Millennials Are Sharing The Things We All Did 20 Years Ago That Would Make Any Gen Z'er Question Our Collective Sanity Now, And Oh Wow

Buzz Feed

23-06-2025

I hate to break it to you, but we're officially closer to 2050 than we are to 2000. (Yes, that actually makes me sick just trying to wrap my brain around it.) And with time moving so quickly, tons of things that were completely normal in those days are completely obsolete now. Which is an equally hard pill to swallow.
But it's always fun to reminisce on what life was really like in the 2000s, when life was simpler — and make fun of young people in the process.
So recently on Reddit, people have been answering the question: "What's something people did instinctively 15 years ago, but now younger people don't even realize was a thing?" and the answers have unlocked some serious memories. Here's what people said:
"Spending hours renaming and cataloguing an iTunes library ripped from LimeWire."
"Carrying a Garmin or other GPS navigation device with you in your car."
"Writing in cursive. I was at a wedding where the seating cards were written in cursive, and when I grabbed mine, I had three different younger couples ask me to find theirs."
"'Instinctively'? Ctrl + S every few minutes."
"Taking 500 photos on a digital camera on a single night out, and then uploading them all to Facebook in several separate albums."
"Paying attention to the way you're going so you know how to get back. Or pay attention to landmarks. No one seems to do this anymore."
"Downloading playlists to iPods or phones because streaming would destroy your data."
"Set up a meeting point when going to a concert, and a fall-back position after the concert in case we get lost."
"Travelling internationally without a smartphone, and hoping a friendly local is honest when you ask directions."
"People don't know what it's like for weed to be counter cultural and criminal anymore. Kids don't know how to roll joints in legal states; they all get pre rolls. They don't know what it's like to drive 45 minutes outside of town to meet some 45 year old burnout dude playing with knives in the corner while he tries to spit a freestyle for you, and get you to smoke a blunt with him when all you want is your $35 1/8th of an unknown strain that he swears is some top-shelf med-grade shit."
"Putting a CD into your car dashboard."
"Taking off the head unit of your car stereo, putting it in its box, hiding it under the seat, and putting a wheel lock on, all before you leave and lock your car."
"Printing MapQuest directions."
"Lining up hours before a movie to get a good seat (no reserved seats). My friends and I lined up for two hours for Avatar when it first came out."
"Checking your data usage to make sure you haven't gone over your 100 MB and incurred $0.05/KB overage charges."
And similarly: "Restricting the length of your texts to not be charged another 12p for going over the character allowance for one text."
"Memorizing phone numbers."
"Mailing the DVD back to Netflix."
"15 years ago, I still had to pay to 'rent' the required cable box on top of paying for the cable itself."
"Handing the clerk your credit card instead of putting it in the machine yourself. And putting your car key in the door."
"Turning on/off car headlights."
"We talked to strangers so much because people were seen as our entertainment. It was completely normal to be in line at the grocery store just talking to people beside you while you waited. We didn't have phones to be stuck on all day, so we actually interacted with the world and people around us to not be bored."
"Watching the 6:30 nightly news in real time. I stopped watching when Trump was elected."
"Actually being friends with work colleagues; going to their birthday parties, etc. Now everyone just seems to want to get to work and go home."
"Driving to stores to buy things, and planning your whole day around it."
"Wedding invitations or important events would come with a map to the venue."
"Writing a check."
"Answering the phone when it rings."
"Planning your route BEFORE getting in the car."
"You went to work in nice clothes and got to wear jeans on Friday!"
"Knowing which direction is north. In my experience, young people struggle to navigate anywhere without their smartphone giving them directions. They don't really examine the map, and they don't concern themselves with keeping track of where north is."
"Hitting the rewind button."
"Calling the credit card company before traveling."
"Making YouTube videos for the fun of it. Now everyone thinks it's a job and is making soulless, cookie-cutter content by chasing trends to feed the algorithm."
"Turning your phone off to save the battery. Now people would rather sacrifice their social life than be unreachable for 10 minutes."
"Looking up businesses in the Yellow Pages."
"Bulletin boards in coffee shops and casual restaurants are missing now. It used to be that if you wanted to hire someone for a local service, you could find people's flyers or business cards tacked to it: landscapers, plumbers, painters. You could also find show flyers."
And we've covered the '00s, so now, let's chat about the '90s! What's something everyone did 25 years ago that would confuse young people today? Tell me in this quick form, or in the comments below!
And for more content that brings you right back to the good ol' days, check out BuzzFeed Canada on Instagram and TikTok!