# What will my children tell their children they grew up without? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210 "2005-10-14T12:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/1 "2005-10-14T12:55:38Z")
I’ll be 30 in a few months, and am starting to think about the whole having kids thing. So, I remember being amazed that my dad grew up without television, and even when tv did arrive that it was (gasp!) black and white! I’ll probably have even better ones for my kids. I can tell them that I remember a time before personal computers, certainly before the internet, before MP3 players. Seems amazing in retrospect. So, assuming I have a kid in a year, and my kid has a kid at 30, then 40 years from now, what will my ten year old grandchildren be amazed that my own child grew up without? I’m not thinking about earth shattering things, like medical discoveries, because I don’t think ten year old \*\*Fiveyearlurker \*\*was too concerned about the cure for polio. More, I’m thinking day to day things that it’s hard to remember life without. The old flying Jetsons car comes to mind, but they’ve been pushing that one for decades! I think I lack imagination, because I can’t figure out what it will be, and it will certainly be something! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/2 "2005-10-14T15:22:11Z")
The first thing that comes to mind is The Internet, and all its ramifications, like instant messaging and file transfer and Google. And the SDMB. I think that the communication aspects of the net are even more revolutionary than personal computers themselves. Then cellphones, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/3 "2005-10-14T15:38:48Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > The first thing that comes to mind is The Internet, and all its ramifications, like instant messaging and file transfer and Google. And the SDMB. I think that the communication aspects of the net are even more revolutionary than personal computers themselves. > > Then cellphones, maybe. But, that’s stuff I can still tell MY kids that I grew up without. My kids will not have grown up without cell phones or the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/4 "2005-10-14T15:55:56Z")
3d holographic video games. One World Govenment. ---
**Author:** ![Agonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Agonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agonist)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/5 "2005-10-14T20:34:16Z")
Nanotechnology. It seems to be just around the corner, and once we figure it out it will truly revolutionize the way the world works. Off the top of my head, nanotechnology is supposed to bring: near limitless energy; the end to disease and possibly the beginning of immortality; replicator technology; and, well, pretty much the way to make anything we can’t make today. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/6 "2005-10-14T20:37:53Z")
When I was a kid, we didn’t have no Thunder Domes. Or mutant Zombies or alien overlords and we liked it. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/7 "2005-10-14T21:13:03Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > 3d holographic video games. That was the first thing I thought of. It fits in quite well with the progression of “In My Day” sayings about entertainment delivery. You had to see it in person. Then there was sound, but no picture. Then there was a picture, but it was monochrome and small. Then there was color, but only a few channels. Then there were hundreds of channels and high definition. Then there were holograms. How about mind-computer interfaces? In my day, we had to actually _physically push buttons_ to turn stuff on and off. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/8 "2005-10-14T21:41:20Z")
Here’s some we could all hope for: Back in MY day, there was no cancer vaccine. BIMD, there was no way to repair a severed spinal cord. BIMD, when you were dead, you stayed dead. BIMD, sexual predators sometimes were let out of jail. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/9 "2005-10-14T21:54:39Z")
Back in my day there was no legalized marijuana or legalized gay marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/10 "2005-10-14T22:36:45Z")
Back in my day, you couldn’t just put your shoes in the NBA All-Star transmuter and have them change. If you wanted a different pair, you had to go to a store and BUY them. Back in my day, everybody went to the same building – called a school – at the same time every day. They learned from an actual human being called a teacher. Back in my day, we ate real food, made from plants and animals. None of these damn capsules. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/11 "2005-10-15T01:11:34Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Back in my day, everybody went to the same building – called a school – at the same time every day. They learned from an actual human being called a teacher. Somebody – I think it may have been Asimov – wrote a short story on this theme. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/12 "2005-10-15T05:47:21Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > Back in my day there was no legalized marijuana or legalized gay marriage. “People were _advocating_ legalizing marijuana? Ha! And to think of all the money the American Lung Association spends trying to get people to quit each year!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/13 "2005-10-15T06:35:38Z")
(In a quiet, hushed voice) “When I was your age Firemen used to _put out_ fires.” “I had to _walk_ to my car whenever I wanted to go somewhere. And we had to fill it with gasoline once a week or more.” “Taking a day-trip into space was not an option when I was your age.” “When we had to dispose of a body we couldn’t just put it into the Space Cannon Disposal Unit.” ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/14 "2005-10-15T07:58:45Z")
Back in my day, we didn’t have brain chip implants. We had to remember everything and do math all by ourselves! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/15 "2005-10-15T08:10:37Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > The first thing that comes to mind is The Internet, and all its ramifications, like instant messaging and file transfer and Google. And the SDMB. I think that the communication aspects of the net are even more revolutionary than personal computers themselves. “Back in my day, the Internet was only on computers and electronic devices! We didn’t have these chips in our brain that let you Instant Message people just by thinking about it! You actually had to use your voice and talk to them, or type a text message with your hands! Brb.” ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/16 "2005-10-15T11:24:21Z")
Back in my day, we had to wear our meatbodies _all_ the time! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/17 "2005-10-15T12:46:40Z")
Back in my day, the President was always a white, straight Christian man. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/18 "2005-10-15T22:11:08Z")
“Back when I was your age, ‘liberals’ _weren’t_ considered a bunch of greyhaired reactionary dinosaurs.” “You know, when I was a kid, people were all up in arms about video games where you _killed_ people. They even tried to ban games where you had _consensual_ sex with characters—oh, no, these weren’t _avatars_, mind you. Most of those games didn’t have online play, so the other characters were computer controlled…well, they weren’t really true ‘A.I.s’ back then—consciously, they were more like flatworms with a lot of clever pre-scripting…” ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/19 "2005-10-16T05:55:00Z")
Restraint. ---
**Author:** ![Habanero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@Habanero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habanero)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210/20 "2005-10-16T06:06:53Z")
“Back when the oil crisis first hit and gas was only $26 a gallon…” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-my-children-tell-their-children-they-grew-up-without/326210.md?page=2)