They say that children are the future. But are the youths of today really equipped to handle such a daunting task, especially when most of them have no idea about how the world worked only a few years ago? Here is a list of some common practices that were once second nature to us, but are now almost unheard of to our millennial counterparts.
Late Fees
Charging late fees was not only a lucrative component to a company’s business model, it was also a novel form of consumer self-discipline. If you keep that un-rewound VHS copy of The Little Mermaid for 24 hours longer than the due date on your Blockbuster receipt, you pay a penalty. Some people fought the system, but most, unperturbed by such measly financial repercussions, would simply throw their loose change at the pimply desk clerks and restock their baskets. Now, with the dissolution of Blockbuster and libraries, young people everywhere are becoming more oblivious to the consequences of selfishness.
Depositing a cheque. In a bank.
Apparently, the Federal Reserve received all of our letters, where we said: “We want to be bank tellers!” Today, almost every reputable financial institution in the western world offers a mobile app that lets you take a picture of a cheque, and have its amount automatically entered into your account, further denying millennials the opportunity to take initiative, get exercise, or learn any basic math skills outside of the classroom.
(Photo by haveboard via Flickr Creative Commons)
Asking a stranger to take your picture
Thanks in part to the invention of the (asinine) selfie-stick, travelling alone, or in large groups, will never be the hassle it once was for our generation (but was it ever really a hassle?) Don’t bother trying to strike up a conversation with a potentially new, lifelong friend. Instead, pull that embarrassing monstrosity out of your bag, attach it to your phone, and snap yourself silly in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Turning the page of a book
Not too long ago, some tech-savvy philistine decided that reading a book was too archaic and evolved for his / her highly complex and busy lifestyle. Enter, the eBook reader, which, almost overnight, changed everything about the way we read (a rudimentary part of everyday life that did not need changing at all). Nowadays, you can find Dr. Seuss on tablets in pre-schools, and thirteen-year-olds swiping the digital pages of US Weekly on their mobiles during homeroom.
(Photo by Andrew Hyde via Flickr Creative Commons)
Personals Ads
As with everything else, there’s an app for meeting your future soul mate. Youths today can find their perfect match with just a few button clicks, never having to sift through the dreary columns at the back of the weekend paper. (The personals at the back of NOW Magazine? Those are fun for everyone.)
(Photo by Wayan Vota via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Main photo by César via Flickr)
