I think things are scarier now more for technology reasons (seems like we're moving too fast and in the dystopian fiction made reality direction, though tech (addict) utopians love it, including some who align left (thinking it'll lead us to Star Trek-esque "space communism")), followed by high cost of living in relation to median income, and the more aggressively authoritarian direction of the Republican Party and its ecosystem of media outlets and popular figures.

But at the same time, we can nitpick various aspects of the past, there are always some negatives going on when looking at politics, economics, social issues, international affairs, and pop culture.