"It's Terrible For Humanity": 17 Common Gadgets And Tech Features From "Back In The Day" That Older Adults Think Should Make A Comeback

Modern technology has certainly made some aspects of life a whole lot easier, but sometimes, there's nothing wrong with wanting something more familiar and simpler. Recently, redditor u/imuglyandproud34 asked the older adults of the Reddit community to share what pieces of "older" technology should make a comeback, and some of them are pretty valid. Here are some appliances and features from "back then" that older adults think should still be normalized today:

1. "Landline phones, so you can still make a call during weather events and power outages. The so-called house phones you get now are just voice-over-internet."

2. "Bring back normal car headlights. Most 'normal' headlights are the equivalent of high beams of old. I routinely get nearly blinded by new-school headlights. Who paid off who to sneak those into normal production? Because they are utterly unsafe."

— u/pine-cone-sundae

3. "At this point, while not gone, cable television. Smart TVs and apps slow right down; it's so frustrating. Cable is instant. Subscribing to apps is just as expensive now, and if you don't pay extra, you get ads and commercials. Monetization has ruined another beautiful thing."

4. "I wish they would bring back live DJs on radio stations who would announce the song before or after it. I'm getting older and have CRS (chronic restraint stress); I know the tune but can't remember the group, and I hate it because I used to know the music pretty well."

— u/Mediocre-Studio2573

5. "Physical keyboards on cell phones, like a BlackBerry. Oh, and using BCC when sending text messages (also like BlackBerry) so that you don't need to send a separate text message to everyone. Making a group chat is sometimes convenient, but some people don't want their numbers shared with everyone else."

6. "Mechanical buttons in vehicles. They worked, were independent from systems in the car, and you knew where it was without looking. Give me a stereo system over a tablet any day."

— u/bi_polar2bear

7. "iPods — one with all my music. I wouldn't need to stream or subscribe to anything."

8. "Easily repairable appliances, vehicles, tech, etc. The 'anti-repair' attitude pushed by the companies that build this stuff is out of control and sickening. People are forced just to go buy a new thing all the time instead of being able to fix the 30-cent part that broke, which is great for a company's profits and terrible for humanity as a whole."

— u/OverlyComplexPants

9. "Mimeograph machines! I need that dupe fluid smell all up in my nose holes again."

10. "I wish that gas stations would still provide free folding road maps. Sure, I have GPS and a map app on my phone and can pre-plan and print out directions for a trip with my PC, but I've run into construction detours, unbearable traffic delays, floods, and catastrophic events closing down a highway. An old-fashioned folding road map in my glove box would have helped in those times."

— u/PashaNobody

11. "Party lines."

— u/CascadianCyclist

12. "Crank-down car windows. What's so hard about turning a crank handle? What's so cheap about replacing a motor assembly?"

13. "Dial-up internet."

— u/[deleted]

14. "Wind up alarm clocks. To get a good, easy-to-see (for when the power goes out during stormy season), and loud alarm clock with a snooze feature, I had to buy one made in 1921!"

15. "Speaking to a real person (customer service) on the telephone without technology steering me around via chats and long wait times."

— u/cheap_dates

16. "Wing vent windows on cars. You could clear out the hot air in the summer in seconds. My '73 Mercedes had them, and I've missed it ever since."

17. Lastly: "I miss being able to record from broadcast TV. When TV went digital and VCRs became obsolete, the only DVRs were either subscription-based or from paid TV providers. My inability to record for myself led me down a dark path of looking for solutions. Why, TiVo, why?! There was no need for me to have a landline AND pay a subscription to record TV. VCRs worked just fine for decades. The only thing that changed was the signal format."

— u/Competitive_Score_30

I will admit that I do sometimes miss my old BlackBerry. However, the little ball-mouse thing always got stuck! If you're an older adult, what piece of "older" technology do you think makes sense to normalize again? Let me know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your thoughts using this form!

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.