It’s no secret that older generations are very dramatic when it comes to explaining what it took to walk to school.
I had to walk 5000 miles, through wind and snow, and fight polar bears , they’d say.
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Nowadays, the equivalent of that tough walk to school was not having cell phones or having to rent movies at Blockbuster instead of using Netflix .
Ugh, the worst. Here are 19 things today’s younger generation will never understand!
Making plans to meet friends and having to commit because you didn’t have mobile phones.
Ugh, following through with plans is the worst! But since you couldn’t text them to say you weren’t coming, you had to follow through.
Having to buy the entire album to get one song you liked or waiting for it to come on the radio to record it.
“Missing any part of the song was unacceptable and you had to wait until it was played again.” – u/hanginonwith2fingers
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
Taking pictures, then waiting for them to be developed to see if they turned out okay.
Remember stacks of developed photos in the plastic holder? Nowadays, we can say “delete!” to any unflattering image right after it was taken.
Being able to slam a phone down when you’re angry.
“Being able to slam shut a flip phone was a close second. Not quite as good as the full slam, but pulling the phone from your head and snapping it shut in one motion sure felt good when angry.” – u/TheEngineer09
The magic of flipping through the booklet of a highly-anticipated new CD during your first listen.
“Just reading lyrics, checking out the illustrations, and getting really into the band. No social media so you had to invent the artist’s personality solely based on lyrics and their music videos.” – u/FirstTacoInSpace
Getting around without GPS navigation.
Maps, what’s that? Kids today only know Google Maps! Most people wouldn’t know how to get to the grocery store at the end of their street if it weren’t for technology.
The beauty of being unreachable.
“I was in high school when cell phones started to be more accessible and my best friend was one of the first kids to get one. She was PISSED her parents gave her one and she called it an electronic leash. She hated it.” – u/SomethingAwkwardTWC
Not being able to watch whatever you wanted whenever you wanted.
“We actually had to look up the shows schedule in a TV guide and be available when it came on.” – u/togotfury1983. Now most TV’s have a TV guide built in. Or, just watch Netflix.
Not knowing who’s calling.
It was quite the guessing game every time you picked up the landline! Was it your grandma? Your crush? A stalker?! The first Scream movie wouldn’t be possible without it.
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
Having 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
Going to Blockbuster.
Before there was Netflix, there was Blockbuster! #RIP.
There was just something so exhilarating about browsing the aisles on a Friday night for the latest movie and then begging your parents for the expensive candy.
Missing an episode of a show meant missing it forever.
“There’s still an episode of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ I never saw. I could go back and watch it now, but 10 year old me hurt like a gunshot wound for a long time after missing that thing.” – u/The_Patriot
Having to wait until Monday at school to tell your friends about the crazy stuff that went down at the party over the weekend.
“I used to love that. There was nothing like saying ‘bro, guess what happened!?’ Now everyone just instantly sees in it happening in real time on social media.” – u/Rossi-5
The inability to have private conversations.
This Redditor grew up in a household with two phones: one in the kitchen and one in their parent’s bedroom that they weren’t allowed to use.
This meant that phone conversations had to take place in the busiest room in the house. And they were on a party line.
The anxiety that comes with building up the courage to call your crush over a landline only to be greeted by her dad.
“E-excuse me, Sir I was wondering if I c-can speak with Jane.” – u/SirGanjaSpliffington
The WORST.
Waking up early to watch your favorite cartoons.
Saturday morning cartoons just hit differently.
You’d be sitting in front of the TV with your favorite pajamas on and a large bowl of your favorite sugary cereal in front of you. Now, kids can watch cartoons whenever.
Having a three-ring binder for CDS.
You kept the real good stuff in a holder under your sun visor. People also used to use these kinds of binders to hold their very impressive DVD collection.
H/T: Reddit
