9 Things Millennials Did For Fun As Kids That Would Probably Bore Younger Generations To Tears
melissamn | ShutterstockNo childhood is perfect, but millennials were lucky enough to grow up with a combination of some pretty idyllic circumstances. Technology seemed to grow alongside them, which gave them the benefits of not growing up chronically online but also not having to use an encyclopedia for research.
Of course, this also means there were some pretty big differences between how they spent their time as kids and what young people do for fun now. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are used to seeing the world through screens, but millennials didn’t have the same kind of instant access to whatever they wanted. They had to get creative in ways that entertained them but would drive younger generations crazy.
Millennials stayed occupied with these 9 activities when they were kids that younger generations wouldn’t be able to stand:
1. Hanging out at the mall
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If you asked one of today’s teens when they went to the mall last, they would probably look at you in confusion, or maybe relate a story of their mom dragging them to all of the department stores to find an outfit for their uncle’s wedding. Going to the mall is definitely not something that they just decide to do for fun on their own.
Things couldn’t have been more different for millennials. They used to congregate at the mall because it was a central location that was usually pretty safe and had everything they needed to stay entertained, from food to arcades to stores.
Now, a lot of the classic stores you used to always find at the mall have closed down, and in many cases malls have had to shut down themselves. Tom Simmons, the head of the shopping center division at real estate company Kimco, put it bluntly. “The mall genie was out of the bottle, and it was never going to come back,” he said.
2. Listening to the radio or CDs
This might come as a shock to young people who are used to opening the Spotify or Apple Music app and listening to virtually any song in the world that they want to hear, but it wasn’t always so easy to hear your favorite songs. Millennials had to listen to the radio and wait with anticipation to find out if they liked the song that would be played next.
CDs also became really popular during millennials’ childhoods, which gave them a little more control over what they listened to. The fact that they’ve become nearly obsolete makes music history and cultures professor Theo Cateforis think the music industry might face some kind of reckoning. Now, people don’t really listen to full albums as they did before, so artists might have to rethink how they release music.
3. Collecting stickers
Kids don’t totally ignore stickers nowadays, but they use them differently. They decorate their laptops, water bottles, notebooks, and the like with larger, sturdier stickers that reference jokes from pop culture or feature cute quotes. The millennial version of sticker collecting would probably throw them off completely.
Back in the day, kids collected simpler stickers that would be overlooked now. Sometimes they put them in sticker books that they took great pride in, but they were also known for trading them. Anyone who managed to get their hands on a sticker with a unique texture or scent was especially cool, but younger generations would cringe at the thought.
4. Playing games with neighborhood kids
Before kids were chauffeured around to spend time with their friends at the most exciting spots in town, youngsters had a whole lot of free play in their neighborhoods. Instead of driving them somewhere, their parents sent them outside to ride bikes or climb trees with the kids who lived nearby.
There was never a screen in sight, and very rarely a parent in sight as well, so millennials had to be responsible for themselves even when they were young. They also developed important communication skills from being forced to resolve problems on their own without an adult stepping in. Modern kids would never want to just go outside with no plan, though.
5. Planning their schedule around what was on TV
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A few decades ago, watching TV was a completely different experience because you could only do so live. Millennials had to make their favorite shows a part of their schedule so they wouldn’t miss new episodes. This meant planting themselves in front of the TV most nights to see whatever they wanted and using commercial breaks as an opportunity to grab a snack or use the bathroom.
Now, just as music can be accessed on demand through streaming services, the same is true for movies and shows. Being able to press the pause button when needed definitely feels like a plus, but there are downsides, too. Kids can start a new series and watch it from beginning to end without having to wait for new episodes now. As nice as that sounds, falling into a pattern of binge-watching can keep people from exercising and socializing.
6. Reading magazines
When millennials were really young, they had magazines like “Highlights” to turn to for fun puzzles like word searches and spot-the-difference pictures. Tweens and teens had slightly more mature options like “Tiger Beat” and “Girl’s Life” that would give them advice they didn’t know they needed and provide details about the biggest celebrities.
Magazines have definitely lost a lot of popularity over the years, but it’s interesting to note that they haven’t gone extinct like many predicted they would when technology continued to advance. So, today’s kids probably don’t think of magazines as an ancient relic, but they also probably wouldn’t choose reading through one for hours with their friends over scrolling through social media.
7. Crafting
The millennial generation loved crafting while growing up, and regularly made everything from scrapbooks to jewelry. Certain trends would cycle through the world of crafting, like using duct tape to make as many things as possible. And, of course, they did it all without TikTok tutorials.
Crafting and creating aren’t totally a thing of the past now, especially with lots of people turning to analog activities in a world that’s over-saturated by technology. Younger people would probably not readily pick this up as their first choice for a new hobby, though, which is too bad since it’s an excellent way to relax and make new friends.
8. Using CD-ROMs to play computer games
Before you could download games on your phone, and even before some popular video game consoles were available, kids played games on the computer with CD-ROMs dedicated to different topics, like designing clothes or building a theme park. A lot of the games had connections to big brands or entertainment franchises, but they were often educational, too.
With these games, kids usually had limited ways to communicate with other players, so there was an added layer of safety. They also weren’t as overstimulating as a lot of video games are now, but that would obviously make them boring to a lot of people.
9. Writing letters
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A final thing that millennial kids loved to do in their spare time was write letters to pen pals. This involved a lot more than just writing a letter by hand with some general updates on their lives. Papers and envelopes were regularly decorated, often based on who they were being sent to. In this way, they became their own art form.
Most kids hate writing anything these days, and using markers and stickers to spruce up an envelope would probably sound like the worst thing in the world. As more people look for ways to unplug from constant technology use, pen pal letters are actually expected to make a comeback, so those kids might change their tune soon.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
