Gen X Things Gen Z Can No Longer Do

[@radgraham]

What are some things I missed we Gen X used to do that Gen Z don't do anymore? 🤙

[@Ronnie_S]

Shopping at Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us, Radio Shack.

[@radgraham]

@Ronnie_S Kmart in 80s was awesome! 🤙

[@Ronnie_S]

I remember up to the mid 90s Kmart was still pretty awesome! I do miss it!

[@pipkinrahl7264]

Use a C.B., count back change properly, memorize a phone number, collect and/or play with the stickers from publisher's clearing house, actually learn how to type as a class without looking at your fingers, get paddled by the principal, get up to change the channel for dad, go to the store to buy cigarettes for parents with a note. I'm sure I'll think of more later.

[@miar659]

Making a mix tape of your favourite music recorded from the radio.

[@southwind73]

Prank phone calls before caller ID.

[@radgraham]

@southwind73 oh man! Can't believe I forgot about those🤣🤣 I loved listening to the Jerky Boys tapes back in the day. 🤙🤙

[@AF_1892]

In Jr. High, prank calling was so much fun. I chose an older popular girl, big sister of one of my friends to mess with. One time she said, "is this _______ ______? I hung up. But we pranked her still after that. And if you don't know how to write out a check for up to 10k that is kind of sad. The morning cereal box sucked. I finally got my basketball thing. It was soaked in diesel fuel and it generally sucked. I thought to myself I should have just bought it myself.

[@khalaq2]

"Do you have Prince Albert in a can? You'd better let him out!" "Is your refrigerator running? You'd better go catch it!" "Is there a John in your residence? No? Where do you go, then? In the sink?"

[@radgraham]

@@khalaq2 🤣🤣

[@chaddeez8446]

​@@khalaq2lol I haven't heard those in a while. We would call and say "My goat is in your garden..." We would call this old lady down the street and she would tell us to come get it out!😂

[@JohnQPublic345]

The music was the best memory I have. Born in '70. We'd ride bikes all day long, through city traffic, dumpster dive, barley a sip of water for 6 hours. Went to public pool for fun. No parents.... no phone

[@findlestick]

Also, we (Xers) used to be able to just go anywhere knowing we couldn’t be contacted until we got back home. That’s the thing I miss the most, nowadays you’re expected to be contactable 24/7, you’re even hearing about problems at work when you’re on holidays ffs.

[@radgraham]

@@findlestick agree 💯

[@gregkral4467]

precisely why I refused to carry a phone with me unless driving long distance, they can frikkin wait until I get back..... but that was until about a year ago, let it deactivate and left it off, not spendin that for a couple of frikkin telemarketers a few times a month. I will go see people in person if required, or borrow a phone if ever need to, check email now and again, and mail about twice or thrice a year. Despise phones. But hey, got a CB radio (in storage room) in case of emergency if can't crawl to help somehow, but then again.... if ya can't..... is a good day to die.

[@aan7215]

Gen X here. We used to get toys in our breakfast cereals. There was always a fight with siblings to be the one that got the toy inside the box!

[@radgraham]

@aan7215 agreed. Shoot if they still did them in boxes I'd probably buy boxes of cereal again lol🤙🤙

[@CoreDump451]

In my country, they kept doing that till the early 2010s

[@TreshaVanNatter-zn8jk]

Also we got a toy in a box of Cracker Jacks and if you just got a sticker you were disappointed. The tattoos in the box were cool to get too. Lol. Simpler toys but fun times and awesome memories. I was born in 1970 so I’m a proud GenXer.

[@BennyMcGibbon]

Remember those toy plastic submarines you got in the cereal boxes? You had to put baking soda and water in it so it would move around in the bath.

[@radgraham]

@TreshaVanNatter-zn8jk thanks for the comment 🤙🤙I ate a lot of Cracker Jacks

[@BryantWalker-m6e]

Paper maps can't be taken out with EMPs

[@Theomite]

See also: Books, abacuses, rulers, magnifying glasses, camera film, vinyl records, playing cards, typewriters, board games, cash, filing cabinets and manila folders. Among other things.

[@2xtreem4u]

@@Theomite 2 speed manual record players

[@Theomite]

@@2xtreem4u Yeah but you still need power for the speakers.

[@2xtreem4u]

@@Theomite there is no powered speaker on it

[@Theomite]

@@2xtreem4u That's what I mean. The speakers would have to be separate and powered. Also, now that I think of it, wouldn't an EMP take out the wires in the head?

[@jonathangriffin8060]

Gen-Xer here. I am glad that we lived the way we did and what we have accomplished with what we had. We were the DIY generation. Growing up was not easy, but we will always love the memories and enjoy them to the fullest.

[@radgraham]

Absolutely! MacGyver helped us also 🤣🤣Thanks for commenting 🤙

[@TommyZeus-i8n]

@@radgraham "Thanks MacGyver for saving the world with a battery and two wires."'😜

[@vegetashairline3060]

Gen z is the struggle generation because of your generation and your parents. 🤷‍♂️ We didn't have a shot. And then y'all just stay dumb shit and blame us like you would have done better with yourself when the average house is over 400,000 dollars and the minimum wage hasn't gone up in almost two decades

[@vegetashairline3060]

Screw y'all generation and your parents generation. Y'all brag like y'all didn't have it easy AF while gen Z is struggling because of yalls generations. We can't afford anything, self harm is through the roof, the average house is over 400,000 dollars, wages have stagnated like crazy, and all y'all do is say moronic stuff like: "y'all can't sign a check" or "pull yourself up from your boot straps" as your generations rob us blind by up charging ever little thing in life while paying us pennies on pennies on pennies of a dollar. Y'all act all high and might but who's job was it to teach the younger generations and keep things together? Not ours, we are living the hell y'all set up for us.

[@richardcarte]

Every generation has their own versions of the negatives of life and the positives of life. No one generations versions of the negatives of life or the positives of life makes that generation any worse or any better than any other generation.

