Boomers have not just lived history. They have experienced things Gen Z honestly thinks are made up. Phones with wires, milk in glass bottles, and channels on TV that had a specific time to go live? Pure madness. Life back then seemed like another planet! Those were days when life was slower, louder, and both tougher and simpler. Here are 7 things Boomers remember vividly… that Gen Z would swear were urban legends.
The Encyclopedia Was Google
Before saying “just Google it,” people actually had to work out how to look things up. Like… physically. The encyclopedia took up a whole shelf. They cost you a small fortune. And crazy of it all is that the encyclopedia went out of date faster than milk sitting on the table. Working on assignments at school involved flipping through dusty volumes instead of just asking ChatGPT. Gen Z would literally cry if they had to read that many pages.
Getting Lost – and Staying Lost
Before Google Maps and sharing locations, a person could get lost for hours, and nobody cared. You missed your turn? Too bad. You guessed or pulled your car over to take out that giant paper map that also took up your whole car. You didn’t text that you were coming (omw) or whatever it is. You just showed up when (and if) you figured it out.
Standing Up to Change the Channel
No remote controls. No Netflix. No “next episode in 5 seconds.” If you want to change the channel, you stand up and turn a chunky dial like a caveman turning a stone wheel. Plus, there were only six or so channels. If nothing was good, it didn’t matter. Gen Z definitely couldn’t survive this inconvenience (and even try physical activity).
The Pure Terror of Nuclear Drills
Fire drills? Forget it – Boomers practiced for nuclear war. There were sirens blaring, kids would hide under a desk (like that’d actually save them), and everyone just… went along with it. Imagine being eight years old, practicing for the apocalypse in between spelling tests. Gen Z panics when the Wi-Fi goes out; Boomers were literally preparing for fallout. Same anxiety. Different era.
Requesting Songs with Radio Stations
Forget playlists; Boomers called the DJ on the radio station to request songs. They’d sit beside the landline, dial endlessly, praying to get through before “Total Eclipse of the Heart” ended. If you were lucky, you heard your name dedicated on the air – and the entire Town did too. Gen Z just adds it to Spotify. Boomers? They flirted with fate and a radio host called ‘Rick’.
Waiting Weeks for Photos to Develop
Taking pics was serious business. If you took pictures, you could neither delete nor review the angles (and certainly couldn’t retake) – and just hope for the best! You took 24, prayed for the best, and waited almost a week for the pictures to be developed. Half of the photos would be blurry, and someone (always) had their eyes closed at the wrong moment. If Boomers saw instant selfies from Gen Z, their minds would have been completely blown.
Meeting with Friends without a Text First
No group chats, no “share my location.” You simply showed up, hoping that the rest of the group remembered. And if they didn’t? You waited. Outside. Alone. Baby boomers nailed patient waiting, not by design, but out of need. You couldn’t just go on someone’s Instagram Story to see where they were. Either you found them, or you didn’t. We lived in a real-life scavenger hunt, and it worked!
9 Things Older Generations Did That Gen Z Calls ‘Trauma’
Boomers call it “character building.” Gen X refers to it as “it toughened us up.” But Gen Z? They’re calling it — trauma. The things older generations dismissed as “normal” are now being side-eyed as controlling, damaging, or just plain weird.
9 Things Older Generations Did That Gen Z Calls ‘Trauma’