July 09, 2021
Sleeping Generation Z
Timothy Birdnow
Young people have been so sheltered they don't even understand how we could live before computers, the internet, and cell phones.
Here is a case in point.
From the article:
Amazing, isn't it! But then this kid is probably pretty normal and just wasn't exposed to life before such things. He could never function if all this tech ever disappears. Like a hothouse orchid, he will wither and die.
The article continues:
I would LOVE to see what he would have thought about the pre-telephone era!
Back to the article:
People can and are mean and it's not this kid's fault he doesn't know anything beyond the world in which he lived. But it is funny to see him so baffled by all of this.
The article continues:
And it also makes them angry and resentful.
Young people have been so sheltered they don't even understand how we could live before computers, the internet, and cell phones.
Here is a case in point.
From the article:
In a Facebook post that has quickly gone viral with over 13,000 shares so far, Barbara Noble Sobel shares screenshots of texts shared between a college-aged son and his mother.
The name of the poor, unenlightened gentleman has been blacked out in an effort to protect his innocence and his identity. The young man is desperately trying to understand how the world even functioned before email, because, like, O-M-G. And I’m laughing so hard right now.
The post begins with our college student begging the question:
Oh poppet. I know, this can be difficult to understand, but his mom tries to explain it to him as simply as possible.
But he still wasn’t quite getting it. Aw, bless. His response?
I know, walking. The horror. And still having to get up so ridiculously early? At 8 am, I mean, who does that? Just you wait my little Padawan. Some day, in the not so distant future, you will relish the day you can SLEEP IN until 8 am.
But the conversation doesn’t end there. He goes on to question how you would find out about, well, ANYTHING? Important things, like what ensembles he’s in or what jobs he has to do for the math department.
His mother responds with:
And this, my friends, is where it really gets good. Because bulletin boards? What are these boards you speak of? He doesn’t even know what it is.
The name of the poor, unenlightened gentleman has been blacked out in an effort to protect his innocence and his identity. The young man is desperately trying to understand how the world even functioned before email, because, like, O-M-G. And I’m laughing so hard right now.
The post begins with our college student begging the question:
"How did any of college work before email? Like what did you do? If a class were cancelled, or there was a mistake on the homework"
Oh poppet. I know, this can be difficult to understand, but his mom tries to explain it to him as simply as possible.
"Lol- you had to walk over to the room and there would be a note on the door"
But he still wasn’t quite getting it. Aw, bless. His response?
"What if it was at 8 am? You’d still have to wake up early and walk all the way in?"
I know, walking. The horror. And still having to get up so ridiculously early? At 8 am, I mean, who does that? Just you wait my little Padawan. Some day, in the not so distant future, you will relish the day you can SLEEP IN until 8 am.
But the conversation doesn’t end there. He goes on to question how you would find out about, well, ANYTHING? Important things, like what ensembles he’s in or what jobs he has to do for the math department.
His mother responds with:
"You had to write stuff down. And it was posted on bulletin boards"
And this, my friends, is where it really gets good. Because bulletin boards? What are these boards you speak of? He doesn’t even know what it is.
Amazing, isn't it! But then this kid is probably pretty normal and just wasn't exposed to life before such things. He could never function if all this tech ever disappears. Like a hothouse orchid, he will wither and die.
The article continues:
His mom then offers up that she got her first job from an index card posted on a bulletin board outside of the math building.
Which, in turn, led them down another rabbit hole of questions. How would you respond to a post on a bulletin board? What if you needed more details? Where’s the link?His mother has an answer for that:
What? Call a number?"You had to call a phone number. That was it. And ask questions once you get there."
I would LOVE to see what he would have thought about the pre-telephone era!
Back to the article:
College boy responds:
I got a job after receiving and responding to one (1) email, I can’t imagine having to interact with someone for it.
Oh boy.
Commenters on the post are having a field day:
Oh my- doesn’t know what a bulletin board is???? Pardon me while I go rinse off my triceratops…
Omg you had to walk and talk to people. So archaic
These are kids who would looking at floppy disk and say "oh, someone 3d printed "save†buttonâ€
And reminiscing about the "dark†days:
Research by Microfiche, anyone?!?
That’s too funny. ??. And we had get up to answer the phone, use a camera with film and wait until the roll was done and wait again for it to get developed, to see the pics and you had to ask a stranger to your pic. No selfies. The struggle was real ??
And let’s not forget that the class notes could only be downloaded by copying what the prof wrote on the board using a writing utensil that disintegrated as it was used. None of this wimpy powerpoint stuff!
???classic. And this doesn’t even touch the whole registering for classes thing going table to table
Yikes!I got a job after receiving and responding to one (1) email, I can’t imagine having to interact with someone for it.
Oh boy.
Commenters on the post are having a field day:
Oh my- doesn’t know what a bulletin board is???? Pardon me while I go rinse off my triceratops…
Omg you had to walk and talk to people. So archaic
These are kids who would looking at floppy disk and say "oh, someone 3d printed "save†buttonâ€
And reminiscing about the "dark†days:
Research by Microfiche, anyone?!?
That’s too funny. ??. And we had get up to answer the phone, use a camera with film and wait until the roll was done and wait again for it to get developed, to see the pics and you had to ask a stranger to your pic. No selfies. The struggle was real ??
And let’s not forget that the class notes could only be downloaded by copying what the prof wrote on the board using a writing utensil that disintegrated as it was used. None of this wimpy powerpoint stuff!
???classic. And this doesn’t even touch the whole registering for classes thing going table to table
People can and are mean and it's not this kid's fault he doesn't know anything beyond the world in which he lived. But it is funny to see him so baffled by all of this.
The article continues:
It’s true. This generation of college students will never know the hardship of waiting foreverfor internet dial-up.