[@thomasclark5803]

1981 here. I appreciate that you mentioned both cursive and using paper maps because those are both things I make a point of working with my 10 year old niece on when she visits. We practice with her reading and writing cursive. If she wants to go some place (especially some place she’s never been before) I will put a physical map on the table; if she can find the destination and plot a route, we go. I’ll be damned if she grows up to be completely helpless.

[@radgraham]

@thomasclark5803 that's really awesome you do that. I'm sure she really enjoys that🤙

[@TeeBee-yj5tt]

My 20 year old nephew couldn't take us in a direction and even when I gave him the direction we live in and the two other ones. His first time yelling at me and told me to just tell him or point. He couldn't take us back home. He said which way at the corner and I said north. He threw a fit because he didn't even understand east, south, north, and west. 😢😢😢😅

[@radgraham]

@TeeBee-yj5tt 🤣😆

[@JodyBruchon]

*I have the ultimate car theft prevention mechanism: A MANUAL TRANSMISSION.*

[@AZgirl1996]

LOL How true there! Just imagine someone trying to steal a car, only to have it continually stall out cuz they have no clue how to drive it!

[@Arnsteel634]

Oh so true

[@kevinbenoit7167]

If you have a car with a key they be lost.

[@ak5659]

When I was young it was embarrassing not to know how to drive a manual.

[@wolfdesikan1766]

I see your manual transmission and raise you a kicker only Harley.

[@PackinStackin]

Really old millennial here. (41) Grew up with all this stuff here. Outside rode bikes. First truck was a standard. Had corded phones. Wrote checks, money orders. Paper maps in my truck when I started driving in 1998. There was no google maps or anything like it. Just a few examples. The early 80s millennials are pretty much forgotten. grew up like late Gen X. Started school in the 80s and grew up during the 90s. No social media or smartphones in our hands.

[@radgraham]

@@PackinStackin I agree. I think the Gen X date range should go to 89.

[@AF_1892]

y younger sister was still technically gen x (1981). She was pretty worthless playing fort, or shooting rocks at neighborhood boys rolling up to my 2 story fort. I still feel guilty, one time, I was 5, the top story slid off and she was on it. Did anyone tell mom? No. She was rewarded by getting to play in the neighbors sandbox with me. We decided to bury her up to her neck in sand. We thought it was hilarious. I still think so. Poor little sister. She could actually drive stick. Duh I can, but my Lightning only comes in automatic. Edit: I was the track meet/all athletics school and pasture party DJ. In 1st grade, I got 2 boys who gave me personal valentines. I panicked and just passed them down the aisle, like when the teacher hands out papers. I don't know why, I totally had a crush on both of those boys. I feel bad about that.

[@TreshaVanNatter-zn8jk]

My niece was born I. 1983 and so she basically grew up with us gen-xers since I was only 13 and my brother was 11. She hung out with us because we took her everywhere with us. She has ridden the back of many trucks , used rotary phones, played outside til dark and about anything a gen - xer did.

[@nriamond8010]

This generation thing is getting way out of hand in my eyes. People shouldn't take it too serious - life did not change over night at New Year's Eve. There are similar patterns and experiences but the "we against them" mentality is not helpful for anyone.

[@CyclingM1867DubbysMama]

​@@nriamond8010true. I do find it interesting to compare the differences from when I grew up to now and how young people are today compared to when I was in my teens and twenties, but a lot of people aren't like the stereotypes of their generations. I'm GenX and know a lot of Millenials and some GenZ and Alphas who don't fit into what their generations have become known for.

[@jogould1045]

Yep number one rule. DO NOT say something behind some ones back that you would not say to their face!!

[@radgraham]

@@jogould1045 💯

[@TeeBee-yj5tt]

I still live by it. ❤❤❤

[@Dreadfulwhaler]

I was very grateful to grow up with older boomer parents. I got raised with a rotary phone, no wifi, no dvds (did have a vcr though) and no real. Growing up with them and understanding first hand how different things were generations ago was an amazing experience.

[@radgraham]

@Dreadfulwhaler my mom was a your boomer when I was growing up but she was still able to explain life in the 50s and 60s to me. 🤙🤙

[@digitalgypsy1961]

Older Gen X here. I was raised by grandparents who raised my dad during the Great Depression. I was extremely fortunate. I really got some survival training. Lol! We did read the cereal boxes at breakfast. They always had puzzles or cartoons on them.

[@radgraham]

@@digitalgypsy1961 good time's 👍

[@evettebrown5877]

Technically a millennial or xennial but raised by grandparents born in 20 and 30. Best education ever.

[@vincecramer7950]

I would give all most anything to go back to the 80s and stay there

[@mattm1686]

O my gosh yes in a minute

[@wvguy3372]

This is where we is Gen X failed. We assumed incorrectly that the education system would give our kids life skills that we knew unfortunately, the education system is more like a reeducation system these days.

[@radgraham]

@@wvguy3372 or a no education system. Gonna be showing my 15 year old a bunch of new stuff myself since they won't teach it in school anymore.

[@elhombrebilingue]

I recall ordering pizzas, taxis, and a tow truck for my neighbors, none of which were needed. Then I'd peek out the window, watching the confusion as they all showed up at the same time 😂😂

[@radgraham]

@@elhombrebilingue damn lol🤣🤣🤙

[@cynthialongstreet2885]

😂😂

[@radgraham]

My wife just informed me she did the same thing 😆

[@Theomite]

You sir, are a hilarious menace.

[@Face761]

Gen X boys and girls knew how to party hard together respectively. House parties, huge cookouts and block parties everywhere from state to state, you couldn't escape it! We also used to be able to call-in to the popular radio stations and request songs live on air. We had to memorize everybody's phone numbers too since we weren't glued to a smartphone.

