Older Adults Share Common Items And Practices That They're Happy Went Out Of Style, And I Can't Disagree
Times are changing, for better or for worse. However, we can't deny that our lives have gotten significantly easier since the introduction of modern technology.
Sure, the tech industry is frightening, especially when considering how information can be manipulated, but we've entered a time when it's never been easier to access practically everything. Uber is the new taxi, Netflix is the new cinema, and streaming services effectively made record stores obsolete.
Needless to say, everything has changed in the past 30 years and it goes beyond technology. Social norms have shifted. For example, restaurants and bars rarely allow their patrons to smoke inside anymore.
I recently asked older adults in the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the items or practices from the past that they're happy to have gone extinct. As you could expect, much of it has to do with introducing new technology. Here's what they had to say.
1."Lots of things, but mostly, having it all in one device. GPS, photography, weather forecasting, calculator, language translator, etc... It’s a long list."
2."I do not miss waiting to get my photos developed to find out that I'd cut the top of my friend's head off. Or, oops, the lizard at the zoo moved, and it's just a blurry picture of a tail."
3."No smoking in restaurants!! At least in Indiana. I hated going to places like Applebee's. The smoking section was in the middle with no walls, and you could literally have smoking and no smoking tables next to each other.
4."Geek/Nerd shaming."
"Nowadays, you can game, marathon-watch, be a fan, or get into tech, internet, chess, even obscure things like vexillology without it being thought of as weird. Back then, if you weren't into narrow pop culture, you were an outcast; now, you may still not click with everyone with whom you physically interact, but it's understood that there is a community for you, and you are not alone."
5."I like that we do job applications completely digital now."
"Back in the day, we had the documents printed out (on the good paper), had expensive photos taken in a photo studio, had your employer's references photocopied, put everything together in a binder (that also cost a few bucks), and then sent them via mail. Multiple times.
Sometimes, they sent the binder, copies, and photos back, so you could at least reuse them (if they were returned in good condition).
What a waste of money and time this was!"
—kaa
6."Spotify!"
"How did we live when we could only have a select few songs on our MP3s and even the early iPods? The tough decisions of what songs to choose are long gone."
7."Having to wait for your favorite songs to come on the radio so you could record it onto a tape. Nothing was more annoying than when the DJ would talk too long and ruin the intro to your recording."
8."We may be over-reliant on our phones, but being able to surf the net while waiting for your doctor's appointment makes life a lot better."
9."I mean, misogyny, racism, and homophobia? I know it's harder to see from the youth perspective, but we've really come a long way from the 80s. Proud of you guys."
10."Having to wait in line to check out. I LOVE self-checkout!"
11."90’s fashion was largely hideous. Acid wash, nothing fit, color blocking, and bad decals."
12."I'm so glad dial-up internet and dial-up email disappeared. I had both for years, and after my 13th birthday, the spam emails started flooding my inbox (this was before Gmail)."
"One day I forgot my password and hit the reset password. 'Please check your email for your reset password link.' Doesn't do me any good if I can't check my email! I got a DSL email through my internet service provider afterward and was so glad to see that horrible email disappear for me."
–Anonymous, 31, Kentucky
13."Churning our own butter. Now that we can buy butter from the local general store in the big city, we have so much more time to hunt and skin deer and other wildlife to provide food, clothing, and shelter for our family. Thank you, modern technology."
–Anonymous, Texas
14."Old school telephones, be it rotary or dial. Since the invention of the backspace on a cell phone, you can keep those things. Every once in a while, when I enter a wrong number and can simply hit the delete and not have to totally start over with the phone number, I think back to using an old rotary or dial phone and miss-dialing a number. Heaven help if you messed up multiple times and had to hang up and restart yet again."
–Anonymous, 45, Oregon
15."Rewinding VCR rentals."
"I was confused as to how to rewind CDs, but it became understandable very quickly. And picking up my own ordered pizza. And polio (when kids were allowed to have vaccinations). And yes, I have become old, without a vote."
–Anonymous, 50, California
16."Most stores no longer accept checks. I remember being in line to check out at stores and then feeling like I was gonna die when I would see someone take out their actual checkbook and slowly fill it out. It would take forever, think the sloth from Zootopia 😐 I still will snail mail checks for bills, but I'm glad to see even that is becoming rarer and rarer too."
–Anonymous, 33, Maryland
17.And finally, "Having to actually talk to people. You can shop, order food, work from home and never have to talk to another soul if you choose not to."
–Anonymous, 45, Iowa
18.What everyday items and practices have you seen go out of style over the years? Are you happy about it? Let me know in the comment section below!
