Stepping back in time, we encounter a world brimming with routines that defined an era before Gen Z. As we revisit these bygone norms, we’re prompted to contemplate the profound changes that have reshaped our lives in the modern age.
1. Waiting To Record Your Favorite Song
Gen Z cannot understand what it means to stay close to your radio waiting for your beloved song to be played so that you can record it to a cassette. Today we don’t need to do that. Almost any song you can think of is on Spotify, and other music streaming platforms, but back then the story was different.
2. Movies and Video Rentals
Before we had streaming and downloading platforms like YouTube and Netflix today, people had to rent video tapes and cassettes if they must see their favorite series or shows. You also had to make sure you do not scratch or damage the discs to avoid paying extra. Unlike today where you can simply watch any movie from several streaming apps right from the comfort of your bed.
3. Reading From Bookstores or Libraries
Before we had Kindle devices and eBooks, people read books from bookshops or directly from libraries. There were no online bookstores or Amazon Kindle where you can simply buy a book and read from your mobile device. If you didn’t want to read the books in the bookstores, you had to borrow or buy them, and of course, you are expected to return them on time and unscathed or pay fines.
4. Dating Through Friends
Today we have an unimaginable number of dating sites, apps, or social clubs and gatherings, and you may not need to go through anyone to date someone. Today, people meet on Facebook, and the next thing they’re getting married! But it wasn’t always so. Back then, you had to date through friends who will set you up with your potential date. You dare not make a bad impression on your first date as that may be the only chance you have to meet them!
5. Buying and Reading Newspapers and Magazines
If you find anyone reading newspapers today, there are probably older generations who have not fully embraced the techy-ness of the changing times. Of course, some people still love reading magazines, thanks to them, the paper era won’t be going extinct anytime soon. Most Gen Z would rather read their latest and favorite stories from blogs and tweets than buy physical magazines or newspapers.
6. Using Physical Atlases and Maps
Before the advent of Google Maps and GPS, people had to rely on atlases and maps to get around places they are not familiar with. Most of those maps were very large, you had to fold and unfold them. Not to talk of the time and patience to check through looking up addresses, contacts, and directions. If you are not lucky you could get lost and find someone to point you and your atlases in the right direction. Thanks to digital maps today, fewer people will get lost and the stress of carrying folded papers is no more.
7. Playing Card and Board Games
The world of gaming has transformed in no small way. People now live in a simulated virtual gaming world, fighting people they have never seen and may never see all their lives. Some have even gone ahead to build strong relationships with people they have never met before. Not to talk of the multiplicity of gaming experiences, types, and even the perks of earning while you play. Truly a lot has changed from when the norm was to only play games with your family members and close friends. There was also so much stress in buying these games, setting them up, and dealing with losers and cheats.
8. Snapping Photos and Filming Videos
Before the coming of digital smartphones and cameras, you could only take pictures with cameras that used rolling films. The process was always tedious. From purchasing the films to loading them into the camera, snapping, taking them for development, and then waiting for prints. Today with your smartphone, you can easily take high-quality pictures and even record videos on 4k cameras. Thanks to technological development, Gen Z will never understand past struggles.
9. Spending the Whole Day Outside
In the summer, we would leave the house at 7 a.m. and come home when the streetlights turned on late at night. We would have pizza and a couple of cookies at a friend’s house, so we didn’t need dinner.
We would go to the park or the swings in a group, and stay there for hours and still not get enough of it. But today, things have changed. Interests in parks have generally declined as more young people get occupied daily online.
10. Using The Telephone From One Spot
Because of the length of the chord, we could only talk on the telephone within a three-foot range of the wall outlet where it must be connected. Or having the 10-foot chord get so knotted that it is locked in a 3-foot circle.
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