[@radgraham]

@Face761 Absolutely. I tell my kids all the time to try and memorize numbers nowadays in case of an emergency. He at least knows mine and his mom's lol. Yes the parties were pretty epic🤘🤘

[@theofficialqueenofthebling]

Great memories!

[@radgraham]

@theofficialqueenofthebling yes ma'am they are🤙

[@StephenLawler-ux2vj]

Gen -x here.my school playground wasnt ground up tires or wood mulch, it was asphault

[@radgraham]

@@StephenLawler-ux2vj yep a nice little combo of gravel and asphalt. 🤙

[@nightfangs2910]

That's a major pet peeve of mine being a gen xer are the passive aggressive way kids are today yelling things from a distance, singing insults while walking by etc. we as gen xers got in each other's face and played it out and called it a day after that

[@elaineb7065]

Walk or ride a bicycle to school!!! Walk to a play area!!! Walk to a local shop!!! Walk to any after-school activity!!! Just walk somewhere!!! Including road sense & the fact you could. I saw something recently about a parent being reported to police because her child was walking home from somewhere, as if that was neglect. For Gen X, that was just what we did!!! In the States it will be worse due to so much more places you used to walk to & from now being virtually unwalkable, but even here I'm pretty disappointed how many people say they need to drive their children to anything. It's nuts!!!

[@turbopokey]

I remember back when they would put actual records on the back of cereal boxes, even though they were crap and would only last a couple of times before becoming useless.

[@radgraham]

@turbopokey oh snap I remember that now. Completely forgot about that. I played them on my Fischer Price record player🤣

[@turbopokey]

@@radgraham yeah, I'd bet you couldn't even get your hands on one nowadays as the cardboard box they were stamped on would have disintegrated by now. Let alone a record player. 😔

[@216Numbskull]

​@@turbopokey They also used to put photos of missing children on the side of milk cartons back in the day too! Just saying... ✌️😜

[@X7393]

X here 1973!! We were the lost generation the forgotten generation! 😮

[@beekarinsaan]

In 60s, 70s you could be out late at night as kids. I think it was 80s or later when parents wanted their kids home before dark.

[@jefesalsero]

"It's Ten O'clock. Do you know where your children are?"

[@EB1878]

@beek, yep, that's correct. My friend always told me too when it's so dark out that you can't see your hand in front of your face, then it's time to go home. 😊

[@jackuzi8252]

@@jefesalsero Exactly. It wasn't really our parents' idea, it was shamed into them. In the 80s, local newspaper bureaus got computers with modems, so every missing kid case could become national news the next day. In a country the size of the US, a kid disappearing at least for a while happened somewhere pretty often, but when the whole country read about every one, it became a kind of national paranoia.

[@RKmndo]

Many states/municipalities have curfews for minors.

[@texasforever7887]

​@RKmndo not many did before the 90s. That's a new thing.

[@Eniral441]

We didn't drink anywhere near as much water as Gen Z and Gen Alpha drink. They found that drinking so little water led to us often thinking we're hungry when we're actually thirsty. GenZ and Alpha always seem to have a water bottle with them. As a teacher, I like this. They don't have to leave the room to get adrink so often. I especially like the personal water bottles these day. Back when they were doing the "flipping bottles" think they were using water bottles that were not that sturdy. More than a couple of times that water bottle broke on impact 🙄. Plus, with the personal bottles, there's no my bottle flipping at inappropriate times.

[@Bob-zl4cb]

Some day Gen Z is going to be bragging to their grandchildren, when we were your age, we still had to think for ourselves.

[@radgraham]

@@Bob-zl4cb 🤣🤣that's a good one!

[@cynthialongstreet2885]

😂😂

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

This is more likely than you think. The next generation, may well be an AI assisted generation. AI on the phones, AI on the computers, AI in the schools, AI at work.

[@AJFresh69]

Sadly, Gen Z will see the full takeover

[@Rexhunterj]

@@Grumpy_old_Boot Neuralink also means AI in your brain.

[@bonniejeaneckler17]

My Millennial son's and Gen Z daughter were raised like Gen X by Gen X parents 🤘 .

[@davidmarlow8269]

Class of 81 here. So I started early, and my son was born in 84... so he's about 11 years old and he's hanging around the house and I say "Son ride that bad ass mt bike I bought you for your birthday " ... he begins to cry and I ask "Son what are you crying for?" And he says "I feel like you are punishing me " I say for making you go ride your bike!?" My mom would take away my bike not make me go ride it!

[@nancy27c]

We used to get yelled at while using the phone, "Don't stretch the cord." Because those built in phones didn't have plug and play cords, they were part of the whole phone.

[@Kenpachi546]

You’d be surprised at how many late Gen Z can relate to what you’ve said. I feel lucky to know how to use a rotary phone, drink out of the hose and use public transportation. There’s so many things that go against the younger generations. Schools dumbing things down, social media and especially the lockdowns impacting socialization. You have news media and celebrities telling you what’s right or wrong in extremes for views. So many of us grow up with absent or abusive parents. The added peer pressure from adults to be modern and sensitive instead of letting kids explore themselves and get hurt and wipe the dust off.

[@havocstormbringer1503]

I'm Gen X, 1968. I use to have a paper route. It was actually two routes in one. I think I was 12 years old when I started. We got our driver learner's permit at 15 1/2 and our license at 16. Though I learned to driver when I was 13 in an old dump truck and regularly drove it. My parents made me learn to recover from a spin out in snow and ice before I could get my permit since we live in the north. Practiced many times in the parking lot of an abandon recreation area in an old rusted out stick shift Plymouth Volare. I had to buy my own car at 16 yrs old to get to school and work. I bought a beat up Dodge Colt with no brakes for $90. Drove it home down shifting to slow down and roll to a stop. I had to buy a Chilton's manual to fix it myself. My mom gave me a pocket knife when I was around 12 years old, which I still have. I carried it with me everywhere. She said every boy should have a pocket knife. I carried it for protection since I lived in a pretty rough area. My uncle bought me my first bb gun, then a couple years later my first .22 rifle. He also taught me how a broke kid should shop the back lots of dealerships for an old cheap reliable car after seeing what I bought the first time. I don't think that method is a thing anymore. I think they ship them to auction fast now. I could go on and on, lol

[@radgraham]

@havocstormbringer1503 excellent comment. Very much appreciated. I had a pocket knife also. Still do lol.

