
24 Pre-Smartphone Experiences Gen Z Will Never Have
People had A LOT to say — the post had over 15,000 comments! Here are some of the best and most interesting replies:
"A life that's not recorded. The ability to make mistakes and not have them follow you online for the rest of your life. Kids today will never grasp the level of anonymity we enjoyed as a society."
—Personal_Might2405
"Crank calls."
"Calling a boyfriend/girlfriend and having to awkwardly converse with their parent before getting to talk to them."
"Carrying around a dozen or more phone numbers in your head or Rolodex."
—NewsboyHank
"Boredom. It sounds like a bad thing, but it actually isn't."
"Going to make a call at the pay phone and finding change in the coin return!"
"Getting on your bike and just riding to your friend's house without knowing if they're home or not."
—Thepuppeteer777777
"Reading a shampoo bottle while you're taking a dump."
"Memorizing directions for how to get somewhere without GPS."
"Having a massive book mailed and dropped on your porch with everyone's phone number and address. All public information!"
—updatelee
"Your parents shouting at you to get off the phone because they're expecting a call."
"Having fun arguing about daft things that you could easily solve now by Googling. 'Who was the actress in such-and-such?' 'What year did that happen?' I miss those silly pub chats."
"In the '90s, it was socially acceptable to 'disappear' for a day. If someone couldn't get ahold of you, they just shrugged and dealt with it. You can still do that today by leaving your phone at home, but it's not really socially acceptable. If someone wants to reach you while you're away from your phone, you'll return to piles of texts and voicemails because people assume you're dead."
"The shift from people assuming you're unavailable and feeling lucky if they managed to connect to assuming you're available and being offended or worried if they can't connect is a truly massive change in how humans interact with each other."—IJourden
"The satisfaction of slamming the phone down when hanging up on someone!"
"You could go to the record store, shop for music, and talk to other people there who liked the same music as you. Now the record store is on your phone, and there is nobody in there to talk to."
"Getting an actual letter from someone. Especially love letters."
—lisago911
"The joy of leaving your house in the morning with a pocket full of coins and the knowledge that your parents couldn't find you — even if they wanted to."
"I was born in '78. Before smartphones, breaks at work would be fun. You'd talk with coworkers or read a magazine, and everyone always had a book on hand."
—supergooduser
"Your boss couldn't get ahold of you if you didn't want them to, and that was perfectly acceptable because it was the norm. These days, many employers expect someone to be available by phone 24/7. That's BS."
"Watching a big season/series finale at the exact same time as everyone else and talking about it the next day at school or work."
—lucy_in_disguise
"That rush when your favorite song finally comes on the radio, so you'd vault over your bed to press record on your tape recorder. Then every track on your mixtape would begin with '…only on Q101!'"
"Wrapping the phone cord multiple times around your little brother until your mom yelled at you to stop."
"Using encyclopedias to do homework."
—OldSchoolPrinceFan
And finally, "The general lack of social pressure. I was a teen in the '80s. I wish my teens could experience one summer in 1986, just so they could know what life is like without the contestant firehose of social media posts, ads, messages, and expectation that you have to constantly post about your life."
H/T r/AskReddit

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Donkey Kong Bananza players have managed to blow it wide open in less than a week, and the speedrun potential is bananas: "It's wild how much of the game you can bypass with the right tricks"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Donkey Kong Bananza players are pushing the game's speedrunning potential to its limits. It hasn't even been a week yet, and already someone has figured out how to get to the endgame without unlocking over half of the Bananza transformations. Super Mario Odyssey showed that Nintendo EPD Tokyo has the sauce to create some incredible speedrunning games thanks to their in-depth movement systems; and players were showing that off on day one of Donkey Kong Bananza with a skip for the Canyon Layer being discovered. The game features five Bananza transformations that let DK take on the form of a superpowered beast, and the abilities gained through these are integral for completing their specific areas… at least they're meant to be. Spoilers for the final Bananza transformations and a screenshot of an endgame area follow. In the time since Bananza's launch, it's gotten even more intense, as now players have discovered it's technically possible to beat Donkey Kong Bananza without unlocking a number of the Bananza transformations. In a post on Reddit, a user has posted a thread titled "The amount of sequence breaks in this game is crazy" alongside a screenshot of Pauline and DK hanging out in the Planet Core Layer. However, upon closer inspection, the screenshot reveals that they only have the first Bananza transformation (Kong) and the second-to-last one (Elephant) displayed on their HUD. The amout of sequence breaks in this game is crazy from r/donkeykong "Just did a second run of DK Bananza trying to skip as much content as possible and I ended up unlocking only 2 Bananzas in the entire game." The user said, "It's wild how much of the game you can bypass with the right tricks. There are also entire layers you can skip. It's a really fun and surprisingly strategic way to experience the game differently." While this wasn't a speedrun, it definitely shows off the potential of what Donkey Kong Bananza speedruns could be with this much of the game able to be casually bypassed. I'm sure someone will find a way to skip other Bananza's at this rate. Granted, the final area of the game seems pretty much impossible without these, as there's one segment that requires the Zebra Bananza to reach the final boss, but I'm sure that'll be figured out in no time, too. Donkey Kong Bananza credits reignite a popular Mario Kart World fan theory that the beloved gorilla is getting his own expansion in the Switch 2 racer.


