As the newest additions to Gen Z are making their way online, or at least having their parents post about them, the stark differences between generations are becoming all the more apparent.
This list contains photos displaying those differences. Whether it be older pieces of tech that Gen Z kids wouldn’t be caught dead with or differences in design that older generations still cherish, there’s plenty that set us all apart.
“My grandma still has her 16 years old Nokia.”
They say ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Nowadays, when it comes to phones, it’s more like ‘if it ain’t broke (and you don’t want the latest HD camera or newest set of emojis), don’t fix (or replace) it’.
“My daughter just asked me what this was for. I have never felt so old in my life!”
This is one practice I’m more than okay with falling by the wayside, if only for the reason that it’s probably way easier on librarians to keep track of borrowing history digitally.
But if any librarians want to correct me, please do.
“My Great Great Grandfather’s pocketwatch that my Grandpa recently gifted to me.”
For such an old watch, this is in beautiful condition! There’s something forever classy about pocket watches. They’ve got a real fancy vibe, and though they’re rarely used, it makes for a lovely, quirky little addition to one’s outfits.
“My 9 year old just asked me what this is? When did it come out? 1955? Is it for music?”
Phew, I’m still a young guy, but seeing kids treat early-gen iPods as something strange and mysterious makes me feel unbelievably old. For years I carried both my iPod and my phone everywhere, so I guess it’s better for convenience’s sake that the two got merged.
“My Grandmother passed down her recipes on a floppy disk.”
She must want to really keep them secret, seeing as next to no computers can even take these nowadays.
For the sake of the recipes’ longevity, I’d recommend moving those onto a USB stick or a portable hard drive, but maybe those will go the way of the dodo soon enough too.
“Kid just asked me what this was and was genuinely shocked that phones ever had cords.”
Children not knowing what this outlet is is fair. They look weird and if you’ve never seen anything plugged into it, your first guess definitely wouldn’t be phones.
Being shocked the phones ever had chords? That’s a little silly. Even modern phones need chords! Only sometimes, though.
“My Great Great Aunt’s 100 year old nursing kit has a vile full of cocaine tablets and a syringe.”
The advances in medicine that have been made in the past century are wholly and truly astonishing, especially when you see kits like this.
Let us all appreciate that straight-up cocaine isn’t used as willy nilly in today’s modern practices.
“I made art at work this week. Only one kid actually knew what this was. While another asked me ‘What’s mmmmTV?'”
This one is crazy to me because MTV still exists. Sure, it’s not as popular as it used to be, but it’s still airing! This has to be due to the death of cable TV. Can young kids name any actual TV channel?
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“This antique calculator my grandmother owns.”
For decades, math teachers loomed fear over their students by telling them they won’t always have a calculator in their pocket when they grow up, that they needed to know these equations by heart. Little did they know what was to come with the era of smartphones.
“My little cousin thought that bottom $20 was fake. She’s never seen one before. I feel old as hell.”
Differences in bills wasn’t something I even thought to consider when thinking about differences in generations. In her defense, compared to modern money, it does kind of look fake! A totally different size and it looks too fancy!
“Mom brought her Rolodex home.”
I thought long and hard about what the modern equivalent to a Rolodex would be. Business cards still exist, sure, but they’re not really made to be kept long-term anymore. The modern version of hanging onto someone’s contact info like this is really just following them or their business on social media.
“[I] really just asked my 12 year old brother what this was and he said a printer.”
Another entry I have personal, fond memories of. I also understand why these were phased out. Not only are they huge and clunky, but the buzz they made and the orange-yellow-ish light it cast changed the vibe of the classroom into something eerie. Better to stick with ceiling projectors.
“This bathroom from the 80’s.”
I don’t quite comprehend what that tub is, but I want it all the same. I’m also such a fan of this brown color. Others can say it looks gross all they want, I think it looks warm and rustic.
“My daughter just asked me what this is.”
Would you believe that cassettes are kind of making a comeback? For small artists, they’re super cheap to produce, cheaper than CDs and records, so there’s a rekindled love of them in indie markets! Whether that’s a good or bad thing is subject to taste.
“My great aunt still uses a bread box.”
I have to admit something. I don’t understand the purpose of a bread box. We never used one in my house. Is it the concept of ‘store in a cool, dry place’? Wouldn’t a cabinet accomplish the same thing? Is the bread being imprisoned for yeast crimes?
“[My] 9 year old sister just asked me what this is… she was shocked when [I] told her this is how we used to watch movies.”
It’s now occurring to me how much of old tech was extremely box-shaped. For a while, designers forgot there was any other shape on earth besides ‘rectangle’, so everything else had to be rectangular as well to fit.
“My Great-Grandfather’s social security card was made out of metal, not paper.”
Paper cards for anything seems like a terrible idea nowadays. Even if it sits somewhere safe and doesn’t move, it’ll degrade over time. Metal ones were superior and should be brought back. Give me a metal driver’s license too, for that matter.
“My 89 year old grandmother’s shoe when she was a kid.”
When I see this, all I can think of is the parents out there who buy their babies expensive designer shoes. Babies, who haven’t even begun to learn the concept of money, wearing more of it on their feet than I have in my savings account.
“Found my old cell phone with optional clip on chatboard for ‘easy’ texting.”
Wow, what could be easier than this? A full keyboard right at your fingertips, but with the compact form of a phone. Someone should really get on this and develop it further, it’s such a smart idea, everyone will want it!
“My grandmother has a fridge magnet showing the cost of living for the year she was born (1929).”
Yeah, yeah, I know, today’s prices have adjusted for inflation and the rise of the dollar, I get it. However, there’s still nothing I wouldn’t give to be able to have gas prices at $0.12 and house prices at $7k.