[@19Marksman79]

I had a car wash business at 13. I earned about $100 a month which was a lot to a 13 year old in the early 90s. I took the bus to my client's houses, who were friend of a friend or friends of family. I saved my money and bought a beater 1982 Chevy Nova. I lived in a lower to middle class neighborhood where my friends all had beater cars. At age 16, any car would do. We used to call beater cars in those days "hoopties" in reference to the rapper Sir Mix A Lot.

[@radgraham]

@@19Marksman79 I still call beater cars hompties 😆 🤙

[@SqFtGardenGranny]

This was a fun video. Thank you for making it.

[@radgraham]

@@SqFtGardenGranny you're welcome 🤙

[@VespoLiveGaming]

Kids not being able to get through a school day without a $100 insulated water bottle is completely bizzare to me. Back in the day, if we didnt have water, we either just drank from the hose or went without it until we got home.

[@ChristianDuncan]

Wow, you're so special aren't you.

[@estebansteverincon7117]

Add to that: 1. Have an actual conversation 2. Talk on the phone 3. Socialize, in person 4. Form close, personal bonds You get the idea, lol.

[@radgraham]

@estebansteverincon7117 absolutely! 🤙

[@Hurkuhntreeks]

Those things will be lost forever I think. Their brains got wired that way

[@TeeBee-yj5tt]

I'm 80's and my child and nephews and nieces feel that showing them love is me needing them in my life. I don't even know how to respond to this because I operate the way I was taught family should and apparently they weren't. Being family is weird to them from their reactions to genuine interactions.😅😅😅😅

[@syzyphyz]

I'm a millennial born in 91, had to learn how to fold letters, write checks (pretty much never used the skill), write in cursive, etc. i do know how to drive stick because of the first car i ever drove but many millennials don't know how.

[@radgraham]

@syzyphyz yeah my 31 year old can write cursive and fold letters, although he said he never had to use it since computers and email were already a thing when he was a teen. Not sure if he can drive stick though. Thanks for the comment 🤙🤙

[@Lupo32]

Do Long Division

[@Xoulrath_]

My almost 25 year old kid jokes about how her car as an anti-theft device because it's a manual. She even has one of the Kia models that is easy to steal, and she still isn't worried because as she's put it, most adults her age or younger can't drive it anyway. 😂

[@radgraham]

@@Xoulrath_ absolutely 💯

[@jk-474]

@@Xoulrath_I have a 2000 Wrangler 5 speed manual, born in 1999. I was also a valet and I was one of our ONLY guys that could drive a stick vehicle when it came in 🤣🤣👏🏻

[@rothgvlogs4766]

Cant even walk home anymore like they did back then the world isnt how it used to be....

[@CNclov2005]

Feels like we have more crazy and sensitive people these days

[@prodigalpriest]

Oh, there were a lot of crazy people back in the 70''s and 80's. The difference between then and now is that back then there were psychiatric hospitals and other treatment options as opposed to now.

[@natese8406]

As a Millennial kid, I would disappear into the forest all day with my hatchet, bow and arrow, knife, etc. This was allowed by my Dad, but my Mom would never have allowed it. On Halloween, my mother was paranoid about some of our neighbors and would check our trick or treat candy because of something she had heard on TV, but she was ok with us walking to school and back. I recall an emphasis on "safety" on TV, in sports, and at school. Cars need to be made "safer", which many TV investigative program pushed. Football should be made "safe", again pushed for by TV. Dodge ball was too "dangerous" according to school administrators. At the same time the X games were pretty dangerous, but many of us loved to participate, and our parents supported it. If you ask me, the culture was being changed by institutions for whatever reason (maybe liability lawyers - there were many commercials pushing liability claims), rather than by the parents and kids.

[@faustina9328]

Didn't they let a bunch of people out of psychiatric hospitals in the 70s?​@@prodigalpriest

[@PALEHORSE75]

Lack of imagination. No sense of adventure. Groups of kids hanging at some spot off in a corner bothing no body. Wondering what crazy shit we would get into...

[@tommylatham9868]

"Borrow" lumber from a construction site to build bike or skateboard ramp, tree house, or fort back in the hills.

[@henrikpersson4371]

Electric tubes for blow "guns". : ))

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Each generation has it's uniqueness. Maybe us Gen'X-ers had more then previous or later. So many memories. :)

[@dvongrad]

I'm from the early years of Gen X. We could venture blocks away from home without the fear of being abducted. We also grew up with Archie Bunker and George Jefferson. Gen Z will never see that.

[@radgraham]

@@dvongrad moving on up to a New York apartment in the sky🤘

[@princessunicorn669]

Born in late 1965 here, so I’m first year Gen x and thank god, because I hate Boomers

[@MeJustMe101]

"Gen Z will never see that." We don't care.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Oh man ; the memories that those repesent are very important. I still have 2 of my 3 years of Annuals from High school. I still haven't been able to aquire a reprint / replacement for my Jr year annual.

[@radgraham]

I check ebay about once a week to see if one of my class yearbooks will pop up for sale. So far nothing 🤙

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

@@radgraham thank's

[@michaelb.8953]

I'm 54 years old and my 24 year old twins can stumble through reading cursive writing, but the only writing they can do with it is sign their name.

[@ericcriteser4001]

Playing by the creek, running in the woods, hopping on the bus and going downtown at age 13. In Detroit. 😂 Breakfast paid for with pop cans. Getting a job at age 16 cuz I wanted money. Much more. So much more.

