ADVERTISEMENT

Technology advances and improves faster than we can adapt to the changes. Progress has always left some people in the dust, but the tempo has increased with the dawn of the Digital Age. That means that different generations are finding less and less in common with each other than before.

If you thought that the differences between millennials (aka Generation Y) and members of Gen Z were minor, think again. Nowhere are those generation differences more obvious than when members of the older generation show kids the tech that they used when they were small, only to be met with utter disbelief.

Bored Panda has collected some of the best examples when kids today couldn’t understand the technology the millennial generation grew up with. And, boy, do we feel old looking at these childhood memories! If you’d like to feel ancient and get a burst of nostalgia for the good old days, scroll down. Remember to upvote your faves or the ones that gave you the most 90s nostalgia and share this list with your friends (especially those whose birthdays are soon approaching).

#1

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a diskette, aka a floppy disc.
It stores information.

Bill_Gross Report

Add photo comments
POST
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you ever installed Windows 95 from floppies (many, many of them), you will not forget.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#3

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a cassette tape.
You can store music on it.
It was first developed in 1963, not the American Civil War which was fought between 1861 and 1865.

EdWiley Report

Add photo comments
POST
patriciaross avatar
tuzdayschild
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dearest Emily, Gettysburgs was hell. I would never have survived without your kind and generous mixtape.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Just to make sure that everyone’s more or less on the same page, Gen Y (millennials) refers to people born in the early 1980s and mid-1990s. In short, it’s safe to say that millennials were born sometime between 1981 and 1996, though different researchers use different definitions.

Meanwhile, members of Gen Z are considered to be those born from 1997 until the early 2010s and who grew up with digital technology and are comfortable using both the internet and social media.

#4

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a fascinating device from a bygone era that lets you manually roll down the car window.
It takes some getting used to.
You have to put your hand on the handle.
And then turn the handle to open the window.
The best part is, if you turn it the other way, the window closes.
Much wow. Such mystery.

MarcSebens Report

Add photo comments
POST
norsepaw avatar
Sivi
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can hear my parents yelling at me to hurry up and close the window cause we are entering a long tunnel. Forget lifting weights, this was the arm workout.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#5

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

90smadness Report

Add photo comments
POST
chi-weishen avatar
chi-wei shen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Worst thing of all: You had to pay in order to find out how good or bad they were.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

EnglishJason Report

Add photo comments
POST
chi-weishen avatar
chi-wei shen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Young people also do not know that calling someone and asking 'where are you' is as young as mobile phones.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Aside from tech and upbringing, what are the ways that the two generations differ? According to Amber Feitsma on Compan Young, Generation Z is far more pragmatic than Gen Y because of higher economic instability. Gen Z prioritizes security and stability (but, ironically, prefers experiences over material possessions which sounds counterintuitive).

And while the new generation has grown up surrounded by digital technology, it still values face-to-face interaction and tech that makes communication easy, simple, and convenient.

#7

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

kthorning Report

Add photo comments
POST
kristypuffer avatar
Kristy P
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My best friend and I had a notebook full of notes that we would pass back and forth. There ended up being 2 volumes. We STILL have them (graduated in 95) and trade them back and forth every few years:-)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

Calls, text messages, and mobile internet all used to cost more money than today because cellphones were considered a luxury item, while service providers incurred greater costs than nowadays.

jnthnwll Report

Add photo comments
POST
andrscsabasomosvri avatar
Nerevar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Hungary 3 seconds talk were free. People looked like idiots calling for three seconds then calling back... that's how awkward mobile phone conversations was between teenagers and poor university students.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Gen Z also blurs the lines between different devices, work, and leisure: editing documents on laptops at work, only to change a few things on the bus home (or add a flourish or two using their smart fridge while getting a midnight snack). To sum up, it’s a generation that tries to synthesize contradicting and contrasting ideas into a logical whole.

ADVERTISEMENT

Do you know what I’m looking forward to? Seeing how Generation Z will compare to Generation Alpha—those born from the early 2010s (and those who’ll join us on Planet Earth from the mid-2020s). Imagine the articles showing Gen A’s reactions to Gen Z’s tech. I can’t wait.

#11

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

legendslyf Report

Add photo comments
POST
dariab_1 avatar
Daria B
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You call this "struggle"? Pfffff..... try Windows 3.1. Or even better... DOS!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

kixito_ Report

Add photo comments
POST
chi-weishen avatar
chi-wei shen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...and we were happy for having these three devices. Not everyone had them.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#13

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

itschelseaw Report

Add photo comments
POST
drummerkramer avatar
Bob Beltcher
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I over out my parents made sure I got a phone plan with Verizon so all our calls and text would be free. That ended when I got a girlfriend and switched to T-Mobile so all our calls and text would be free lol.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

Cellphones could store very limited amounts of data.
While it seems funny that your phone couldn't make any more space for extra messages, consider how quickly photos and videos fill up your brand new smartphone.

Report

Add photo comments
POST
chi-weishen avatar
chi-wei shen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You have to keep in mind that this phone only could store tiny text messages.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#18

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a VHS tape.
You can store movies and video recordings on it.

HeavyMetalYeti Report

#19

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

JaIenSkutt Report

Add photo comments
POST
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Twitter needs an update when people who shout (all caps) get a posting ban for 12 hours.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is an overhead projector.
It projects things over your head.

kenzie_bug20 Report

#21

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a public payphone.
You used it to call people.

AshStoneman Report

Add photo comments
POST
rjgardneruk avatar
European other
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Although payphones are out it's not been that long since they were everywhere

View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

twheat9 Report

Add photo comments
POST
getsuyoubi avatar
Monday
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ahhhh I had a silver version of this exact one as a teenager....memories....

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is an iPod.
It plays music.
The very first iPod came out in 2001, not 1955.
The iPod pictured appears to be an iPod Nano, the first of which were released in 2006.

jodierandazzo Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#25

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

I still don't know how to burn CDs and I'm not a member of Gen Z.
On a theoretical level, it's clear that you copy information that's on your PC onto a disc. On a practical level, I end up messing up the disc and accidentally deleting the data I meant to copy over from the computer.

teriamour Report

Add photo comments
POST
andrscsabasomosvri avatar
Nerevar
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Read history about ancient Rome. Especially about Nero who lived in the ancient times and was the Emperor of Rome. He even burnt Rome beside CDs.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a stereo, aka a boombox.
You use it to play music and be popular.

Bentleymode Report

Add photo comments
POST
markymarkandthefunkybunch avatar
Marky Mark
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My siblings and I still call them Ghetto Blasters as if we were stuck in the late 70's.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

Report

#28

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

Phil_Lewis_ Report

Add photo comments
POST
hendralim avatar
Hendra Lim
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

me, wakes up at 5 am to download some songs, because the internet provider is suck at normal times, and only got moderate speed at 2 to 6 am

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#29

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a beeper, also known as a pager.
It can be used to transmit short messages or, in some cases, voice recordings.

bloomcounty14 Report

Add photo comments
POST
wianjama avatar
Rissie
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You know what's crazy? Hospitals still using these because they are so easy to use. They notify you clearly, give you a quick overview of the urgency and let you decide to call back immediately or attend to what you're doing at that point first. Leaving the decision making with the actual person while not having to set a gazilion options only to forget to turn the sound on when you were needed to save someone's life.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

Old-Millennial-Things-Kids-Today-Have-No-Idea

This is a cellphone.
You use it to call people.

des_angelique_ Report

Add photo comments
POST
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one is odd. Even two years old normally recognize those, but consider them toys instead of things an adult would use.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Note: this post originally had 56 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda