No matter how much we try to remember how different our experiences can be across generations, it was definitely easy to think “get with the times” when we talked to older relatives growing up.
For instance, any time my grandmother said anything about computers, I could give her points for imagination but not much else.
But of course, time eventually marches faster than all of us. So it was only a matter of time before we millennials noticed that we’re starting to get too close to the other side of this generation gap for comfort.
Just ask Generation Z about any of these things and see what happens.
Haha, back when these were a thing, I was young enough that they were only good for homework and computer games.
At the same time, it’s not like I’m trying to go back to floppy disks. Even the most advanced of these things would have pathetic disk space by today’s standards.
Ah, the Game Boy Color. I remember it was such a big deal when we would experience games in colors besides pale green and black.
Granted, I guess we could’ve achieved that with a Sega Game Gear, but having to use a whole pack of batteries and denying ourselves any Pokémon games made that a pretty unattractive option.
Yeah, putting these in front of a teenager and having them figure out how they work together would probably be an interesting experiment.
Of course, the real question is what caused more heartbreak? A CD that wouldn’t stop skipping or a tape getting chewed up by an unruly deck?
If only our younger siblings could experience the joy of watching this wonderful man chase crocodiles in real time.
It feels so strange to realize we heard the sad news over 12 years ago. His kids are old enough to show off animals of their own now.
I’ll just save any confused younger readers the trouble and tell them it’s a film canister.
Wherever we went, you could bet my shutterbug dad had a few of these on deck.
There also wasn’t as much call for selfies back when you had to wait hours to see how they turned out.
It is kind of funny that this term hasn’t gone away yet. I guess “ending the call” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
It’s sort of like trying to think of a new “save” icon.
Nobody uses floppy disks anymore, but what other image would we even put in its place? A cloud?
It’s surprising that we live among people who have never heard a dial tone and yet, it should feel obvious at the same time.
I actually experienced a jolt of confusion before I came back to earth and realized that smartphones don’t have them.
To be honest, Generation Z wasn’t missing much in this case.
Let’s just say that squinting at poorly-lit fine print on the projector screen so I wouldn’t fail the next test isn’t something feel terribly nostalgic about.
Still, I will admit that I kind of miss the simpler time when this was how we spiced up our book reports.
I didn’t actually find the choice that hard, though. If the story you read took place in a harsh winter tundra, you picked the light blue word bubbles.
If it took place, at sea, you picked the deeper blue. Like I said, simple.
I’ll give the younger folks, this. These levers were always disappointing compared to power windows.
Making the windows go up and down for no reason when you were bored just wasn’t as fun with this.
It was like drinking regular milk instead of chocolate milk.
Before iPods hit (which are in museums now, by the way,) owning one of these felt so cool.
How cool? I used to carry this in a fanny pack so I could listen to my music with my hands free and I still managed to not feel lame.
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Besides, I needed at least one of those hands free so I could bring one of these along.
I needed at least a half hour before every car trip so I could make my careful selections.
Did I want to mope along with Linkin Park or groove to Outkast? These were important questions.
The Gen Z’ers can say what they want, but there was always something so satisfying about fixing a game by blowing into it.
I’m not going to pretend I’m not jealous that they have like 70 characters to choose from in Smash Bros. when we only had 12, though.
For some reason, these never worked on my TV anyway. So I can’t say I really miss them.
Instead, I had to buy a special adapter if I wanted to play a Playstation or an N64. Again, I’d be lying if I said that Generation Z is missing much here.
Apparently, the confusion over these pencil sharpeners isn’t that universal, but this guy experienced the same shock as with the rest of this list.
Oh, dear. Not only have we become old, but we’ve become the kind of old people who asks kids “are these still a thing?” with a vague hint of worry in our voices.
The awkward feeling of reassuring Grandpa that people still like cheeseburgers isn’t something I was hoping to pass on.
Yeah, even the tech we had that wasn’t completely alien from what people use now isn’t totally safe from this feeling.
It really is weird to think back to a time when this felt new and cutting-edge. I can’t say I miss the way we used to text back then, though.