[@radgraham]

@ericcriteser4001 absolutely. Sounds fun being able to take off to downtown. We road our bikes far but couldn't go too far🤙

[@LisaMacInnes]

No they are not teaching cursive here in Missouri. I stopped by truck stop to-get an atlas, they looked at me like I asked for something foreign. I was shocked!

[@eattheinvaders.3037]

1) All parks were free, state, county and local. Only paid fee for camp sites. Riding without seat belts and booster seats, bicycle helmets, knee and elbow pads. Riding in the camper, trailer, or back of a pickup. Sitting in your parents lap while they drive and let you pretend to drive. Painless, odorless, tincture of merthiolate; used as an antiseptic and commonly found in first aid kits. Using cash to pay for merchandise. Doing math in your head, or without aid of a calculation. Bringing home baked goods to school to share with the class. Parents were responsible for teaching kids with food allergies to be prudent and avoid certain foods: rather than it being everyone's responsibility to ensure no possible exposure by prohibiting everyone from having those foods. There wasn't home work before jr. high/ middle school. So many more things.......

[@holly42875]

Cursive writing is a thing of the past. My daughter can't even read my cursive.

[@radgraham]

@holly42875 yeah I've been told some good feedback about why they stopped. Said was a way to write faster, but since everyone uses a keyboard or touch screen to write they stopped teaching it. 😞

[@Eniral441]

I don't blame Gen X for letting the participation trophy thing happen, but we didn't change it back either. I graduated in 91, and they were already changing competitions to festivals and doing the participation trophies. It started with "competition is unhealthy for our kids". (My marching band state competition was changed to afestival my senior year because of this😠) That was Gen Jones all the way. However, if you go "inside" these things today, the Gen Z kids totally make them competitions. They keep track and check scores online, etc. Doesn't matter if its outside of school like dance and summer sports, or it's academic. I grew up in the 80s too and we had to make Valentines for the whole class too... at least at my schools. But we'd save the ones we liked best for our closest friends.

[@pinballnut-61]

Late boomer here 61. They wouldn't know how to play pinball. I saw your John Wick DVD's in the back. You should check out the new John Wick pinball machine.

[@radgraham]

@pinballnut-61 yes I'm a huge John Wick fan. Thanks for letting me know. I will have to check it out and find one🤙🤙

[@pinballnut-61]

@radgraham I just watched a short on YT of Keanu playing it, and he was very excited about it.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

The Boy Scout's let me experienced a lot - that newer generations probably wouldn't learn or want to learn.

[@nolagospeltracts8264]

Change a tire. Can't tell you how many times I had to run out to the parking lot and change a tire or replace a headlight bulb for my younger co-workers. One time I went out to jump start this young man's car, handed him his end of the cables and he had no idea what to with them.

[@radgraham]

@nolagospeltracts8264 🤣🤣🤣I did get to teach that a year ago to my youngest. Had a spare on from a flat and had to take it off to put the new one on. Was a great teaching moment. He was like wow dad I didn't know you knew how to do that. I'm like we kinda all knew how to do that. My dad didn't teach me though it was actually my mom. 🤙🤙

[@nolagospeltracts8264]

@@radgraham YEah, I learned to drive on a standard shift

[@nolagospeltracts8264]

@@radgraham Really sad how many gen Z'ers don't know how to anything mechanical. my brother and I built a Mustang 65 from the ground up when we were teenagers

[@radgraham]

@nolagospeltracts8264 me too. A little red a Toyota single cab truck with no A/C. I'm 6'4" and my knees hit the dash lol.

[@Shrouded_reaper]

​@@nolagospeltracts8264If you have seen the absolute nightmare that is working on modern cars, it's hardly surprising...

[@CoZiJoZi86]

I’m a millennial born in 1986 and I remember we had to take class in high school that taught us financial life skills like how to write a check and what you go through when you buy a house etc. etc. that’s so wild that younger generation Z‘s don’t know how to fold a letter and you’re totally right we definitely took it for granted

[@radgraham]

@amythystmoon864 I think anyone born in the 80s should be Gen X because you still grew up in the early 90s when alot of the 80s stuff was still a way of life. Thanks for commenting 🤙🤙

[@nataliemoraes2033]

I went to a Catholic school and we didn't even learn that!

[@hueysimon2726]

My dad insisted that I learn on stick. He said if you learn how to drive stick, you can drive anything. I love manual but don't own one anymore.

[@radgraham]

@@hueysimon2726 my mom said the same thing. 🤙🤙

[@wunclerlaufenbumcorneliusu7047]

One thing is working at the local factory and making decent money. (which we’re already starting to shutdown by the late 70s) Or not getting hassled by TSA. (Which although unpopular, is a prime example of freedom vs security)

[@radgraham]

@wunclerlaufenbumcorneliusu7047 absolutely. Gonna be doing a vlog next week on inflation today vs money we made back in the day and could live much better then. Thanks for the comment 🤙 👍

[@ashextraordinaire]

My sister (b. 1970) and I (b. 1979) have discussed one of the more bizarre traits of Gen Z and younger Millennials: no initiative to do research. They have ALL THIS INFORMATION instantly available to them, but in general, they have no clue how to find what they need to answer the questions they have. Her kids do it. My younger coworkers do it. It's wild! But then I remember that they *didn't* grow up with the card catalogue and the set of encyclopedias in the library. They never had to learn how to conduct research. I feel bad for them! Mad respect for that clip from UHF. To this day, "Wheel of Fish" plays in my head at least once a day.

[@radgraham]

@@ashextraordinaire today we are teaching poodles how to fly😆😆

[@ashextraordinaire]

@@radgraham Turtles... are nature's suction cup!

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

It's not that strange, when you think about it - All they have to do nowadays, is ask Google how to do it ! _"Google, how do I put a piece of paper into an envelope ?"_ and they get a KZbin video, explaining how to do it. And if they actually ask a human, they will be frowned upon, and told to _"Go do your own research, kid, google can give you like half a million results!"_ And it will probably become even more pronounced with AI assistants.

