Life today is vastly different than it was even 10 years ago. From technology to social norms, a lot has changed. Today’s children and teens are raised in a completely different environment. While it comes with some amazing perks, there are some charming hallmarks of the past that they’re missing out on. Here are 15 boomer pastimes today’s kids don’t get to experience.
Making Mix Tapes
Before there was Apple Music or even CDs, we had mixtapes. It was a craft that required patience and skill. To make a mixtape, you would have to select a song, record it onto a cassette tape, and create a handwritten label with all the songs on your tape. It’s a lost art that today’s kids will never understand.
Spending Hours Outside
Back in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, it was not unusual for kids to leave their home in the morning and not come home until the sun went down—all without a smartphone or a watch to track them. Kids and teens would spend all day outside exploring. Today’s parents would likely never allow their kids to be unsupervised for this long.
Waiting for Photos to Be Developed
You had to wait days or even weeks to see a photo you took back in the day. Just about everyone had a disposable camera for vacation or other significant life events. But unlike the instant gratification afforded to us today, you wouldn’t be able to see the photos you took until they were developed.
Memorizing Phone Numbers
These little devices in our hands might as well be a second brain. How many phone numbers can you name off the top of your head? Well, back before we had smartphones, we had to take the time to memorize important phone numbers. Kids today certainly don’t understand what that’s like.
Planning Around Your Favorite Show
There was no such thing as DVR or streaming back in the 80s and 90s. If you had a show that you wanted to watch, then you needed to clear your schedule and be sure that you were in front of your TV when it aired live. It’s a lot easier to keep up with your favorite shows today.
Being off the Grid
We’re always connected in this digital era. With smartphones, Apple Watches, and smart navigation in our cars, we are always plugged in. Back in the day, you could completely disconnect from the world and go off the grid. No news notifications, no texts, just presence. It’s a peace that a lot of us can’t easily achieve in the modern age.
Sharing a Phone Line
Not only do today’s kids not know about landlines, but they’re also completely unaware of shared phone lines. Up until the 2000s, families would share one phone line in the home. If you were having a private conversation, there was always a chance that someone on the other side of the house could pick up their phone and listen in.
Dial-Up Internet
Before WiFi and instant connection, there was dial-up internet—a painfully slow, noisy process that would tie up the phone lines. Downloading a single photo could take 10 minutes. But that scratchy connection tone and slow speed were just a part of life. Kids today will never understand having to wait so long for the internet.
Saturday Morning Cartoons
Looney Tunes, The Flintstones, Tom & Jerry—these are just a few of the cartoons that dominated TV screens on Saturday mornings. Children across the nation would serve themselves their favorite bowl of cereal and settle in for an entire morning of classic cartoons. Something about queuing up a show on Netflix lacks the same charm.
Pen Pals
The craft of letter writing is nearly extinct today. While we still occasionally pen a thank-you letter to a friend, it’s not nearly as popular as it used to be. Before we had instant communication at our fingertips, letters were a cherished way to keep in touch. Some children would even be paired up with another child to write with. Pen pals were a popular way to connect children across the country and even the world.
Hand Cranking the Car Window
Before power windows became standard, it took some elbow grease to roll down your car window. There was a crank on each door you used to manually lower the windows. Sometimes, if it was stuck, you’d have to use both arms just to get it open. Kids today have no idea how easy it is to enjoy the breeze in a modern car.
A Slower News Cycle
If you wanted to stay tuned into the news before the early 2000s, you either watched the evening news or waited for your morning paper. News traveled a lot more slowly in those days. Now it seems like we can’t get away from the latest breaking story with the faster news cycle and phone notifications.
Being Bored
Life has grown more and more overstimulating and busy. From tablets to virtual reality gaming consoles, children have an array of distractions to keep them occupied for hours on end. While we might have hated it at the time, boredom actually helped us develop and learn to occupy our time creatively. This is an area modern children need more guidance to cultivate.
Going to Blockbuster’s
Blockbuster and other video rental stores were the place to be on weekends in the 90s and early aughts. Instead of pulling up your favorite movie on a streaming network, you had to take the trip to the video store and see if it was available to rent. It was a fun ritual that made movie night even more of an experience.
Spending All Day at the Mall
Life was slower in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. There was less to keep kids and teens occupied. Without modern technology and distractions, places like the mall were a safe, exciting place for kids to spend the day. Food courts, arcades, trendy stores—it was a pre-teen’s playground.
