Older Generations Share the Things Gen-Z Will Never Understand

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Dec 2, 2023 6:00 PM EST

It's hard to wrap your mind around how much things have changed over the past few decades. Technology is developing at exponential rates, and the new normal is constantly shifting. For those of a certain age, remembering the time before the iPhone is an impossible task. Let alone email, which rules many of our working hours. Our world 50 years ago is almost unrecognizable, and 100 years ago feels like a different planet. Sure, we have movies, literature, and first-hand accounts of what it was like in the days of yore, but if you didn't live through it, you will never truly know.

Even the recent past is quickly fading away, as a recent Reddit thread explored. Millennials and Gen-Xers grew up in a very different world than Gen-Z, not to mention Gen Alpha. From the obvious to the forgotten, read up on all the things kids these days miss out on. 

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    r/AskReddit u/Amerisbf 13h What one thing a kid born after 2000 will not understand no matter how long you explain it?
    via u/Amerisbf
  • 02
    john_jdm 11h If you wanted to know something your family or friends didn't know, and you couldn't find it in the library, you were unlikely to find out the answer. This applied to all sorts of things all of the time. I doubt younger people today can really imagine the difference immediate information availability makes in our daily lives.
    via u/john_jdm
  • 03
    slightofhand1 • 11h People just went away, and you never saw them again or had any idea what they were doing with their lives. Without social media, everyone but your closest friends or family disappeared from your life forever, and you had no clue what they were doing (remember you can't google them either). Ex boyfriend? I heard a rumor from an old hs buddy I ran into at the mall that he moved to New Jersey. Camp buddy? Randomly ran into him two decades later, and he was totally different. Tho
    via u/slightofhand1
  • 04
    Themeloncalling. 12h Missing the new episode on TV, having no way to see it again, and be completely clueless when it was all anyone at school or work talked about.
    via u/Themeloncalling
  • 05
    Flanellissimo . 12h Others have mentioned not being online 24/7, dial-up internet, the world before social media, being without the internet etc. I don't any of those are really that hard to explain because you can simulate that experience today. What you can't simulate is what the Internet used to be. Search engines were borked, there was no "good" search engine and your bookmark field had an actual purpose. Wikipedia didn't exist, the closest you got to something like that was a list of links
    via u/Flanellissimo
  • 06
    runningwiththedevil2 . 11h Smoking was not illegal anywhere. You could smoke on airplanes. Restaurants, in the mall, in the stores. School parking lot.
    via u/runningwiththedevil2
  • 07
    Buckmeg 10h How many phone numbers we'd commit to memory.
    via u/Buckmeg
  • 08
    quadruple_negative87 • 12h How the year 2000 seemed like some year way off in the future. Now I have lived more than half my life in the 21st century. Heck, we had a technology show called "Beyond 2000".
    via u/quadruple_negative87
  • 09
    phoenix25 11h How amazing it was to wake up in the morning and see that your torrent for a 320p resolution movie had advanced to 63% overnight.
    via u/phoenix25
  • 10
    othybear 11h ● I tried to explain to my nieces that you used to get the internet through your phone. They were all like "yeah, duh". Then I had to explain that the phone line had to be connected to a special box which had to be connected to a computer that you could only connect to the internet if no one else was using the phone.
    via u/othybear
  • 11
    prozach_. 13h Pre 9/11 flying. Flying solo at 8 and having my parents meeting me at the gate! Quickly getting on flights (most cases). It was great!
    via u/prozach_
  • 12
    Irradiated_Apple . 11h Y2K. I tried explaining the doomsday preping and panic to a young coworker and he thought I was making it up!
    via u/Irradiated_Apple
  • 13
    winoforever_slurp_ • 11h Looking forward to Monday's newspaper having that week's TV guide so you could see what movies were on that week.
    via u/winoforever_slurp_
  • 14
    No_Independence1479 . 10h Waiting for a song to play on the radio so you could press RECORD and have your own copy on cassette tape. Albums were expensive so you only bought the ones that were special to you. Nowadays, with internet and streaming options, we can listen to what we want, when we want.
    via u/No_Independence1479
  • 15
    ivyagogo 10h ● One phone for the entire family and you could only go as far as the cord would stretch.
    via u/ivyagogo
  • 16
    Pheonixmoonfire • 11h *AFTER THE TONE, PLEASE SAY YOUR NAME* "Himomitsmecomeandgetmefromthemallillbeattheen terancebyhottopic"
    via u/Pheonixmoonfire
  • 17
    Madden Rob. 12h Getting pictures developed after a vacation.
    via u/MaddenRob
  • 18
    ecfritz 11h ● Calling your friend's house and having to ask the parent who picked up if you can talk to your friend.
    via u/ecfritz
  • 19
    or TashDee267 • 10h My 2009 born son can't understand that we had road maps and no gps. "So you had to what memorise the trip? Pull over repeatedly?" Sometimes I would write on a piece of paper L, L, R etc.
    via u/TashDee267
  • 20
    ruralgaming 9h "Hey mom! I'm gonna go out for the day around town and hang out with friends/explore around." "Okay dear! Be back when the street lights come on!"
    via u/ruralgaming

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

ask reddit generation z millennials nostalgia zoomer reddit story 80s gen x 90s kids 90s generations baby boomers gen z subreddit reddit thread Reddit
Scroll Down For The Next Article