Watching my two siblings spend all day on on their iPads reminds me of how different my childhood was. I remember spending my days playing with Barbies with my best friend, or pretending we were teachers. I watched cartoons on Disney Channel, PBS, and Nickelodeon instead of watching YouTube videos. Here are a few things to make you feel nostalgic and remind you what life was like before iPhones, iPads, and social media. It's unfortunate that the current generation is so wrapped up in technology that they haven't gotten to enjoy life outside of the little screen. But for those of us who had an awesome childhood, here are some memories to send you on a trip down nostalgia lane:
1. The landline/computer dilemma.
When I did get on the computer, I definitely didn't spend all day on it like my little siblings do, mostly because mom would kick me off when she had to make a phone call. Instant gratification definitely didn't exist because we had dial-up, which took so long to load even the simplest page.
2. Netflix DVDs.
Before the days of streaming, there was the Netflix queue. I distinctly remember being so excited to check the mail every day in hopes of getting the next disc in a series. Binge-watching did not yet exist, so we were a lot more productive back then.
3. Tamagotchi.
Call it a game if you want, but this small gadget taught responsibility. You had to feed your virtual pet, give it water, and play with it as if it were real. This game prepped you to take care of an actual animal.
4. AOL and Yahoo Messenger.
Before I had an unlimited texting plan on my flip phone, this was my primary method of communication. My best friend and I talked about serious topics through messenger, like our middle school crushes.
5. Blockbuster.
Before Netflix became popular, this was how everyone watched the latest movies. Today's kids will never understand how exciting it was when your parents let you go to Blockbuster to pick out a movie or two. They even had every movie snack you could think of near the register, but as I'm sure most moms did, my mom always said we had snacks at home. My heart was truly broken when Blockbuster went out of business.
6. Heelys.
Forget hoverboards, Heelys were the way to get around back in the early 2000s. I saved up money until I could finally afford these awesome shoes, and then learned to ride them on my kitchen tile. When I finally learned, I took them for a ride throughout the aisles of Walmart. Sadly, I outgrew them fairly quickly. Some stores killed all the fun and put signs up that said they weren't allowed in the stores.
7. Portable CD players.
Before iPods, iPads, and iPhones, you had to carry around one of these babies along with a few CDs if you wanted to listen to music in the car. There was no such thing as just getting a single song (unless you illegally downloaded it through LimeWire).
8. MASH.
We all played this with our friends at least once. We listed a few celebrities, along with our school crushes, and prayed that we would marry our crush. We were sad when we had to live in a shack with 30 kids.
9. Kid Pix.
Going to computer class in elementary school was the best whenever Kid Pix was the activity for the day. This was back when creativity and art were still important to schools. We could make crazy art pieces with 3D stickers, paint, draw, and do just about everything art-related you could think of.
10. Playing outside.
Believe it or not, we actually played outside when we were kids. When Mom and Dad got mad, they told us to "go play outside or something" instead of telling us to go to our room. They told us to stop going in and out because we were letting flies in and wasting the A.C. Those of us who were more fortunate would play on our swing sets or in our playhouses.
