What would kids today have no idea about? With technology constantly changing and radically altering the lives of generations young and old, we got a little nostalgic about growing up and our own childhoods.
Though we’re certainly grateful for the technology we have now, some things will never be the same. So when user u/mr__wolf__ asked the members of r/AskOldPeople to name what they miss from the past that technology has now made obsolete, we had to share our favourite responses.
No Caller ID.
“No caller ID allowed my punk friends and me to do some amazing telephone pranks. —u/pakepake
Listening to music WITHOUT a tracklist.
“This is a weird one, but I miss being able to hear a song and not know what it is. Any song you want now is a click away, but it used to sometimes take decades to find a track. Better yet, sometimes it took decades to even know where to start looking.” —u/SlimChiply
The dash of an old car.
5. “Analog controls in cars and appliances, which were superior. Touchscreen and digital displays are far less functional than knobs and springs and stuff.” —u/Affectionate_Sky658
Phone booths.
6. “The feeling of privacy while making a call was unique to the time — being able to step out of the noisy world for a moment and still see it in motion, living and pulsating. The quiet desperation of taking notes on scraps of paper or, worse, on a page of a phone book, then ripping that page out for safekeeping, was so extraordinary. People in a phone booth were still part of the world, but they were seeking to connect to an active site that was far away. Then the call was over, and you moved on with your life.” —u/Desertbro
Melways.
10. “The person in the passenger seat would tell the driver where to go — otherwise, you’d never make it to the destination. For long trips, there was almost always a stop at a gas station to get directions when driving through unfamiliar areas. Those were great times — always an adventure!” —u/Yankee-in-Madrid
Live music without mobile phones.
2. “Going to a cellphone-free concert.” —u/DamnGoodMarmalade
We don’t know about you guys, but some of these will be sorely missed!
Go down the rabbit hole of nostalgia with Christian and the team on The Christian O’Connell Show podcast:
