Millennials think they have it rough, so it’s the duty of everyone born before 1980 to remind them there’s nothing these days that’s not easy for them.
Here are some of the things millennial kids take for granted:
- Being Safe in Cars
Many a childhood was spent sliding around in the station wagon’s trunk or bouncing around unbuckled in the backseat before car seat laws reminded parents that kids prooooobably should be strapped down. If you’re not sure about the laws where you live, check out State Car Seat Laws: What You Need to Know.
- Being Entertained in Cars
Your first car had five buttons to program radio stations that weren’t always static-free. Now you can stream music, have endless stations, plug in your own tunes or even watch TV on the road (for those millennials in the passenger seat, of course).
- Not Being Poisoned
From asbestos in the walls to lead paint everywhere, homes were a veritable minefield of poisonous substances. Oops! Thankfully, laws were put in place so your home won’t make you sick anymore.
- Making Phones Calls Anywhere, Anytime
Before there was a cell phone in every pocket (yep, even in that toddler’s sitting over there), you had to hunt down a public pay phone, hope you had change and ignore how sticky-with-strangers’-germs it was.
- Having Information in Just a Few Clicks
Need help on a report for school? Want the correct spelling and pronunciation of any word, ever? Feel the desire to see videos of kittens? Google it. You don’t need to hunt down a friend with a new set of encyclopedias, hit the card catalog at the local library or make the video yourself anymore.
- Wi-Fi Everywhere
The BRRRrrrrblllEEEEEE screech that required endless patience while your computer searched for a dial-up connection was painful to endure. Now you can barely escape the silent Internet access that slips itself into your devices at every coffee shop in town.
- Friends in Your Pocket
Facebook put everyone you have ever met in one easy-peasy place, so you can see what they’re up to without having to make a hundred calls.
- Hilarity in 140 Characters
Want a good laugh but are short on time? All you need to do now is pop over to Twitter and get the best one-liners from comedians you normally would have to pay top dollar to see in person.
- Immediate Photography
You no longer need to buy film or search for the tiny film developing shack in a shopping plaza parking lot. You no longer need to wait two weeks to see your pictures, only to discover one of the rolls was lost in the mail. Just snap the picture on your phone and look at it. BOOM.
- Never Missing a TV Show
There’s no longer the need to clear your calendar and sit in front of the television waiting for your favorite show to come on. Now you can set your DVR to record whatever you want, whenever you want to — and you can even skip all those annoying commercials, too!
- Believable Special Effects in Movies
It’s way cooler to watch superheroes fly without seeing the clear strings holding him up.
- Cool Video Games, Too
You likely played a game about a dot. Your kids now play games that look so real you want to touch the screen.
- Having to Actually Read
Moving your eyes back and forth across hundreds of pages can be exhausting. Why do that when you can just listen to any book you could ever want, instead? Or just use Google to find a summary?
- Not Getting a Hernia From Music
If you wanted to bring your music with you, you had to lug a boom box on your shoulder. Walkmans made it a little better, but they still required a sturdy belt to keep your pants up when it was clipped it on. Kids now have MP3 players the size of a corn flake or music loaded on their phones — no muscles required.
What things do you enjoy that millennial kids take for granted? Share in the comments! If, however, you are a millennial, take a look at Jobs for Moms: 5 Perks Millennial Moms Want — And Are Getting!.
Kim Bongiorno is the author, freelance writer, and blogger behind Let Me Start By Saying and lives in New Jersey with her handsome husband and two charmingly loud kids, who she pretends to listen to while playing on Facebook and Twitter. If she were less tired, she’d totally add something really clever to her bio so you’d never forget this moment.
