Some children alive today have never used a phone with buttons or a bulky computer. The internet has been available to the public for more than 20 years.
If those facts don't make you feel old, think about this: most of your favorite childhood activities have become completely obsolete thanks to modern technology! Today's kids will never experience the glories of Game Boy, a VCR, a boombox, or even a physical encyclopedia. Whether they're better off gone or you'll think back with fondness, let's remember these 25 childhood experiences that technology has made extinct.
The DVR's predecessor was the blank VHS tape . . . but when you use a DVR, you don't risk recording over your parents' wedding video! Let's face it — kids are probably better off without tapes.
Phones, TVs, computers, and Dreamcasts all required some serious cord action back in the day. Kids will never know the true dangers of walking around in the dark.
With an instant guide to hundreds of channels and DVR privileges galore, kids don't grasp the value of marking up a TV Guide magazine or tuning in to watch endless channel schedules scroll past.
Kids these days have grown up in a Google age, but AOL used to be king. Remember the "You've Got Mail" notification? And don't forgot the soothing sounds of dial-up Internet!
Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Redbox have turned movie rental institutions like Blockbuster into ancient history. It's too bad — there's something special about studying videos in person, reading back covers, and arguing with siblings about what to watch!
Before the GoPro and smartphone days, parents used to capture memories on bulky cameras. When Dad pulled out the shoulder cam, you knew that things were serious.
Recording songs from the radio onto cassettes is a memory that most adults fondly recall, but not many people think back on rewinding them with the same joyful regards.
Today's technology makes finding movie times easy, but before sites like Fandango, kids had to hunt through newspapers and wait on the phone with movie theaters to plan trips to the movies.
Depending on your generation, you either think of a Walkman as a pocket-sized cassette player or a prone-to-skipping CD player. Whichever one you remember, kids today still won't know about it.
Before Google Maps and Siri could give step-by-step directions, navigating consisted of studying big paper maps that were seemingly not designed to be refolded. At least, that's how it felt!
Waiting for photos to develop and having to manually insert film into cameras baffles modern kids, but there was something fun about getting a packet of physical pictures back in the day.
Today's watches are more of a fashion statement than portable clocks — while the Apple Watch tells time, its main functions are more complex. Kids use their phones to tell time now.
Back in the day, sharing your favorite music with friends was harder than sharing a URL . . . you had to risk them scratching your favorite CDs. Kids today will never know the potentially disastrous effect that a tarnished Backstreet Boys CD could have on close friendships.
Kids are missing out, because manually adjusting wire antennas (to get rid of the static interrupting All That, of course) builds character . . . right?
Before everybody gained instant access to new songs through Spotify and music streaming services, kids used to call radio stations to request their favorite tunes.
