25 Things From Childhood Only Remembered By Older Adults

In the vast landscape of the internet, there’s a place where questions roam free, sparking conversations that traverse time and space. One such corner is the AskReddit community, a bustling hub where the curious gather to pose queries ranging from the mundane to the profound. Recently, a simple question struck a nostalgic chord with many older adults: “ What is something that 2020s kids will never get to experience? ”

In an era where technological advancements seem to reshape the world with each passing moment, the inquiry invited reflection on the unique experiences of generations past. From the days of analog charm to the quirks of pre-digital life, responses poured in, painting a vivid picture of bygone times.

#1

The joy of going to school without social media.

I remember getting bullied in middle school and having a terrible time. But all that could have been so much worse if smartphones and apps were a thing back then.

Kids these days must be so stressed out just trying to tune it out.

#2

Driving to someplace new with an actual physical map.

#3

I was at work the other day when our department’s landline phone started ringing. One of my coworkers (my age-ish, 30s) called out “I’ll get it!” I felt a weird sort of sad nostalgic pang. You don’t hear that much anymore.

#4

Privacy. Doing stupid things without the whole world knowing about it on TikTok.

#5

Waking up early on Saturday morning so you can watch the next episode of your favorite cartoon.

#6

Buying a video game and it has everything it should on it without having to provide an update or paying for extra content.

#7

Developing a roll of film and all the pictures are bad.

#8

Going to the movie store.

#9

Dial up internet and AOL chat rooms.

#10

Exploration.

As kids we played video games but we also got outdoors. Sometimes finding areas of forest to go and investigate. We enjoyed checking out odd areas people generally would never go into such as those little wooded areas in between roads. Our parents didn’t care as long we gave them an idea of what we were doing ahead of time in case we got lost or hurt.

We would have a small fire just enough to roast some marshmallows and then put it out and usually make it back in time for supper.

#11

Tangled up telephone cords.

#12

Meeting family/friends at the gate at the airport instead of baggage claim or the curb.

#13

Being disconnected.

There were periods of my life growing up, hours or even days at a time, where there was genuinely no way to reach me or my parents. In the 90’s, growing up, most people didn’t have cellphones. They existed but they were really expensive. I remember when my mom got her first cellphone. She always turned it off when she got home and stuck it in a drawer. Why would she need a cellphone at home?

We had the internet but it was slow and we had limited access to it, often on a family computer visible to everyone and maybe for an hour or two.

And if you go back a little further than that, answering machines were expensive and uncommon so you either reached someone or you didn’t. There was no constant demand from everyone for everyone.

I definitely remember calling a friend to hang out, their parent answering, and telling me they were already hanging out with someone else. “Okay, cool, I’ll try again later.”

I had no way to reach them. Which meant they got to be fully present with whoever they were with and weren’t talking to me or anyone else while they were with that friend.

That level of disconnect is something that, in hindsight, I really miss. You were wherever you were with whomever you were with and that was it. People took hours to reach and that was normal and, I think, a really good thing.

#14

Waiting for a new episode to come on at 7:30, yelling into the kitchen that it’s starting.

Calling your crushes house and having to politely ask a very scary dad if you can speak with Tanya. And then they say, that depends, who’s calling?

#15

Violence fixing technologies. Remember when we used to slap the television ? for it to work properly or operate CPR on our consoles and game cartridges?

#16

Hearing your favorite song on the radio and waiting for it to come on again so you can record it on a blank cassette tape to listen to later.

Having a CD binder the size of Merriam Webster’s dictionary for road trips.

Taking a CD Walkman on a walk and making sure you didnt walk too fast or the CD skipped.

#17

Getting kicked off the internet because mom needs to make a call.

#18

Being responsible for zero parental contact and simply just needing to come home when the streetlights come on.

#19

Snow on Christmas, at least most of the time.

I’m almost as far north in the USA that you can get and snow just doesn’t stick around anymore. It snows like once or twice in December and it melts in a day. 25 years ago you were lucky if it wasn’t a blizzard on Halloween.

But don’t worry, climate change isn’t real! /s.

#20

Having to check the newspapers to see when new movies were released, as well as what theater they’re playing at.

Kids today won’t ever experience that.

#21

Having to listen/watch the nightly news with your parents because you only have one tv.

#22

Fixing the antenna to get a better picture on the TV. Or making one with a coat hanger.

#23

Downloading a song for 2 hours and finding out it’s a virus.

#24

A life without immediate gratification. I feel like 90s/00s kids might be the last to have experienced what its like to have to wait for that good thing you want.

#25

Oh, uh, losing hours of work because you forgot to hit save.

Saumya Ratan

Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.