Going old school means different things to different generations. For some of us, it means rotary phones. For others, it means cell phones and not smartphones. As I get older, I realize more and more that I’m reaching an age where I find myself saying (or at least thinking) phrases that begin with “in my day” Yep. I’m getting old. I realize that what I identify as going old school would be ancient to today’s kids.
5 Things That Define Going Old School for Today’s Kids
Kids today will never understand the pure joy and bliss of the generation in which parents my age were raised. While technology has definitely advanced the ability for our kids to do more and go further, there’s nothing more precious than the simple childhood ways in which we were brought up. Today, I’m sharing 5 things kids today will never do – mainly because it’s fun to reminisce about the good old days.
Finding Your Friend’s Number in the Phone Book
Before reverse lookup and smartphones that auto-log numbers, there was the phonebook. That huge stack of bound pages had every number we’d ever need, and if it was unlisted, you were just out of luck. We used to get the phonebook delivered in the mail once a year with updated names, numbers, and businesses in the yellow pages. Our kids will never understand the pure joy of calling each number with the last name of their friend until they finally find the right one.
The Love/Hate Relationship with Cassette Tapes
Talk about going old school. I would venture to say that most kids of this generation have no idea what a cassette tape is. They’ll never have to deal with the love/hate relationship we had with cassettes. Making the perfect playlist from the radio while pausing over commercials and recording again when our song came on is nothing compared to what kids can do today with software. They’ll also never understand just how useful a pencil can be when that cassette tape goes on the fritz.
The Frustration of the Phone Cord
Remember when the most awful thing you ever had to do was untangle the snarl that was your phone cord? It got all twisted up, and you could never figure out how to get it quite right again. Now that every kid has a smartphone, they’ll never understand the struggle of trying to talk with their friends while simultaneously attempting to untangle the phone cord from itself and every piece of furniture turned obstacle in the house.
The Video Game Blow Trick
Today, even CD games are becoming obsolete. In fact, most of today’s kids prefer to purchase their games through their online gaming service and simply download them. Cartridges are a thing of generations past. Kids today will never experience the true accomplishment of blowing into a game cartridge and finding that it finally worked again. Sometimes, we had to blow on it several times to get it to work, but when it did, we felt like true champions.
Hardcover Encyclopedias
When talking about going old school, we can’t leave out the most old school item of all – encyclopedias. Today, kids can Google anything and get more information on a subject than they’d ever need. Back in our day, we had to go the public library to do our research. If we were lucky, we had encyclopedias at home. Kids today will never understand the truly hard work of researching for a paper by cracking open a gigantic encyclopedia.
Going Old School is an Eye-Opener
Wow. Taking a walk down memory lane and going old school is a real eye-opener into how much has changed over the years. What kids today consider to be tough would have been a magical experience for us back in the day. If you’re on of those old-school parents who hang on to the old times, perhaps your kids are lucky enough to be familiar with the frustrations and hard work involved in each of the things listed above. For the most part, though, kids today will never be able to do those things.