There have been times when I’ve been talking to my parents and they joke about some technology or huge celebrity that was popular during their time. Of course, I’m like:
Because I have no idea what they’re talking about but I don’t want to make them feel old. I realized though there are things that are already so far removed from my childhood—things that children today wouldn’t recognize (or even want to play with…) anymore. It made me realize that this happens to everybody and is now, sadly, happening to me. Gosh, I feel old. Ready for some serious throwbacks? Here, I leave you with a list of 10 things our kids just won’t understand.
1. Blockbuster
(photo via NBC5)
Blockbuster was obviously a huge deal. With no online streaming like Netflix or Hulu, we had to actually go get a video or DVD on a Friday night. Part of the fun was running to the 'New Releases' wall to see if there were any copies of that one really great movie left, or fighting with your siblings in the middle of the isle over whose turn it was to pick. Unfortunately, these places are pretty much closed down and now we get to sit in bed on a Saturday and navigate through our online streaming options (no complaints, here).
What our kids will say: "What, you mean you had to actually go to a store to watch a movie?"
2. Dial Up
This is not something I miss, but it was definitely part of the soundtrack to my childhood. Not only was there less to do on the computer, but also it took so long to actually get on it. By the time it loaded we were probably already bored and went outside to play.
What our kids will say: "Why is it making that sound...?"
3. These Lovely Ladies
(photo via Electric949)
I mean, c'mon... the Spice Girls were a staple in the '90s kid music collection. Plus, if you weren't going to be Britney for Halloween, you and your friends would obviously be the Spice Girls (and everyone called dibs on Baby). These women really inspired every boy and every girl to spice up their lives, and for that, we will always remember them.What our kids will say: "What does 'zigazig ah' mean?"
4. This.
(photo via E! Online)
We could argue all day about whether N*sync or the Backstreet Boys were better, but at the end of the day, there's really no comparison. N*sync taught us how to say "me" properly and they had really smooth dance moves. They don't make boy bands like these anymore (no offense, One Direction), and this is why our kids will never know the joy of singing "Bye, Bye, Bye" and doing this at the same time:
5. Gameboy
So your family is going on an extremely long road trip? No problem. Just break out that snazzy new Gameboy COLORand catch all of those Pokémon. Of course, our kids will understand the need to amuse themselves with addicting games in boring situations, but maybe they won't understand why the screen is so small or why:"...The touch screen isn't working..."
6. Why We Wanted to Wear This
(Photo via buzznet)
Our kids, sadly, won't understand what Lizzie McGuire meant to us, or why her and Miranda's wardrobes were our #outfitgoals. But the important thing is that Limited Too understood us and allowed us to dress like this on a regular basis. And when we show them our favorite zebra print pants and pink and black "punk" shirt, our kids will be like:
7. All That
No doubt, Nickelodeon's glory days were during our generation's adolescence. When we start singing the theme song to All That, our kids won't know what we're referencing. They won't remember Amanda's cute little "Ask Ashley" skit and they won't know that Kenan was on a children's version of SNL before he was actually on SNL.
What our kids will say: "So... this was funny...?"
8. The Coolest Phone Around
So if you were cool, you had a Motorola RAZR phone, and if you were really cool, you had it in hot pink. And if you were really, really cool, it was bejeweled. Seriously, these phones made us feel like celebrities and were super "high tech" during its time. When we show these to our kids, it'll have them like:
9. AIM
One of the most exciting parts of our day was clicking that yellow man at the bottom of the screen to open up AOL Instant Messenger. And you would log on and have conversations with your friends that went something like this:
"Hey"
"Hey"
"Wuts up"
"nm. u?"
"nm."
"kewllll."
And the whole time you were online, you would hear at least one of these sounds:
But the most fun was choosing a buddy icon, setting a cool away message, and of course, creating a buddy profile where you could make a personal shout out to your friends with a hilarious inside joke, or put an angsty quote about how "you love him, but he doesn't know that you exist.." .
Our kids will pretend to not understand this because the technology is "old", but really, they'll just be doing the same thing on whatever social media sites they'll be using at the time...*side eye emoji*
10. Signing in to Take Care of Our Pets
When we talk about the various quests we've been on or our dragon pets, our kids may think we've gone a little nuts. But really, we just miss the fun that was Neopets. Signing on each day was a must because like any living creature, they needed to be fed and cared for (RIP to my Neopets who haven't been fed since 2002). Our kids will probably have the same mentality with their high tech robot pets of the future, but we had a better time because we got to go to Fairyland and Mystery Island with these guys:
(photo via howstuffworks.com)
What our kids will say: "That's embarrassing..."
and we'll be like:
