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31 Photos Showing The Reality Of A Generation Gap
Some of these are so funny, others so very true.
Emily Medlock
07.22.20

We all know how times can change. Technology is taking over and politics is becoming something entirely new. These photos show the sweetest and most mesmerizing differences in our generations.

1. Always Answer One Of Them

Reddit
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Reddit

When a kid hands you a toy phone, you answer it. But when they hand you their smartphone, you probably ignore the calls. Remember being entertained for hours, playing with a toy phone, spinning the dial, and making fake calls?

2. Such Revealing Swimsuits

Wikimedia
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Wikimedia

About 100 years ago, these bathing suits were considered a little risque. Today, they would be called matronly and old-fashioned. The norm now is to have as much skin show as possible! Gotta get that tan all over, right? It wasn’t until the seventies that things got like they are today.

3. When You Are Toxic

Twitter
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Twitter

Today, the word toxic is overused. But fifteen years ago, it was a song and pretty much only a song. Music really has a way of dating us and bringing back the memories of that time.

4. Labor Vs. Education

Wikimedia
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Wikimedia

Today, child labor is abolished in most countries, and education is enforced. That’s one of the greatest changes we’ve made for children. But not too long ago, child labor was “necessary” and education as for the rich. Let’s be thankful for education for all.

5. Finally A Teenager

Twitter
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Twitter

About ten years ago, being a teen didn’t mean you could be Instagram famous overnight. It meant you were a teenager, that’s all. Better sleepovers, staying up till midnight, and hanging out with friends unsupervised. Now look at us!

6. One Song At A Time

Pixabay
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Pixabay

Originally, to listen to the song you wanted, you only had to get one record out. Now, you have any song you want at your fingertips. You can even tell an AI to play it for you so you don’t have to do any of the work. Kind of spooky.

7. This Ain’t My First Rodeo

Twitter
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Twitter

What is happening to our bodies? These are two sisters, who look a lot alike. Except one feels like a fourteen-year-old, and one feels like she’s in her twenties. Times are changing and girls are maturing faster in many ways.

8. Do You Know What It Is?

Twitter
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Twitter

If you know what this is, then you might be old. It took a lot of patience to wait for film to be developed and you got what you took, no redoing it. But now, you can delete as you go and even edit photos before you print them. If you ever do print them, because hardly anyone does anymore.

9. The Generation “Gap”

Reddit
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Reddit

You can judge one or judge the other, but it’s just the way it is. Young people like to wear holes in their clothes, and the older generation tends to let the button fly. Neither of these happen all the time, but at one point, they were both pretty “fly.”

10. The Weekly Bath

Wikimedia
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Wikimedia

Today, we’re taught to shower at least once a day and use a dozen different products. But a century ago, all they did was bathe once a week, if they were lucky, and use boric acid as shampoo. Now we use shampoo, soap, face wash, conditioner, and all sorts of products separately.

11. Her Auntie Is Old

Twitter
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Twitter

Her niece asked her what this was and she was floored. If you don’t know what this is, then you probably have never lived in a different century. That’s right, there are a ton of kids on this planet that have only ever know the 2000s.

12. What Kind Of Game Is This?

Twitter
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Twitter

A random kid on the bus asked this guy what he had. The dude had no idea there were kids that didn’t know what a Gameboy was. Maybe he told him it was like a Nintendo Switch for “old people” because I feel like that would translate well.

13. Only One Went To Starbucks

Reddit
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Reddit

You may judge the young couple harshly, but is ignoring each other because you’re reading any better than ignoring each other because you’re on your phone. They could be doing the exact same thing! One of them has even more news too.

14. The Art Of Doing Nothing

Reddit
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Reddit

The generation gap doesn’t end with celebrities. Here we are on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy and the younger cast members don’t know how to spend their free time. Kurt Russell knows how to do nothing, a nearly lost art.

15. When 2000 Is The Olden Days

Twitter
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Twitter

When you were born in the 80s or 90s, you assume that you aren’t old. But according to kids, anything before 2000 is old. There’s so many things that are considering antiques now and our music is now the new “oldies.”

16. Take The Age Test

Twitter
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Twitter

Do you know what this is? Most Jeeps still have them, like this one right here. They still have them so that you can take the door off without the wiring inside. But you know, most kids have no idea how to roll Jeep windows down!

17. Everyone Had A Motorola

Imgur
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Imgur

If you had one of these phones, then congratulations, you’re not young anymore. Back in the day, kids didn’t have cell phones. If you were a teen with one, you were lucky. So if you had one of these, you were practically an adult when they were released.

18. But You Have Ping Pong

Imgur
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Imgur

Why choose the simulation instead of the real thing? I thought video games were a way to live out fantasies? I guess they aren’t because these kids are playing ping pong virtually instead of in real life. Imagine having your own ping pong table as a kid!

19. Hannah Montana Days

Twitter
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Twitter

It doesn’t feel like Hannah Montana came out very long ago and it sure doesn’t feel like she and Miley Cyrus are the same person. But they are and it’s been over a decade! This girl was a baby when it was released and the Hannah Montana fan can’t believe her eyes.

20. Even Teens Don’t Know

Twitter
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Twitter

When his brother asked what in the world these were, he told him that they were the USB of the olden days. To tell you the truth, that’s a pretty fair comparison. They were flash drives that were unthinkably small compared to the terabyte ones they have now.

21. Were They K-Pop?

Twitter
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Twitter

This hurts my heart. This is like not know who The Beatles are, or Elvis! Even these kids probably know Elvis. If they don’t, then they need to take classes in culture classes in school that teach them about this kind of thing. We don’t want these artists to go instinct.

22. For The Cool Kids

Twitter
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Twitter

If you had a Discman, you were automatically cool. Especially if you could get it to fit in your jacket pocket. You may still feel eighteen, but it was an eighteen-year-old that didn’t know what this was and that feels surreal. Are we not eighteen anymore, guys?

23. Someone Is Jurassic

Imgur
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Imgur

If you have seen one Jurassic movie but not all of them then are you really even trying? This dad and his son are wearing matching shirts. Only, one of them was purchased in the 90s. If you say Jurrasic Park these days, kids will ask if you mean Jurassic World.

24. The Generations Have Merged

Reddit
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Reddit

They blame millennials and zoomers for the dependence on technology, but this group probably looked a lot like this a few decades ago. Things haven’t changed, they just have a smartphone in their hand. They could be talking to each other and pretending their walkie talkies.

25. We Make Our Own Ankle Socks

Instagram
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Instagram

Ankle socks rock. But they haven’t always been a thing. And, women’s ankle socks were invented before men’s. So if men wanted ankle socks, they either had to wear women’s socks or make their own. Who hasn’t tried this trick? Oh, probably anyone born after the year 2000.

26. They’re Both Reading The News

Imgur
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Imgur

These two could both be looking for jobs for all we know. Such a wonderful representation of the generation gap. Young people are even skipping breakfast and many of them are letting the morning coffee fall to the wayside. Don’t let coffee die!

27. Expensive Car, Cheap Horse

Wikimedia
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Wikimedia

Today, if someone has a horse, you assume they have a ranch or are rich. Although everyone has a car, it might not be nice, but you can always find something. But back in the day, the horses were cheap. It was a car that was unaffordable.

28. Not At All Safe

Pixabay
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Pixabay

It’s amazing to see the things that were dangerous then and the things that are dangerous now. The first plane was a risky thing to pitch. The Wright brothers were called crazy and look at them now! Are there any inventors or engineers now that we would call crazy? What will they think in a hundred years?

29. The Dog Is Older

Pikabu
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Pikabu

What the sister? This is why people get jealous of their siblings. Not only are younger siblings allowed to do “whatever they want,” according to older siblings. But they get away with looking twice their own age. These two are both twelve-years-old if you can believe it.

30. Electricity Is Everywhere

Wikimedia
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Wikimedia

Yet another thing that was unbelievable a century ago. At that time, a lot of people still used candles and lanterns because electricity was so unpredictable. Tesla, Edison, and others made great leaps and bounds, but it was still far too dangerous to light up entire cities. Now we believe the candles are more dangerous.

31. Is He Playing Minecraft?

Imgur
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Imgur

This is what happens when companies get their targeted demographics wrong. Teens and twenty-somethings enjoy legos a lot more than kids do. Kids would rather play a lego simulator which is insane. How else are you going to build a really cool tank that you can show your mom? See, it even has real wheels!

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