Technology is changing the way we interact with the world at a breakneck speed—and with the rapid pace of change, some of the things that were a part of the landscape of everyday life are disappearing forever.
Chances are, your kids will never go to a store to rent a movie, buy a CD or develop a roll of film. (Wait, they might ask—what’s film?)
And as if the world isn’t changing quickly enough, here are seven more things kids today will never experience.
Doorknobs
Already verboten in Vancouver, doorknobs are going the way of the dodo, in favour of more accessible lever handles. Faucets with knob temperature controls, too, are being legislated out of existence, to be replaced by—you guessed it, levers. Folks with arthritic hands will have an easier time, no doubt—and those pretty cut-glass doorknobs you find in old turn-of-the-century homes might make pretty, if heavy, Christmas tree ornaments.
Phone books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias
We were tempted to make this item “books” generally, but kids are still reading real books for the time being—just not for reference purposes. With the advent of Google, reference books are firmly a thing of the past.
Getting lost
This is probably a good thing. It’s almost impossible to get lost nowadays, at least anywhere that’s within range of a cellphone tower—and places with no signal are getting harder and harder to find. But that means kids will never know the deep satisfaction that comes with folding a map correctly on the first attempt. Or from the freeing feeling of adventure that comes with occasionally getting lost. And although most smartphones have a compass feature, most kids won’t actually know how to use it—or, in fact, what it is.
Rolling down car windows
This is closely related to “leaning over to unlock someone’s door.” And, for that matter, “opening the car by putting a key in the lock.” And even “starting the car with a key.” Boy, driving has changed since the days of no air conditioning, no airbags, no seatbelts and one radio station that the entire car had to listen to.
Watches
Sure, people wear watches these days, but it’s a lot more common to hear someone say, “I don’t know what time it is because I can’t find my phone”—two seemingly unrelated phrases that now make perfect sense.
A ninth planet
OK, so you couldn’t really see Pluto while stargazing anyway—but at least you knew it was there. It’s still there, of course, but its lustre has diminished somewhat now that it’s been demoted to “dwarf planet.”
Back-facing seats in the trunks of station wagons
Or riding in trunks in general. Or belting in three kids with one seatbelt. Ah, the good ol’ days—ones which made even the long ride to the cottage much more interesting with hours of fun making faces out the back window. Of course, new safety regulations exist for a reason, and we’d never question them, but you have to admit: there’s at least a hint of fondness in that memory of the time you fit too many of your friends in the backseat.
What other things will your kids never experience? Do you think they’re missing out?
