20 Childhood Moments Kids Today Will Never Experience

#20: Passing Notes in Class

There’s been a lot of societal discussion concerning the efficacy of banning cell phones in schools. Perhaps it’ll be during a full implementation of such a rule whereby the old habit of passing notes might return to the everyday classroom. This was how many Gen-Xers and prior generations communicated with their friends out of sight from authority figures and teachers. Communication these days is obviously so much simpler and immediate, yet can also occasionally lack the sort of creativity it took to jot down the perfect note. One that could discuss everything from after-school plans to a latest crush.

#19: Recording the Radio

It’s been the subject of classic rock songs like “Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?” from Ramones and “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen. Tunes that romanticize how older kids used to stay up past their bedtime to record their favorite songs off the radio. This habit wasn’t solely the subject of Top 40 pop radio hits, either, since many older fans of underground music might recall recording their favorite episodes of a weekly cult radio show that played obscure punk, alternative, or heavy metal. Home recording technology, like blank audio cassettes, made it fun and convenient to be creative at home with all of radio’s varied content. Fun, at least, for generations that didn’t have Apple Music or Spotify at their collective fingertips.

#18: Calling Collect

Picture it: you’ve thoroughly enjoyed a Saturday afternoon at the mall with your best friend, but now it’s time to call a parent for a ride. But, wait! There are no cell phones yet, and you spent your last quarter at the arcade. What do you do? Simple! Just call collect! The availability of pay phones and phone booths back in the day made it easy for even younger kids to get in contact with their parents. Dialing a number like 1-800-COLLECT (which is still operational, believe it or not) could direct the caller to record a voice message, which would then be delivered to a home landline. The recipient could then accept the telephone charges and voila! Instant phone call!

#17: T.V. Ends

Hey, have you ever watched the opening to Tobe Hooper’s “Poltergeist” and wondered what the heck was going on with Craig T. Nelson’s television set? Terrestrial cable used to actually go off the air at a certain time, with most channels playing something like we see during that scene. A national anthem accompanied by some nice nature scenery, an announcer ending that channel’s broadcast day, and then usually either a station ID or some static. Television programming would resume the following morning, so we hope that you got something to entertain yourselves with while you wait that out!

#16: Smoking Everywhere

Hey, whoever said that every lost childhood experience needed to be pleasant? Well, you might be nostalgic for the smoking section at your local Applebee’s if you were one of the millions of “naughty” kids who experimented with nicotine against the Surgeon General’s Warning back in the day. For others, that constant cloud of hanging smoke present within every building and office might not retain the same sort of vibes. Tobacco marketing and advertising helped wean generations of people on the stuff, with a lot of photographic evidence showing just how omnipresent smoking was within our lives. A similarly unhealthy culture of vaping may have replaced a lit cigarette (unless you’re Dave Chappelle), but many of us can still smell the stuff in our clothes.

#15: Irresponsible Playground Construction

We’re willing to bet that every parent has remarked at least once about the comparative safety of modern playgrounds. Areas with soft, spongy ground and slides that, you know, aren’t made of freakin’ metal! This was sadly not so for many kids who grew up back in the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and perhaps even into the early aughts. Yes, so many of us still live with the scars (emotional and perhaps even physical) from burning the heck out of ourselves while attempting to traverse a metal slide during a hot summer’s day. Oh, and let’s say an extra prayer for those tragic cases that got so burned they got stuck up there on that slide, roasting in the hot summer sun like a Honeybaked Ham.

#14: Boredom

Yes, we know that kids (and adults) still get bored. Yet, we probably shouldn’t be, right? Not when we have so much at our fingertips, every second of the day. Yet, imagine a world where this wasn’t so, at least not yet. Your friends are busy, or your parents need to take you with them on an errand. It’s their car, so they’re choosing the music. And you don’t have any hand-held video games or a phone. So it’s either bring a book, some drawing paper, or just look at the trees, because you’re in it for the long haul. Granted, entertainment and excitement are all what we make of them, but today’s generation admittedly possesses an embarrassment of riches when it comes to distraction.

#13: Remembering Directions

Modern GPS technology is another wonder that’s made getting around the world so much easier and convenient. Sure, maps are still important, as well, but what if that’s the only option? Remembering directions used to be imperative back in the day, particularly if you didn’t have the foresight to write them down prior to taking off on your bike, in a car, or on foot. Those aforementioned maps could help, sure, but if you don’t have one handy and are just going off of memory, then yeah… let’s hope you were paying attention at that last gas station or rest stop!

#12: Taking Someone’s Word For It

You made plans to meet up with a friend at noon. You agreed on the time, the place, and the itinerary, so there’s nothing to worry about, right? Some of you are hearing that and thinking “not at all,” while others just might be getting anxious at the very thought of what we’re about to discuss. What if you get there, and your friend isn’t? There’s no way to text and confirm. You just gotta take them at their word that those plans you made yesterday are still in stone from the last time you spoke. Just for fun, leave your phone at home the next time you make plans, and see how long it takes before you turn around and go get it!

#11: Privacy

There’s definitely a larger discussion to be had concerning the alarmingly small (and shrinking) windows of true privacy for us as a society. Serious discussions about how being connected 24/7 is both good and bad for our collective mental health. People, especially young people, should be allowed to make mistakes in private, without worrying about being filmed or harassed. We live in a world where those tumultuous years of youth have become even more stressful for kids living in a world forever online. One without the privacy older generations perhaps take for granted when judging the struggles of what’s going on today. So yeah, this list is light-hearted for the most part, but let’s not forget each other out there, okay?