Or typing their essays up on a typewriter and using White-Out to make corrections. They will use Google instead of Encyclopedia Britannica and laptops instead of pen and paper.
They won’t know the pain of having to wait to watch their favorite television shows until it was broadcast on the 13 available cable channels.
They will never experience the racing heart as they attempt to press record and stop on the tape recorder at precisely the right moment during American Top 40 with Casey Kasem.
But they will know other hardships. They will know the loneliness that comes with a generation whose main communication is through a screen, and not in person.
They will face the pressure and ridiculous expectations set by unrealistic standards on social media. They will struggle with finding their worth outside of the number of likes they receive on Facebook and Instagram.
And it also makes them angry and resentful.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
11:36 AM
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Post contains 960 words, total size 7 kb.
1
Oh, Tim, this is wonderful! If I could be anything and anywhere in the world, I would NOT choose to be Gen-Xer. There's so much they don't know, so many experiences.
There was a hilarious video going around a few months ago (or maybe a couple years ago) about a group of teenagers locked into a room and told they'd have to make a phone call to get out. And the phone was an old-fashioned dial phone. None of them could figure out how to work it.
I remember coffee-grinder phones -- my grandmother had one and so did everyone in the town she lived in. I used to go with her to pay her phone bill and observe the telephone operators who actually connected all the calls. Two women in one room, surrounded by wires and plug-boards. To use the phones, you'd turn the crank on the side of it (to alert the operator), then pick up the earpiece (the mike was in the phone itself) and ask for the number you wanted. The operator would connect you.
Hey, it sure beat Dixie cups and string!
There was a hilarious video going around a few months ago (or maybe a couple years ago) about a group of teenagers locked into a room and told they'd have to make a phone call to get out. And the phone was an old-fashioned dial phone. None of them could figure out how to work it.
I remember coffee-grinder phones -- my grandmother had one and so did everyone in the town she lived in. I used to go with her to pay her phone bill and observe the telephone operators who actually connected all the calls. Two women in one room, surrounded by wires and plug-boards. To use the phones, you'd turn the crank on the side of it (to alert the operator), then pick up the earpiece (the mike was in the phone itself) and ask for the number you wanted. The operator would connect you.
Hey, it sure beat Dixie cups and string!
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at July 09, 2021 04:13 PM (6r44G)
2
You have some interesting points in this article. I would never have reviewed any of this if I hadn't come across this. Thanks!.
Posted by: among at July 10, 2021 02:03 AM (whkHi)
3
Yeah; it's sad how much these young people have missed. They don't even know it, which is the truly bad part.
You remember those old style phones Dana? They were really old school!
Yeah; operators had to physically connect you to another line, and it might be another station. That's why you had to have the area code; to tell the operator which station to connect you with. Long distance calling was tough because you had to be connected with another city, then with the area code, then with the person you were trying to reach.
I can see why these kids don't understand rotary phones. My wife's nieces were trying to use an old fashioned phone like that once and had no idea what to do with it.
You remember those old style phones Dana? They were really old school!
Yeah; operators had to physically connect you to another line, and it might be another station. That's why you had to have the area code; to tell the operator which station to connect you with. Long distance calling was tough because you had to be connected with another city, then with the area code, then with the person you were trying to reach.
I can see why these kids don't understand rotary phones. My wife's nieces were trying to use an old fashioned phone like that once and had no idea what to do with it.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at July 10, 2021 07:34 AM (Be737)
4
There were no area codes back in those days, Tim. The only area involved was that within the operators' switchboards. We had a "normal" phone and I don't think we could call my grandmother or anybody else on the "coffee-grinders." Calling from one town to the next involved trickery. Ma Bell sure had things locked up then.
And do you remember party lines? I do. Shows you how old I am...
And do you remember party lines? I do. Shows you how old I am...
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at July 10, 2021 10:00 PM (OEO4Q)
5
You're right Dana; I misspoke. I meant to say the STATION number. When I was a kid ours was Main (MA) and to call my grandmother we used Mohawk (MO). That would direct you to the switchboard for that jurisdiction. Then the operator would direct your call (well, we didn't interact with the operator; I'm not THAT old.)
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at July 11, 2021 06:51 AM (BsaUR)
6
We've come a long way. It used to be that calling a town ten miles away was a long-distance call. Cross-country calls were rare, almost unheard-of, and expensive. Now, the phone services I've had for the last twenty years (bundled with my Internet service) give you free long-distance calling. I imagine it might cost a bit to call Kathmandu, Nepal, but I might even be wrong about that.
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at July 11, 2021 09:23 AM (9/UYM)
7
Oh, we had a party line when I was a kid Dana. Some old ladies were often on the phone when we needed to make a call.
It was a pain.
My grandmother had a 40 call phone; she could make 40 calls and no more without paying. We always had to call her because she didn't dare use up her calls.
We HAVE come a long way from cups and string!
It is amazing we can make international calls so easily and cheaply.
Shoot, when my brother was teaching on Carl Vincent air craft carrier we got messages from ham radio operators still. That was in the '90's. He had to find a phone in port if he needed to call. But we would occasionally get called by the ham radio guys who were volunteers and they delivered messages.
Young people must think that astonishing!
It was a pain.
My grandmother had a 40 call phone; she could make 40 calls and no more without paying. We always had to call her because she didn't dare use up her calls.
We HAVE come a long way from cups and string!
It is amazing we can make international calls so easily and cheaply.
Shoot, when my brother was teaching on Carl Vincent air craft carrier we got messages from ham radio operators still. That was in the '90's. He had to find a phone in port if he needed to call. But we would occasionally get called by the ham radio guys who were volunteers and they delivered messages.
Young people must think that astonishing!
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at July 12, 2021 06:00 AM (7U2xK)
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