[@Eniral441]

As a teacher I can say they know how to research, they just choose the easy way. I make them look it up. Some of my students would come in having researched all kinds of things outside of school work...history of tanks, how to theoretically create a REAL lightsaber, or all of the science about why homework is bad for you 😂). It's a matter of what they think is worth their time to research. It's more efficient to ask you, unfortunately. As teachers, we had to figure out and teach kids how to recognize good sources too. So don't let them get away with skimping.

[@ashextraordinaire]

@@Eniral441 Is that what it is? They just choose not to exercise their own faculties? I quit teaching after a year and never looked back. Clearly, I didn't enjoy answering their questions, especially the ol' chestnut "why do we need to learn this?" and its close companion "when are we going to use this in the real world?" (I taught English.)

[@nelsonrogers69]

GenX here, our younger generations are soft because we still do everything for them. When they don't show up for work you can guarantee some GenX dude does his job too.

[@robertstevenson9441]

In Australia we call🎉it running writing

[@ChrisBright-qj6yx]

It was such an achievement to get your pen license and learn cursive! An actual tested skill in your education.

[@radgraham]

@@ChrisBright-qj6yx agreed. I still write in cursive every day in my journal.

[@kendradorman6014]

I work with a lot of Gen Z and I always have to remind myself of the little details of life that they have never needed to know. Having 2 Gen Z kids myself I am finding so many things I need to teach them before they turn 18. My daughter is the only person in her little friend group who can read an actual clock. It’s crazy!

[@radgraham]

@kendradorman6014 Wow. Forgot about clocks. 👍

[@SHANECatLovinActivistHistorian]

i had never heard of cursive writing not being used anymore? When and where and how? What do they write with now? Do the print each letter?

[@radgraham]

About 10 years ago in most schools. My 21 year knows cursive and learned in school but my 15 year old doesn't know and is not taught in school. They literally type everything on their Chromebook and write very little. 🤙

[@charleskennedy8548]

I just turned 69 . Growing up now is totally deferent . I would get suspended for fighting , then get an ass wiping for getting suspended when I got home .

[@radgraham]

@@charleskennedy8548 two in one day, me too🤣

[@sethlaplante221]

Speaking of maps, my son is GenZ, and he had school project once to draw or print Texas on to a larger poster board. My wife was going to go to Kinko's and a map of Texas printed on a larger poster board, I said it say draw it, so I hand drew it with a legend, he's was the only hand drawn and he got bonus points for that reason!

[@radgraham]

@@sethlaplante221 awesome!

[@sethlaplante221]

@@radgraham and I turned 51 on July 3rd.

[@radgraham]

@@sethlaplante221 Happy Belated birthday! 🎂

[@sciencelover3339]

Millennial here. I Know how to fold an envelope (never had to learn this one. I think I just figured it out?). But I didn't know how to mail a letter until I started paying my bills. I learned how to do this in elementary school but I never actually used this skill until I was in college, because most places had the option to pay online. I still have to google where everything goes on the envelope. I didn't know how to write a check until I started paying rent. I can drive a stick, because I learned how to drive on a manual car. But that's pretty unusual. Reading paper maps is a challenge. I don't have too much experience with that, but the few times I tried were a disaster lol. My dad used paper maps when I was a kid. But I hardly ever had to use one myself, if ever. I got participation trophies/certificates.

[@radgraham]

@sciencelover3339 yeah my daughter has never had to pay a bill with a check and in the mail. Pays the few bills she has, rent, Dr.s, electricity etc all online. We had a form of participation things but were more like certificates of achievement. Never just an award for just participating but for the achievement of something. Whether that achievement was small or not. Thanks for commenting. Much appreciated 🤙

[@TakenTook]

The Valentine thing might have varied by district. I was in elementary school in the 70s, and we already (in my public school district) were told to bring a Valentine for every single person in the class so nobody would feel left out. If you wanted to bring special Valentines for certain people that was allowed, but everybody else had to be given at least one of the little mass produced Valentines that came in boxes of 30.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

UK GenXer here. The one about Cheques (Checks in the US) is funny to me, because while they are technically still out there in the UK, we (the general public) basically stopped using cheques 2 or 3 decades ago and for many a long time before that. I think I might have written a cheque in the mid 1990s but used them so rarely, my bank stopped sending me new cheque books, as I'd only used about 20 since my account was opened. Some UK businesses still use cheques though.

[@radgraham]

@Thurgosh_OG they are rare for personal use in the US, but for business they are used daily for payment. Although printed by a computer and few hand written. Was just at the grocery store a few days back and the guy in front of me was writing a check to pay. Thanks for commenting 🤙🤙

[@2xtreem4u]

@@radgraham if i wanted to cash a check in Sweden you would be out of luck no bank in Sweden cashes foreign checks

[@radgraham]

@@2xtreem4u wow

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

​@@2xtreem4u yeah, same in Denmark ... also .. we can only get physical money from machines now, no physical bank have physical money anymore.

[@2xtreem4u]

@@Grumpy_old_Boot i can go to one chain of stores and deposit and withdraw money at the cash register (they are also a bank)

[@Chadsstickystuffakaglue]

Taking my bike an ride it down the creek an being wet an muddy. Being told to strip down before you came inside the house 😊😊😊😊

[@carolhicks3670]

Baby boomer here. I am hardwired to answer a ringing phone because when I was growing up there were no answering machines and you didn't know who was on the phone unless you physically answered. You could do star 21 but that would cost $.50 and your dad would get mad at you for wasting money. 27:23

[@radgraham]

@@carolhicks3670 lol. No one was allowed long distance calls in my house.

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

@@radgraham to be fair, long distance calls could be hellishly expensive !

