It’s our ninth birthday, but what’s Changed In The UK Since 2017?

What’s Changed In The UK Since 2017? Quite A Lot Actually…

Back in 2017, life in the UK felt very different.

Petrol was cheaper, people still argued over whether pineapple belonged on pizza instead of arguing online about absolutely everything, and most of us were still happily tapping away on phones with batteries that somehow lasted all day.

It was also the year Atom Radio launched.

Since then? The UK has changed massively. Some things for the better, some… maybe not so much. So here’s a look back at what’s changed since 2017, and why it somehow feels both like yesterday and about 25 years ago at the same time.

Streaming Completely Took Over

In 2017, Spotify was growing fast but many people still had CDs in the car and MP3 collections on laptops.

Fast forward to now and streaming runs everything.

Music, films, TV, podcasts, audiobooks… even doorbells need subscriptions now.

Netflix was still exciting in 2017 too. Remember when there was basically just Netflix and Amazon Prime? Now choosing what to watch involves scrolling through approximately 47 apps before giving up and watching an old episode of Only Fools And Horses.

We Learned What “Working From Home” Really Means

Before 2020, working from home sounded like a dream.

Then millions of people actually did it.

Suddenly kitchen tables became offices, pets became work colleagues, and everyone learned the stress of hearing “you’re on mute” at least 15 times a day.

Video calls became normal. Jogging bottoms became business wear. And many people discovered they actually quite liked not commuting every day.

The High Street Changed Beyond Recognition

2017 still had a recognisable British high street.

Since then we’ve seen the decline of loads of familiar names. Department stores disappeared, banks vanished from town centres, and self service tills multiplied like gremlins.

At the same time, online shopping became even bigger.

You can now order literally anything from your phone while lying on the sofa. Dangerous really.

The local shopping trip became:
“I’ll just pop in for one thing.”

And somehow ended with:
“Well… Amazon says it’ll be here tomorrow.”

Prices Went Through The Roof

This one everybody noticed.

Back in 2017:

A meal deal felt cheap
Energy bills didn’t require emotional preparation
Freddos were still vaguely sensible
You could fill a car without taking out finance

Now? Even popping to the supermarket for “bits” somehow costs £34.

And don’t even mention concert ticket prices.

Social Media Became Exhausting

In 2017, social media still felt relatively fun.

People posted holiday photos, bad selfies and pictures of fry ups.

Now it feels like:

adverts
arguments
AI videos
somebody trying to sell protein powder
someone from school becoming a life coach

Also, TikTok arrived and suddenly everyone over 40 had to learn what “POV” meant.

TV Changed Completely

Back then, families still watched big Saturday night TV together.

Now everybody watches different things at different times in different rooms.

Live TV moments still exist, but they’re rarer.

Although one thing hasn’t changed:
There will always be at least one person loudly saying:
“There’s nothing on.”

While sitting in front of 900 channels and seven streaming services.

Cash Almost Disappeared

Remember carrying cash?

In 2017, most people still had notes and coins in their pocket every day.

Now lots of people panic if a shop says “cash only” because they genuinely haven’t seen a £20 note in months.

Contactless became king and phone payments became normal.

The phrase “have you got change for the parking machine?” practically belongs in a museum now.

AI Turned Up

This definitely wasn’t on many people’s bingo cards in 2017.

Artificial intelligence suddenly appeared everywhere.

Now your phone writes messages, your TV recommends programmes, your car beeps at you for drifting slightly left, and your fridge probably has stronger opinions than some people online.

Some people love AI.
Some people fear it.
Most people are still trying to work out why autocorrect changes perfectly correct words into nonsense.

We Got Older. Somehow.

Possibly the biggest change since 2017?

Us.

The songs we grew up with are now called “classic hits.”
The kids born in 2017 are heading towards secondary school.
And people born in the 90s are talking about feeling old.

Which honestly feels rude.

But despite everything changing, some things stayed the same:

We still complain about the weather
We still love a proper singalong
Friday still feels exciting
And hearing a great song on the radio still beats scrolling endlessly through playlists

Maybe that’s why radio still matters.

Because while the world keeps changing at ridiculous speed, sometimes you just want familiar voices, great music and something that feels human.

Even if Freddos now cost the GDP of a small country.