A couple years ago, my husband and I took our three daughters, currently ages 12, 10, and 7, to an
event on a college campus. While there, we walked through one of the older
buildings and passed by a bank of payphones. “What are those?” the girls asked.
I explained the concept of putting a quarter into the slot to make a call. They thought the idea was completely absurd! “Why
wouldn’t you just use your cell phone?” they questioned. I reminded them that
there was a time before the invention of cell phones when people were dependent
of those archaic methods of calling someone to which they responded, “You mean
payphones are a real thing? We thought Adam Levine just made it up for that
song!”
It
occurred to me then that there are, in fact, several “old fashioned” things and
concepts, like payphones, my kids will simply never understand thanks to modern
technology!
- How to look something up in an Encyclopedia or Dictionary – Let’s face it –
they’ll just Google it.
- How to use a rotary dial phone – My grandmother
had a black one. I used to love to put my fingers in the circular opening and
spin that dial, but it took forever to call someone. Now, my kids just tell
Siri to “Call Mom.”
Photo Source - How it feels to be tethered to the wall when talking on the phone – When my family got a cordless phone, I thought it was so cool that I could take the phone to my room and shut the door! Nowadays, we can walk around almost anywhere and even drive our cars while we talk on our phones.
- Traveler’s checks – Do they even make these anymore? Before we went on a vacation, my parents went by the bank to trade cash for these little ditties. These days, everyone just uses plastic.
- Being limited to three TV channels – Back in the
day, we only had the Big Three – NBC, CBS, ABC. There was no FOX, CNN, MTV,
Disney, or Nickelodeon. Today, it is absolutely mind boggling how many channels
and mind numbing shows are available.
Photo Source - Walking across the room to change the channel – When I was a kid, I was the remote control. Now, we have so many remotes that I don’t even know what half of them are for!
- VHS and Cassette tapes – Last summer, I was showing a movie
on VHS to a group of kids at our church. As they impatiently waited, I told
them I had to rewind it to the beginning. Most of them didn’t even know what
“rewind” meant.
Photo Source - The sound of a dial up modem – Modern kids would probably think Earth is being invaded by aliens or zombies if they heard the sound that anyone over 30 would instantly recognize as the doorbell to the Internet.
- How to entertain themselves on a road trip by playing the license plate game and singing “99 Bottles of Pop on the wall” a few dozen times – Even ten years ago when my kids were toddlers, we had a minivan with a DVD player. Now, newer model cars come fully quipped with wifi and our kids are fully equipped with devices to stave of boredom (and save our sanity) if we plan to be in the car for longer than 20 minutes.
- Giving someone you care about the gift of a Mix Tape – I can remember sitting by the radio for hours with my tape recorder ready just waiting for that certain song to come on so I could record it. Thanks to iTunes, we will never have to do that again.
- Flipping through a photo album – Remember the days of loading the film into your camera, watching the number tick lower with each photo you snapped, dropping the film at the drug store, going back a few days later to see what you actually captured, then organizing them in a photo album? For my kids, Instagram is their photo album. Many “youngsters” will probably never even own a camera – they will just use their cell phones.
Modern
technology has certainly made our lives easier and I will be the first to admit
that I love my contemporary conveniences. However, it does make me a little sad
that my kids will never experience the smell of an old Encyclopedia or the
excitement of waiting for that song to
finally come on the radio. I can only imagine how ancient our current
advancements will seem to my grandkids another 25 years from now!
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This post was part of the One Word Blog Linkup hosted by, Janine of Confessions of a Mommyholic, Marica of Blogitudes, and me! This week, the word prompt choices were Blessing and Absurd. If you would like to join the linkup you can find more information HERE, sign up for weekly emails HERE, and/or join our Facebook group HERE. Every Friday, two prompts are emailed. Choose one and write a post using that word as inspiration. Linkup up any time between 6:00am EST on Wednesday-9:00pm EST on Thursdays on any of the host sites.
An InLinkz Link-up
