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See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 30 Fotos
Losing touch with people - Without Facebook and other social media platforms, it was normal for people to lose touch with old friends and family members.
© iStock
1 / 30 Fotos
Payphone - If you were out of the house and needed to make a phone call, you'd have to find one of these. And, of course, you needed to carry some coins with you at all times.
© iStock
2 / 30 Fotos
No camera? No pictures - If you wanted to take pictures, you needed a camera. There were no cell phones with cameras, so if you forgot the camera at home, that was it: no photos.
© iStock
3 / 30 Fotos
No caller ID - You would never know who was calling you until you answered the phone, so you couldn't really ignore or reject a call.
© Shutterstock
4 / 30 Fotos
No GPS - Although the Global Positioning System (GPS) was officially launched in the late 1970s, it was not easily accessible to drivers until many years later. Paper road maps were the norm.
© iStock
5 / 30 Fotos
Floppy disks - A 3.5-inch floppy disk would give you a whopping 1.44 MB of storage capacity. You would need 711 of these bad boys to have one gigabyte of storage!
© iStock
6 / 30 Fotos
Can I speak to X? - If you wanted to talk to someone, you'd have to call their home, talk to whoever would pick up the phone, and ask to talk with the person you wanted to speak to. Crazy, right?
© iStock
7 / 30 Fotos
One PC - The term "personal computer" was somewhat misleading back then. Most households had only one computer, which would be shared by the whole family.
© iStock
8 / 30 Fotos
Cassette problems - When tape got out of a cassette, there was only one solution: use a pencil or pen to put it back in place. These were also used to rewind the tapes.
© iStock
9 / 30 Fotos
Handwriting - Understanding other people's handwriting was sometimes a problem. Maybe in the same way some people struggle with today's Internet slang.
© iStock
10 / 30 Fotos
Opening times - There was no online shopping back then, so if you wanted to buy something you would actually need to wait for a specific store to open.
© iStock
11 / 30 Fotos
Recording songs - If you really liked a song but didn't want to buy the single or album, there was only one way to get it. You'd have to wait for the tune to play on the radio and record it onto a cassette tape.
© iStock
12 / 30 Fotos
Loading times - If you wanted to play a game, you'd have to wait for it to load. This was a long and noisy process. Plus, it could fail to load in the end, and then you'd have to do it all over again.
© iStock
13 / 30 Fotos
Video store - If you wanted to watch a movie from the comfort of your own home but not actually purchase it, you could rent your desired watch from a video rental store. But you were asked to rewind the tapes before returning them.
© iStock
14 / 30 Fotos
Nokia 3210 - This cell phone's cutting-edge technology allowed users to play 'Snake' for hours. Plus, the battery would last for days!
© iStock
15 / 30 Fotos
Birthdays - With no Facebook reminders or notes on smartphones, you could easily forget someone's birthday. A good reminder was to mark it on a calendar.
© iStock
16 / 30 Fotos
Waiting in line - Waiting in line to buy tickets to a show? Yes, and sometimes for hours!
© iStock
17 / 30 Fotos
Scratches - A scratched CD was an absolute nightmare. You would be lucky if it affected just a few songs, because a couple of scratches could render a CD completely useless.
© iStock
18 / 30 Fotos
VHS woes - Buying used VHS tapes was risky. The tape could be damaged in a certain spot, so the movie you were so excited to watch could have had a whole scene completely ruined.
© iStock
19 / 30 Fotos
Yellow pages - If you needed a plumber or an electrician, the yellow pages directory was what you needed to browse through.
© iStock
20 / 30 Fotos
Research - Before Wikipedia, we had encyclopedias. If you needed to conduct research on any subject, you'd most likely spend hours at the library.
© iStock
21 / 30 Fotos
Radio - Before digital radio, your choices were limited to AM/FM stations.
© Shutterstock
22 / 30 Fotos
Typewriting mistake - Using a typewriter was a skill in its own right, and correcting a mistake was not an easy task. Where was the "delete" button when you needed one?
© Shutterstock
23 / 30 Fotos
TV channels - Yes, you had to live with just one to three channels in most countries.
© Shutterstock
24 / 30 Fotos
Waiting for pictures - No digital photography meant that you'd have to wait for hours for film to develop. Plus, you didn't know if the photos were any good until you had them in your hands!
© Shutterstock
25 / 30 Fotos
Walkman/Discman - The Walkman revolutionized the way we listen to music. Years later, the Discman was introduced in the portable audio player market. But try fitting one into your pocket!
© iStock
26 / 30 Fotos
Ice ice baby - Ice makers were not easily accessible to everyone, so ice cube trays were the norm. You'd have to remember to refill them, or you'd have to wait a couple of hours to have that ice cold drink you wanted.
© iStock
27 / 30 Fotos
They don't have my size - It's easy to order a specific size when you're shopping online. But in physical stores, you'd be lucky if they had the size you wanted in stock. They could ask other stores if they had it, but, without computerized stock management, this would involve a few phone calls and probably a few weeks of wait time.
© iStock
28 / 30 Fotos
Running out of storage
- MP3 players alike had a storage limit, so if you wanted to listen to new music, you'd have to delete some songs and add new ones. Today's music streaming services solved this problem. See also: How much do you know about Generation Z?
© Shutterstock
29 / 30 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 30 Fotos
Losing touch with people - Without Facebook and other social media platforms, it was normal for people to lose touch with old friends and family members.
