Technological advancements have brought about many changes to the world in recent decades. What, if anything, do older people miss from the past?
A user asked the forum, “What do you miss from the 60’s or 70’s that the newer generation would never experience because technology has changed or made them obsolete?”. Let’s have a look at the top responses.
EASY ACCESSIBILITY AT THE AIRPORT
“Walking a loved one all the way to the departure gate and watching their plane take off.”
CELL PHONE FREE CONCERT
“Going to a cell phone-free concert.
Concerts are one of the few things that have gotten objectively worse through each decade of my life.”
JAMMING FOR GOOD SONGS AT RADIO
“Sitting at a red light jamming to a good song on the radio and looking over to notice the neighboring driver is jamming to the same song, so you both start an impromptu jam session until the light turns green.”
PARTY LINES ON THE TELEPHONE
“Party lines on the telephone. Literally sharing a phone line with someone else and being able to listen in on their phone conversations. It was also annoying when the ‘other party’ was using the line, and you needed to make a call.”
ROAMING AROUND
“The freedom that comes with your parents not really knowing where you were. We just rode our bikes, all without being tethered to a cell phone.”
ROAD MAPS
“Road maps. The person in the passenger seat would tell the driver where to go, etc. There was almost always a stop at a gas station for directions on long trips through unfamiliar areas. Great times, always an adventure!”
DOCTORS COMING HOME
“When my mom began getting sick enough to take to her bed, some doctor would come to the house to do her checkups. It wasn’t a common thing, but it did happen. That would have been mid-70’s.”
MUSIC FESTIVALS
“Music festivals where everyone is just sitting and enjoying the vibes. No recording, no filming. Why can’t we do this again? Prohibit devices at live venues.”
FUN WITH FRIENDS
“Cruising the main street of town on a Friday night in a car packed with your friends and Van Halen playing on the radio. Waving and yelling at different groups when passing their hangouts and cheerfully flipping off others.”
READING BOOKS WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS
“You are sitting in your room, absorbed in a book. The only phone is downstairs. No cellphone to distract you.”
COMPUTERS
“I kinda miss the 80’s – early 90’s computer era. It was fun to try and figure stuff out without having the internet to help you. Plus, people really figured out how to squeeze some fun games out of those computers. Trading games with your friends was fun.”
BAKING AND TOGETHERNESS IN FAMILY
“Nights as a young teen, I would bake chocolate chip cookies, and all my siblings and mom would sit on the couch together and watch “The Waltons” or “Happy Days” and cry or laugh together as a family. No one was in their room alone or on their phone. Good times.”
FAMILY CLASSICS
“Born in 1954. There were no recorded movies in the 1960’s, so you simply waited for any of the family classics to appear on one of the three networks.
A showing of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ on TV was an event, and the entire family would gather to watch it together and share oven-baked pretzels or Jiffy pop popcorn.”
A CAR YOU CAN REPAIR YOURSELF
“A car you can repair yourself. I actually worked on my own car in the 70’s, using the manual I got at the library, which walked me step by step through the process of fixing a lot of things (plus parts from the local auto parts store).
I’m no mechanic, and the one shop class I took was mostly about changing your own oil and spark plugs-level stuff. It just used to be possible to DO that if you didn’t mind getting dirty and putting in the time.
I also miss being unreachable. Leave the answering machine on so you can hear who’s trying to call you, and you can dip out for as long as you need to. No one expects that they will be able to talk to you as frequently as they want. You absolutely control the amount of contact.”
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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.