8 Old-Fashioned Things From 70s & 80s Childhood That Modern Kids Would Think Are Odd
Lyudmila2509 / ShutterstockAs a young person myself, even though I believe I'm rather well-versed in '70s and '80s culture, I still find some of the old-fashioned things people growing up back then experienced to be pretty weird. Much of daily life back then revolved around face-to-face interactions and neighborhood friendships. Plus, technology has advanced so rapidly across so many areas of life that several things considered high-tech back then don't even exist anymore.
While some of these things disappeared because technology made them unnecessary, others faded as parenting styles and cultural norms evolved. For those who lived through it, these old-fashioned parts of childhood bring back a strong sense of nostalgia, and for people in younger generations, they offer a fascinating glimpse into a time that wasn't all that long ago but now feels remarkably different.
Today's modern kids would think these totally normal things from '70s and '80s childhoods are downright odd
1. TV antennas
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Before cable became widespread and decades before streaming services arrived, families relied on an antenna to receive signals to their TVs. Getting a clear picture often required adjusting the antenna by hand or holding the craziest yoga-esque pose ever just to keep it in view.
For kids today, the idea that watching TV could depend solely on the exact position of a metal antenna would seem incredibly inconvenient and frustrating. Most of them probably never even considered this as a possibility, so they find it quite odd that people used to live that way. Yet for many families, it was simply part of the daily routine.
2. Phone books
With how technology has progressed over the years, finding the contact information of someone you're trying to get a hold of has become easier than ever. Even more so, memorizing a phone number or email address just isn't necessary as it was back in the '70s and '80s.
Today, if you handed a kid a phone book, they would probably fall over from the sheer weight of it. Modern kids are accustomed to searching for virtually anything online within seconds on their phones or computers, including phone numbers. The concept of flipping through hundreds of pages to find a single number would likely feel painfully slow by comparison and odd compared to how they normally function in their lives.
Throw in the fact that you needed to keep one for residential numbers (white books) and one for business numbers (yellow books), and you know that Gen Z simply could never.
3. Library card catalogs
Long before digital library databases existed, finding a book meant using a card catalog. Rows of wooden drawers contained index cards organized by title, author, and subject, helping visitors locate books within the library.
I'll be honest, even I had never heard of this system before, and despite not being a kid anymore, it's so odd to me that searching for things used to be so complicated, and I'm sure modern kids agree. Like me, many younger people have never used or even heard of a card catalog in their lives. What was once an essential research tool has largely disappeared as libraries embrace online search systems, which I'm sure everyone is grateful for, by the way!
4. Paper maps
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Getting lost was a lot easier and scarier before GPS navigation. In the '70s and '80s, families often kept large folded road maps in their cars and used them to plan trips or figure out directions while traveling. There was no voice telling them when to turn, and if they missed it, they would have to pull over and revisit their entire route.
Reading a paper map required a level of patience and a basic understanding of geography that modern kids simply do not possess today. Most kids now would find paper maps odd because they grew up watching navigation apps provide step-by-step directions automatically. To them, paper maps probably seem like an artifact from another world.
5. Street light-based curfews
The '70s and '80s are known for one of the most old-fashioned childhood rules ever. Back then, children spent hours playing outside with practically no adult supervision. Since carrying phones was rare, children had no way to tell the time, and parents had no way to contact their kids to tell them when to come home. So, they created a simple, universal rule: when the streetlights came on, it was time to go home.
This unofficial curfew was understood in neighborhoods across the country. While parents still set these boundaries today, modern kids are more likely to be contacted through their phone than by the glow of a streetlamp.
6. Passing hand-written notes in class
Before texting and social media, many kids communicated in class through handwritten notes. Friends folded them into intricate shapes and tapped on shoulders to get them to the right person without the teacher seeing. The thrill of trying not to get caught by the teacher was exhilarating and brought everyone closer together.
These notes served as everything from casual conversation to secret crush confessions. Now, instead of discreetly passing notes around, modern kids try to hide their phones while they text each other from across the room, their messages arriving instantly without anyone else getting involved. Even though kids today probably still pass secret notes in class, they likely find it odd compared to just using their phones.
7. Film cameras
Don't get me wrong, cameras are definitely making a comeback, not out of necessity, but for the aesthetic. In the '70s and '80s, however, cameras were their only option for taking pictures. Before smartphones gave everyone easy access to high-quality cameras, kids documented their lives on film.
The biggest difference from today was that you couldn't see the results immediately. Once a roll of film was fully used, you had to take it to a photo lab and wait days, sometimes weeks, to see how your pictures turned out. For modern kids accustomed to taking dozens of photos and instantly seeing the results, the whole process can seem surprisingly risky and odd.
8. Renting movies from video stores
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As a kid, I remember going to my local Blockbuster with my dad and renting out a few movies to watch over the course of a few days or weeks, snagging a bag of popcorn while waiting in the checkout line. In the '70s and '80s, this practice looked no different.
Movie night required a trip to a video store rather than opening a streaming service. Families would browse shelves filled with VHS tapes, hoping their first choice hadn't already been rented by someone else. The experience involved memberships and dreaded late fees if you forgot to return a tape by its due date.
Modern kids probably don't even know that Blockbuster existed and, sadly, disappeared. They might find it odd that watching a movie requires a trip to the store when they have access to thousands of movies from almost any time.
Yessenia Munoz is a writer pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature who writes about lifestyle and reflective topics.