© iStock
1 / 30 Fotos
Payphone - If you were out of the house and needed to make a phone call, you'd have to find one of these. And, of course, you needed to carry some coins with you at all times.
© iStock
2 / 30 Fotos
No camera? No pictures - If you wanted to take pictures, you needed a camera. There were no cell phones with cameras, so if you forgot the camera at home, that was it: no photos.
© iStock
3 / 30 Fotos
No caller ID - You would never know who was calling you until you answered the phone, so you couldn't really ignore or reject a call.
© Shutterstock
4 / 30 Fotos
No GPS - Although the Global Positioning System (GPS) was officially launched in the late 1970s, it was not easily accessible to drivers until many years later. Paper road maps were the norm.
© iStock
5 / 30 Fotos
Floppy disks - A 3.5-inch floppy disk would give you a whopping 1.44 MB of storage capacity. You would need 711 of these bad boys to have one gigabyte of storage!
© iStock
6 / 30 Fotos
Can I speak to X? - If you wanted to talk to someone, you'd have to call their home, talk to whoever would pick up the phone, and ask to talk with the person you wanted to speak to. Crazy, right?
© iStock
7 / 30 Fotos
One PC - The term "personal computer" was somewhat misleading back then. Most households had only one computer, which would be shared by the whole family.
© iStock
8 / 30 Fotos
Cassette problems - When tape got out of a cassette, there was only one solution: use a pencil or pen to put it back in place. These were also used to rewind the tapes.
© iStock
9 / 30 Fotos
Handwriting - Understanding other people's handwriting was sometimes a problem. Maybe in the same way some people struggle with today's Internet slang.
© iStock
10 / 30 Fotos
Opening times - There was no online shopping back then, so if you wanted to buy something you would actually need to wait for a specific store to open.
© iStock
11 / 30 Fotos
Recording songs - If you really liked a song but didn't want to buy the single or album, there was only one way to get it. You'd have to wait for the tune to play on the radio and record it onto a cassette tape.
© iStock
12 / 30 Fotos
Loading times - If you wanted to play a game, you'd have to wait for it to load. This was a long and noisy process. Plus, it could fail to load in the end, and then you'd have to do it all over again.
© iStock
13 / 30 Fotos
Video store - If you wanted to watch a movie from the comfort of your own home but not actually purchase it, you could rent your desired watch from a video rental store. But you were asked to rewind the tapes before returning them.
© iStock
14 / 30 Fotos
Nokia 3210 - This cell phone's cutting-edge technology allowed users to play 'Snake' for hours. Plus, the battery would last for days!
© iStock
15 / 30 Fotos
Birthdays - With no Facebook reminders or notes on smartphones, you could easily forget someone's birthday. A good reminder was to mark it on a calendar.
© iStock
16 / 30 Fotos
Waiting in line - Waiting in line to buy tickets to a show? Yes, and sometimes for hours!
© iStock
17 / 30 Fotos
Scratches - A scratched CD was an absolute nightmare. You would be lucky if it affected just a few songs, because a couple of scratches could render a CD completely useless.
© iStock
18 / 30 Fotos
VHS woes - Buying used VHS tapes was risky. The tape could be damaged in a certain spot, so the movie you were so excited to watch could have had a whole scene completely ruined.
© iStock
19 / 30 Fotos
Yellow pages - If you needed a plumber or an electrician, the yellow pages directory was what you needed to browse through.
© iStock
20 / 30 Fotos
Research - Before Wikipedia, we had encyclopedias. If you needed to conduct research on any subject, you'd most likely spend hours at the library.
© iStock
21 / 30 Fotos
Radio - Before digital radio, your choices were limited to AM/FM stations.
© Shutterstock
22 / 30 Fotos
Typewriting mistake - Using a typewriter was a skill in its own right, and correcting a mistake was not an easy task. Where was the "delete" button when you needed one?
© Shutterstock
23 / 30 Fotos
TV channels - Yes, you had to live with just one to three channels in most countries.
© Shutterstock
24 / 30 Fotos
Waiting for pictures - No digital photography meant that you'd have to wait for hours for film to develop. Plus, you didn't know if the photos were any good until you had them in your hands!
© Shutterstock
25 / 30 Fotos
Walkman/Discman - The Walkman revolutionized the way we listen to music. Years later, the Discman was introduced in the portable audio player market. But try fitting one into your pocket!
© iStock
26 / 30 Fotos
Ice ice baby - Ice makers were not easily accessible to everyone, so ice cube trays were the norm. You'd have to remember to refill them, or you'd have to wait a couple of hours to have that ice cold drink you wanted.
© iStock
27 / 30 Fotos
They don't have my size - It's easy to order a specific size when you're shopping online. But in physical stores, you'd be lucky if they had the size you wanted in stock. They could ask other stores if they had it, but, without computerized stock management, this would involve a few phone calls and probably a few weeks of wait time.
© iStock
28 / 30 Fotos
Running out of storage
- MP3 players alike had a storage limit, so if you wanted to listen to new music, you'd have to delete some songs and add new ones. Today's music streaming services solved this problem. See also: How much do you know about Generation Z?
© Shutterstock
29 / 30 Fotos
Everyday things that feel foreign to Gen Z
The struggles today's generation will never have to go through
© Getty Images
Music streaming, online shopping, movies on demand: we are now spoiled for choice. While advances in technology have made our lives easier, most millennials will never really understand the pains previous generations had to go through. Ready for some serious nostalgia? Click through!
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