Older Generations Are Sharing Things Younger Generations Will Never Understand, And I'm Feeling A Little Heartbroken

The other day, Reddit user u/Bagolyvagymi asked fellow redditors, "What's something that newer generations will never understand?" TBH, the responses might get you feeling a bit nostalgic.

ABC

Here are some of the most eye-opening ones:

1."Meeting up with a friend at the movies and having no way to communicate once you’ve left the house."

"Your friend doesn’t show. Is he coming? Should I continue to wait and stand at the precise spot we agreed on? Has he died? Did he forget? I’ll call home using a pay phone and hope my mom is there to tell me whether he left a message on the answering machine."

u/chihuahua-mama

2."'Let’s all meet back here at 6:00.' *Looks at watch.* 'I’ve got 4:35. What time do you have?'"

u/mr_funnypuns

3."Having to rewind the tape before returning it to the video store or else incurring a fee."

Someone inserts a VHS tape into a VHS player

4."Blockbuster."

u/Ness_902

5."Having to buy the entire album to get one song you liked, or else wait for it to come on the radio and record it."

"Missing any part of the song was unacceptable, and you had to wait until it was played again."

u/hanginonwith2fingers

6."Taking pictures and then waiting for them to be developed to see if they turned out okay."

Someone takes a photo using a disposable camera

7."Slamming down the receiver on a landline telephone."

"Pushing the red button is not nearly as satisfying."

u/iamwalldoh

8."Having a three-ring binder of CDs for road trips."

u/DarthTrafford

9."Parents not knowing where their kids are and trusting them not to get into trouble."

A group of teens, seen from the shoulders down, sitting together and hanging out outside looking at their phones
Maskot / Getty Images / Maskot

10."Making plans to meet friends and having to commit because you didn't have mobile phones to ask where they were, how far, and if they were still coming."

u/GiantMonkeyBall

11."How to use the card catalog in the library — the ones with the cards in the drawers."

u/pixel_ate_it

12."How we got around without GPS navigation."

A man and a woman in a car driving and looking at a map

13."The frustration of cassette tapes getting mangled."

u/BornToHulaToro

14."Turning the dial on the TV to change the channel."

u/Rukawork

15."Checking the pay phone change return for any forgotten coins."

An old pay phone

16."Not being able to binge a show unless you literally recorded a bunch of episodes from TV onto a bunch of VHS tapes."

u/TheRealOcsiban

17."Having to say BRB to all your friends on MSN because your mom wanted to make a call, and then having to disconnect from the internet and dial back up when she was done."

u/emzyyx

18."The difficulty of not being able to instantly find the answer to questions."

Someone scrolls on their iPad with the caption, "didn't exist"
Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

19."That there used to be nine planets in the solar system."

u/Lilylivered_Flashman

20."Going to the arcade and playing games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. This is my childhood ??."

u/Ujou_Danjin_Ken

21."How great Myspace was."

The iconic Myspace homepage where you can see music, users, videos, and more

22."Saturday morning cartoons."

"I miss sitting in front of the TV and eating a bowl of cereal while Tale Spin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or whatever Saturday morning cartoon series played. Then getting on my bike once they ended around 10 a.m. and riding over to my friend's house to play till sunset."

u/asportate

23."Circling pictures of toys in the Sears catalog as a Christmas list."

24."MTV played music videos, had music discussion shows, and had news about music 24 hours a day at one point."

u/senorchaos718

And finally...

25."Having to properly time getting a drink and snack before the ad break on TV finished."

"I still sweat thinking about it."

u/heyitssunny_

ABC

Do you miss any of these? What are some other things newer generations will never understand? Let us know in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.