#10: Cereal Box Goodies

It used to be the case that with every box of cereal, there was a chance of getting an exciting prize. These were often just small plastic toys, which were of relatively cheap quality - but getting one was so much fun! They were random, too, so if you wanted a specific one, you’d have to splash out on cereal until you found it. Now, you can just order whatever cheap plastic toy you want online, but it doesn’t have the same thrill. In the 21st century, cereal has started marketing itself as a healthy option, so the toys contained are now pretty much nonexistent.

#9: Dial-Up Internet

When most of us think of old school internet, there’s one specific noise that comes to mind first. Now, we take instant webpage loading for granted. Before broadband was common, we had to rely on telephone networks to provide our connection. This was called dial-up, and the sounds it made were impossible to forget. At the time, it felt like a painful barrier, preventing us from seeing the websites we wanted to load. Now, these noises are loaded with nostalgia. Dial-up also meant your family members couldn’t use the phone when you were surfing the web, an alien concept for the kids of today.

#8: Staying Out All Night for New Releases

Before everything was digitized, if you wanted something badly, you’d have to go into a store as soon as it opened. If you wanted concert tickets, there were two ways you could acquire them. First was simply calling Ticket Master, and second was going into a kiosk. If you wanted to see a band in high demand, you would have to camp out at the kiosk all night, with no guarantee you would get tickets. People would do this with tons of other things, too, including new books or video games. Now, you simply get them online. Even when it’s a physical release, places offer day one delivery anyway, so there’s basically no need for inconvenience.

#7: Waiting for Photos to Be Developed

If you told someone from a few decades ago that we’d all have devices in our pockets capable of instantly taking high-definition photos, they’d be stunned. It used to be the case that all cameras had film, which needed to be developed at a store before seeing the final products. So we had to be far more careful about each and every image we took. This meant taking your camera on holiday was a uniquely exciting experience. Taking it into a store after coming home, then waiting a few days for it to be developed, was a unique rush that will never be common again.

#6: Creating a MySpace Page

The internet felt a lot simpler when almost everyone surfing the web was friends with MySpace Tom. It was the earliest big social media, long before the Metaverse became a thing. Compared to modern social media, it was far more customizable. You could change virtually every aspect, including the backgrounds, the text, and music, and could even select your top friends. Now, social media profiles all virtually look the same, differing in posts and profile pictures alone. It wasn’t only MySpace that did it; YouTube profiles used to also be way more customizable. This trend is unfortunately long gone, so if you want a truly personalized online profile, you’ll have to make a website.

#5: Phone Booths & Collect Calls

So phone booths still exist, but now, they’re only really associated with illicit individuals, trying to keep a low profile. By 2016, fewer than 100,000 remained in America, and that figure has likely gone down a lot. It used to be we had to remember the phone numbers of all our friends and family if we wanted to call them on the go. Now, we all have mobile phones, making phone booths completely redundant. People barely even call anymore as well, with texts being way more common. If you do venture inside a phone booth today, be prepared - you don’t know what you may find inside.

#4: Handwritten Letters to Pen Pals

Something like handwritten letters will always exist. They’re too simple a creation to just vanish; however, they’re far less common now than they used to be. It once was a regular occurrence for two children to become pen pals. Even if you saw each other a lot, sending each other handwritten letters was a uniquely charming experience. With the internet making us more connected than ever, there’s little incentive for kids to be pen pals anymore. Why bother taking the time to hand write a letter, thean pay for a stamp, wait a few days for postage, and wait even more time for a reply, when a text is instant and virtually free?

#3: Video Rental Stores

Chains like Blockbuster used to be a staple of many people’s lives. Back before the internet’s rise, the only way to watch a movie or a show would be to catch it on TV or buy a physical copy. Or, even better, simply rent it. Video stores were a blast to visit. Kids could spend hours in these shops, browsing VHS tapes or DVDs, looking for a fun flick for their movie night. You could also rent video games from them, something which would be entirely alien to the kids of today. There was even a brief period where you could rent DVDs online and have them posted to your door, which is what Netflix originally did.

#2: Phoning Friends on a House Phone

If you’re too young to remember when phone booths were useful, you may instead remember when house phones were essential. Growing up before smartphones meant most kids were unlikely to have their own mobile. So if you wanted to talk to your friend after school, this was the way to do it. That is, unless you simply walked over to their house and asked if they wanted to come play, which might be considered weird in today's world. Sometimes, a service will still ask for your home phone number and a separate mobile, but in recent years, these two numbers are often the same.

#1: Saturday Morning Cartoons & Catching TV Shows

It used to be that if you wanted to watch a TV show, you had to wait until its exact timeslot. For many kids, this meant catching the cartoons on a Saturday morning was the peak of the weekend. Now, you can watch your favorite cartoons whenever, often without commercial breaks. As a result the classic Saturday morning cartoon experience basically doesn’t exist anymore. Similarly, the excitement of catching a new episode of a series everybody’s watching, then going into school the next day to chat about it, is not the same. On the bright side, at least you don’t have to worry about missing a new episode because of being busy when it airs.

At what point did you first start noticing a generation gap? Let us know in the comments!