[@arisaga822]

Toying with the phone cord was the most satisfying thing in the world.

[@radgraham]

@@arisaga822 🤣😆🤙

[@faithinjesus7817]

When we were elementary school kids we stayed out until dark, built tree forts, riding our bikes all over, going to the lake, creating things to play with, and just over all being free.

[@thatonepolicesong]

Millennial here- I have two gen z coworkers and I recently took it upon myself to show them how to fill out a check and how to address and stuff a letter to mail, and explained how stamps were per lb. And how to postal system works, and their minds were blown. Side note: they didn’t even need to do this for any reason I just happened to ask if they knew how, because I was curious. And was like let me teach you this life skill just so you know. One girl told me that her mom constantly asks how she knows things and she tells her a girl from work teaches her stuff and that made me sad that her mom knows she doesn’t know and then is like, “how do you know that?!” As if it’s some secret knowledge to not share. 🤦‍♀️ I love this message though. It’s so important. be kind to each other and have understanding and share stories and knowledge with each other. I know there’s so much I learn from them, as well. ❤❤

[@radgraham]

@thatonepolicesong I absolutely love your comment. Thanks so much and glad to see you teaching the younger Gen some stuff. 🤙

[@Novaximus]

Dad's job was to drive and pretend that he didn't study the map for 20 minutes before a trip. It's the kids job to be the navigator. You always had to have your own state road map in the car as common glove box necessities. Flash light, street map, napkins, car manual, car documents, tire pressure gauge and a pen. Maybe some unpaid parking tickets.

[@meuconmyeuc1337]

18:00 I think you mean ding doing Ditch. 🙂 I was in elementary school in the 80s and I had to bring Val cards for the whole class of about 30-40 students. It felt weird.

[@radgraham]

@@meuconmyeuc1337 yep

[@DinoNut88]

The younger generation don't know how to: cook outside, build shelters/hideouts, grow food, cook, build and maintain buildings/structures etc

[@kenny832]

Gen Xer - my sister used to walk me a mile to school - she was 6 & I was 5

[@tucsonbandit]

SLAM books were also pretty brutal in middle school. They also were an early form of social media. I think some schools eventually tried to ban them.

[@DanPittel]

Gen X’r here! An have a 13yr ol’ daughter that refuses to ride a Bike? From the Time I got up until the street lights came On. I was paired to my bike!

[@radgraham]

@@DanPittel no doubt. Me too🤙

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

How to adress an envelope so it can be delivered.

[@timprussell]

The great thing about knowing manual transmission is you might be rusty but you don't forget. On a trip to Italy this year I drove a VW T-Cross 5-speed. I think it was a 1L turbo. Fun little car, hadn't driven a stick in about 15 years but didn't stall it and smoothed out after a few min. My sons will reach driving age soon, maybe find a manual hatch so they learn the ancient skill.

[@radgraham]

@timprussell right that's like the only thing you think about at first.....just don't stall out🤣🤣

[@jackuzi8252]

Yep, that's the catch. Lots of GenX parents know how to drive stick, but you have to have one to pass the skill on.

[@finegamingconnoisseur]

Finding your way on the road using hardcover map directories is probably another skill that Gen Zers may or may not know.

[@ADuvall-White]

My state just passed a law that schools are now required to teach cursive again starting in the 24-25 school year. Kids have to know how to by 3rd grade.

[@radgraham]

@@ADuvall-White wow. I think that's awesome. What state?

[@ADuvall-White]

@@radgraham Kentucky

[@radgraham]

@@ADuvall-White nice. Thanks for letting me know.

[@charliemare8363]

Gen X here, I was tough on my kids so that they can get along without me and be self reliant. They hated me for it but they are survivors.

[@ReapTheChaos]

I don't recall anyone teaching me how to mail a letter, that's one of those things you just pick up on your own. People today may not send mail often, but you still get bills, bank statements, and plain old junk mail every day, and it typically comes folded inside an envelope. It comes down to situational awareness, which is severely lacking in todays youth.

[@radgraham]

@@ReapTheChaos agreed 👍

[@MickSupper]

I learned how to fold letters in school. One thing I didn't learn in school was how to write a check or anything useful for everyday living. That's one thing that hasn't changed. (graduated highschool in 93).

[@vernonharden]

Many gen Z when it comes to things such as with banking does it online now. Which means many would be lost if something happened to our modern electronic ways of doing things.

[@WhoDat_1]

@@ReapTheChaos yes, it's a disturbing trend I've noticed: kids no longer problem-solve. They literally wait for their phone to tell them what to do, what to think even.

[@Rexhunterj]

I haven't received a paper bill for 7 years in Australia, I'm a 33 year old Gen Y/Millenial. I'm not so sure the zoomers will deal with bills the same way we did when I was younger.

[@IAmMajor101]

'71 GEN X-er here. Because we were taught how to read--we were entertained by our brains. We had to learn to make our own decisions and think for ourselves because we were left to our own devices on a regular basis. Today's generations are easier to control by politicians/hollyweird due to the fact that they do not have these critical thinking skills. Historical and personal records written in cursive are now lost information. Valentines Day taught us how to deal with disappointment. FYI--Thanks for the tip about not getting your car stolen...my first cat was a stick shift.😎

[@radgraham]

@IAmMajor101 awesome comment 🙏 thanks so much for watching and I agree 💯

[@wild1971child]

one other thing is i don't see kids "hanging out" we used to hang out at burger king or the mall in my teen years. also another note on school you can't bring birthday invites for just your friends. if you want to bring invitations to school you have to bring it for the whole class.

[@radgraham]

@wild1971child my 15 year old has a group of close friends that typically, every day after school, they go either to a McDonald's or Burger King by their school. Cool to see they do it. 🤙

[@bethchaisson2375]

Having grown up as a Gen-X and within the Hurrican prone coast, learning how to read a map was essential. I've used Google maps and it's amazing, but having survived Hurricane Irma and Ian, knowing how to read a paper map is essential since there's no way of knowing what the hurricane will do to the area it will hit. Will people have any form of internet or cell reception?

