little in common with the world of the person sitting right next to you.