By now, we already know that there is some tension between millennials and Gen Z. There‘s proof of that here and here .
But if there’s one thing Gen Z can never take away from millennials, it’s their memories! This includes the early days of phones and texting, having to carry an MP3 everywhere, and so much more.
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Here are 19 nostalgic things Gen Z will never get to do.
Limewire
If wanted to listen to music, we couldn’t just open up Spotify and have access to almost every song possible. Instead, we had to download Limewire onto our computes and deal with a million viruses.
Having to commit to plans
We all know that canceled plans are the best plans, but how could you cancel back then when your friend was already on the way?
And, unlike today, you couldn’t text, tweet, or Instagram message your friend to ask where they were.
MSN
“Having to say BRB to all your friends on MSN because your mom wanted to make a call, and then having to disconnect from the internet and dial back up when she was done.” – u/emzyyx
Taking pictures
Photos weren’t instantenous the way they are today. We had to bring a digital camera out to events with us and then take it to a camera store to get it developed.
MySpace
“It was a million times better than Facebook. You could choose top friends, music, cursors, backgrounds, and images. It was awesome until everyone transitioned over to FB.” – u/mdsoccerx9 Ah, those were the days!
Designated drivers
When we were younger, we were told not to get in cars with strangers. Now, we willingly get into them thanks to an app!
On the plus side, this means that we always have a DD (designated driver for the young folk).
Saturday morning cartoons
“I miss sitting in front of the TV and eating a bowl of cereal while Tale Spin , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , or whatever Saturday morning cartoon series played. Then getting on my bike once they ended around 10 a.m. and riding over to my friend’s house to play till sunset.” – u/asportate
The old style of memes
Memes sure have come a long way. While they are super sophisticated now, the ones that started it all had big, white letters.
There were also the internet sensations who walked so today’s viral folks could run. This includes Bad Luck Brian and Disaster Girl.
CDs
“Having to buy the entire album to get one song you liked or wait for it to come on the radio and record it. Missing any part of the song was unacceptable and you had to wait until it was played again.” – u/ hanginonwith2fingers
2000s music
This was the go-to song at school parties! The whole crowd would go absolutely nuts and sing along to every word.
Sadly, bands like the Black-Eyed Peas are no longer together and making music.
Parents not knowing where their kids are
“My kids watched Stranger Things with me and they thought it was unrealistic how the kids would just go ride their bikes wherever late at night. I told them we used to do that all the time.” – u/ dog_superiority
Selfies
Eve Kim Kardashian, the queen of selfies (I, mean, she released a book called Selfie ) dealt with this. Now, we have phone cameras that are better than some expensive cameras.
Being able to do stupid things without it living on the internet forever
“This is why I feel terrible for anyone born into a family vlog channel. So many are going to grow up and realize that every emotional breakdown they had has been archived and viewed by millions of people, because their parents saw them crying and thought ‘jackpot.'” – u/ HordeDruid
Bathroom entertainment
People today get to do their business with Twitter or TikTok keeping them company.
As millennials, we were forced to make our own entertainment in the bathroom, whether that be reading a book or the back of a shampoo bottle.
Having a limited amount of music with you when traveling
“Even with MP3 players if you didn’t have the song on it you weren’t going to listen to it until you could connect to a computer. It’s wild having gone from CDs to MP3 players to Streaming. Zune was best 1v1 me on rust about it.” – u/ gaybatman75-6
Cringe-worthy social media posts
This is a lot like reading your Facebook statues from 2012. You have one thought while looking through them: “What the heck was I thinking?” Now, if we post questionable content, it usually disappears in 24 hours.
How to entertain yourself with your mind and nothing else
“I’ve noticed something about my friends/people I know in parenting culture where it’s now a crime for a child to be bored. When I was a kid my parents laughed and told me to go away when I said I was bored.” – u/ fourteendogs
Music videos
You had to listen to many bad songs before your favorite finally came on. Then, to preserve it, you would record the song to VHS.
Considering the number of ads YouTube has today, though, this old way may not be so bad…
H/T: Reddit
Last Updated on March 18, 2022 by Sarah Kester