[@radgraham]

@bethchaisson2375 probably not. We lost internet here in Texas a few weeks back for Hurricane and we were nowhere near the storm🤙

[@bethchaisson2375]

@@radgraham The joke here in Florida right now is this, when us Gen-Xrs go into a retirement home we'll use cursive writing as a form of code to send notes to each other like we did in school. This is because no one will be able to read what we write.

[@radgraham]

@@bethchaisson2375 😆🤣...do you me? Check yes, no, or maybe lol

[@willaimmurphy7878]

We didn't use lawn darts. We were using real darts. Chunk them high into the air about 100 yards apart. We tried to dodge them or catch them. I got one stuck in my thigh. Just like playing wall ball and bb gun wars. So much fun back in the day

[@Chadsstickystuffakaglue]

My first truck was a stick a 1986 Ford ranger

[@greerstirling9665]

My mom has a picture of us four from the back eating breakfast and we all have a box of cereal in front of us

[@radgraham]

@greerstirling9665 good times🤙crazy how fun it was to read those while eating cereal.

[@starscreamthecruel8026]

Record stores. Going into the store, picking out a record and listening to it in a booth BEFORE you bought the album. That disappeared real damn fast. The try before you buy, was such an awesome idea and you could do it with cassettes too. By the time CDS came out, this practise had gone.

[@BladeObssession]

We had to transition from listening to albums, then 8 tracks, then cassettes, then CDs. Also VHS to dvd to streaming. Also we had to do term papers by going to the library and using books and encyclopedias and having to learn the Dewey decimal system

[@radgraham]

@@BladeObssession we definitely lived through many developments in technology. 🤙🤘

[@MasterMalrubius]

@@radgrahamWe regularly had to repurchase our favorite music several times!

[@vernonharden]

I'm a boomer, but the part referred to by some as generation Jones. I remember people transitioning from reel to reel, to cassette, then to eight track, and back to cassette. I also remember records and albums. Some people would have a combination of at least two and even all three.

[@radgraham]

@vernonharden I do not have a reel to reel but have multiple tape players, 8 Track, and 2 turntables. My stepdaughter had a reel to reel though so I did get to grow up with one🤘

[@BladeObssession]

@@vernonharden Yeah and I remember my parents watching some old 8mm films of their wedding and also I almost forgot about laserdisc too

[@hjackson.92]

Valentine's Day? I remember up until 4th grade everyone had to get cards for everyone in the class. 5th and 6th grade we didn't do any celebration of Valentine's Day for the most obvious of reasons. From 7th grade on up kids got cards only for boyfriends or girlfriends. Some who had a crush on someone else bought a card (and sometimes flowers and candy), but that was about it. No one else participated. That's how it actually went during the '80s and early '90s.

[@vttechie]

In a digital world, cursive was not needed and dropped. But there is something elegant in the cursive.

[@hueysimon2726]

Losing just makes you learn more and try harder. The man that taught me chess never let me win. But it made me a better player. Adults back then didn't believe in letting the kids win just because they were kids.

[@WhoDat_1]

I miss the prizes that came in cereal boxes. As a kid it was a choice between which cereal did I like the most vs. which one had the best prize inside

[@radgraham]

@WhoDat_1 absolutely. Even if it was Raisin Bran 😆

[@adriancamano777]

I learned on a stick when I was 12 back in 1979

[@freecat1278]

These days only a postal carrier knows how to find a street address. Uber/taxi drivers/medical transport will stop on the other side of an apartment complex wherever the GPS tells them to stop & you have to go find them. Sometimes they leave before you find them & you have to call the dispatcher to send another one.

[@muhcharona]

They make white hoses that are safe for drinking now, I got that one just in case the kid decides to take a sip.

[@radgraham]

@@muhcharona very cool🤙

[@joumasepoes88]

Gen X 1973 here. Ding dong dash had a totally different name in the south.

[@radgraham]

@@joumasepoes88 I know. Never understood why. 🤙

[@johnleak8396]

I was born in 1972 I was taught cursive in the third grade, aside from my signature, I've never used it after that. I used a manual typewriter, later electric, then a word processing program/app.

[@radgraham]

@johnleak8396 I hear you. I'm in sales and I prefer to take notes with a notepad instead of an iPad or tablet and honestly it's a mixture. Sometimes, I just start writing in cursive and other times I don't. 🤙

[@jamesreal7987]

WE SHOT EXPLODING BOTTLE ROCKETS ON THE 4TH OF JULY AT EACH OTHERS HEADS WHILE CHUGGING WILD TURKEY @ 15 YEARS OLD. WERE STILL HERE LOL

[@radgraham]

@@jamesreal7987 😆🤣🤘🤘

[@jamesreal7987]

@@radgraham WILD TIMES LOL

[@northgeorgia7357]

Respect bro!

[@c1catwoman794]

I noticed GenZ (not all but most) can't do things on their own. Always holding their hand or try to find an easy answer online. They would ask for help before even trying. I see this at work, family members, public, online, or playing video games in the chat. I am like...FIGURE IT OUT DAMN IT, AT LEAST TRY!!! IT'S OKAY TO FAIL GET UP AND FIND THE SOLUTION ON YOUR OWN! Yup, Gen X here. I definitely was a latchkey kid 😆 I miss the days you can play outside all day and make new friends without supervision. Just miss hearing the little things in that era. The cars running, bicycles, music, phone rings, newspapers, phone books, opening a rented movie box.... etc... etc..

[@radgraham]

@c1catwoman794 .....ahh you had me at opening the rented movie box🤙

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

Oh man ... BlockBuster ... what a blast form the past, But yes, they sometimes give up before even trying - very frustrating.

[@briansinger2298]

I always like hose water when it's been flowing for an hour