Buzz Feed
11 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Basic Skills From The '90s That Nobody Under 25 Can Do
Nostalgia is absolutely my I reminisce about the good ol' days an embarrassing amount. I also spend way too much time spiraling over the fact that the '90s ended over 25 years ago, and comparing what life is like NOW to how it was BACK THEN. You get me, don't you? So to my delight, millennials on Reddit have recently been sharing the "trivial skills" they have that "others don't use anymore," and it's such a blast from the past! TBH, I'm pretty embarrassed I forgot about some of these things, yet simultaneously happy to be reminded of them now. So without further ado, here's what people said: "Burning a CD." "Remember when we had to have a typing speed of at least 60 words per minute to be considered for an office job?" And similarly: "I can text like crazy fast on a T9 keypad." "My penmanship is trash, but my ability to read cursive handwriting appears to be a superpower to my younger coworkers." "The ability to be alone with my thoughts for a few moments without losing my damn mind." "I know the secret to recording over VHS tapes that weren't meant for it." "Memorizing phone numbers." "How to use a map, AND fold it back up the right way." "I can unwind spiral telephone cords when they get a kink!" "I used to be a projectionist at a movie theatre. Most theaters are all digital now." "Keeping a Tamagotchi alive for more than 3 days." "I can both write a check and I can address an envelope to mail it to you." "Installing software via 10+ floppy disks. Anyone else install Windows 95 from a stack of floppies?" "I can honestly say things like: 'I managed a video store,' 'I learned basic coding from making my MySpace page cool,' and the ever-popular 'I learned how to play the trumpet, French horn, and trombone in order to play in a ska band.'" "The Dewey Decimal System." "The 'double space after a period' muscle memory." "Rewinding a cassette tape..." "MySpace background layouts." "I used to operate a keypunch card in the caveman days of the early 1970s." "I can drive a manual. Still a thing these days, but they're very rare, and most people can't." "I can use 'Save As.'" "My high school computer teacher thought it was important for us to read punch cards. I can still calculate the ASCII code, and I still remember that 'A' is 65. Yeah, not really useful anymore." "I almost always know which way north is." "How to use an actual printed dictionary." "Making a phone call without any type of anxiety." "I used to dial my friend's phone number by tapping the hang-up buttons, which simulated a rotary dial phone." "Cleaning out Super Nintendo cartridges." "I know who Tom is and why he's my friend." "I can tell the time using an analog clock." "Counting change correctly. That's $3.64, out of $20? 36 cents makes four...(grab $1) five, (grab $5) ten, and (grab $10) ten makes twenty." And finally: "Understanding a computer's folder system. I've met so many younger people who use technology 24/7, but don't understand computer file hierarchy at all, and it boggles my mind. Some don't even understand the difference between 'the cloud' and files they have on their computer." Now, if you're 25 or older, I wanna hear from you: what's a basic life skill that no young adults seem to have nowadays? Let's get honest! Answer in the anonymous form here, or in the comments below. And for more nostalgic content, be sure to follow BuzzFeed Canada on Instagram and TikTok!


Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
A Tahitian Wedding Tale Written On The Waves
M.C. Huff saw a picture Gregory Michael posted of himself on Reddit and had to respond to him. In the photo, he was reading The Four Agreements, her favorite book. After she reached out, the two followed each other on Instagram, but that was about it. Then one day, M.C., who is a writer, actress and director, posted she was moving out to California. 'I was driving out for the premiere of a film I'd worked on and planned to stay in L.A. to continue working as an actress,' she said. Michael asked her out to dinner the very night she arrived. One hitch: it was Valentine's Day, and she wasn't going on a date on Valentine's Day with a guy she just met. They settled on the next night, February 15. 'From that moment on, we've been inseparable,' Huff said. 'I knew I fell in love with M.C. not long after we met,' said Michel, who's been a TV actor for more than 20 years and heavily involved in The Groundlings, L.A.'s improv and sketch comedy troupe. 'You know how home has that special cozy vibe? There are so many places that bring you joy, but home is where your heart truly sings. I realized she feels just like that to me. Every time I'm with M.C., no matter where in the world we are, I am home. It's like I get to come home all over again when I hold her, and it fills my heart with the sweetest warmth.' Huff said the pair have always been so in sync—finishing each other's sentences and almost reading each other's minds. 'So it wasn't a surprise when we both said, practically at the same time, that we wanted to get married,' she said. During the actors' strike, they were living in Tahiti for a few months. While swimming one day, they suddenly came face to face with a gigantic humpback whale. When they came up for air, they locked eyes, knowing they'd shared one of the most magical, spiritual moments of their lives. 'Almost at the same time, we both said, 'We need to get married here,'' Huff said. 'And honestly, we wanted to be barefoot all day—no shoes, no formality, just the earth and the water beneath us. An island wedding was a no-brainer.' There was another reason to choose the island locale as well. 'Tahiti is welcoming and inclusive,' said Huff. 'As strong allies, it meant a lot to us to celebrate in a place that embraces the LGBTQ+ community, especially with so many of our friends and family from the community there with us. We wanted everyone to feel safe, seen, and celebrated—and Tahiti gave us that.' The couple designed their intricately hand-crafted wedding invitations. Each came in a custom stained wooden box, branded with a custom image of a humpback whale and initials of the bride and groom on the exterior. Inside, guests found a Tahitian mother-of-pearl shell, engraved, and painted with a special QR code that directed them to the wedding website. Tahiti is an eight-hour flight from Los Angeles, and the couple wed there on August 7, 2024. Seventy-five of their friends and family saw Michael arrive on a jet-ski, dressed in a sleek black linen Andy Fine of Sartoro tuxedo. As he changed into his ceremony suit by the same designer, Polynesian dancers performed for the guests. A conch shell signaled Huff's arrival. She glided in on a traditional outrigger canoe wrapped in hanging heliconia flowers. Huff and Michael exchanged vows in a traditional Polynesian ceremony, featuring sacred Auti leaf handfasting, a symbolic wrapping in a tifaifai quilt and the bestowal of their new Tahitian name, Moanahau—meaning Ocean Peace. 'The ceremony was one of the most meaningful parts of the whole experience,' said Huff. 'We were wrapped in a tifaifai, a quilt that symbolizes love and unity. It was beautiful and spiritual, and felt completely aligned with who we are.' In lieu of rings, Huff and Michael received traditional Tahitian tattoos by renowned Lolo Tattoo to symbolize their union in advance of their ceremony. Five wedding guests received their own Tahitian tattoos as part of the celebration. Guests dined on lobster, ahi tuna tartare and chicken with tables set directly in the water. 'During dinner, sharks and stingrays swam around us the entire time,' said Huff. The wedding took place at the Niu Beach Hotel. Huff and Michael bought out the space, transforming it into a private wedding retreat. Guests came to the private island of Motu Tiahura by boat. Upon arrival, each guest received a custom welcome bag embroidered with their name courtesy of sponsors Vacation sunscreen, The Plug Drink, LulleVibes beach towels, Personalised Vacation bags, and Hanalei Company beauty. Throughout the week-long affair, there were special events, like traditional flower crown making, along with plenty of time to enjoy the stunning surroundings and a chance to swim face-to-face with humpback whales, in an experience similar to the one that so captivated the couple. Capping off the magical experience, just days after the ceremony, Huff and Michael went skydiving over the very island where they exchanged their vows. If was a fitting finale to a once-in-a-lifetime trip, cementing a future that feels like home.