1.
Being able to learn/see the correct lyrics to a song only by reading them from the album’s liner notes:
2.
And being able to listen to special remixes or exclusive B-side songs only if you bought pricey import CD singles:
3.
Buying pricey import magazines because they had a celeb or artist you loved on the cover and you wanted to read the interview:
The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images
4.
Joining a fan club for an artist or fandom THROUGH THE MAIL and getting things like pins and newsletters mailed to you periodically:
5.
Having to look up a direction in an atlas (that was always in the car) if you were helping one of your parents navigate while they drove:
6.
Or just going to the nearest gas station and hoping you remember everything (if your parents made you go inside and ask):
Twitter: @nikkibloomsmith
7.
Having to rewind a movie before you watched it because the last person to watch didn’t rewind it:
8.
Having the dreaded moment of realizing your VCR ruined your favorite movie and knowing it wasn’t likely to be replaced — especially if it was out of print (*coughs* in the Disney Vault *cough*):
Michael Burrell / Getty Images / iStockphoto
9.
Having to go in person to buy concert or show tickets at the venue or at Ticketmaster (if you and your parents didn’t want to take the gamble of doing it over the phone):
Henry Stancu / Toronto Star via Getty Images
10.
Having the movie theater be the only place you could watch new trailers:
11.
And having to get to the theater extra early and wait in long lines in order to get a good seat whenever a blockbuster movie was released:
Stephen Jaffe / AFP via Getty Images
12.
Having to always set your TV to channel 3 in order to use your VCR or your gaming system:
13.
Accepting that you’d likely have to compromise with your siblings whenever you and your family were selecting what movies to rent:
David Friedman / Getty Images
14.
Having to research school assignments in encyclopedias and praying that there was enough of an explainer on the subject matter you were writing about:
Mario Tama / Getty Images
15.
Having ZERO idea who was calling at any time:
16.
Having to leave a voicemail on your friend’s family’s answering machine if they weren’t home and you wanted them to call you back:
17.
Replacing the mini-cassette tape in the answering machine ’cause it was starting to warp:
18.
Having to search through one of these giant books just to order a dang pizza:
19.
Using a payphone and always forgetting not to put the receiver close to your mouth:
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
20.
Paging someone and having to sit around next to the phone until they called you back:
21.
Ordering clothes, toys, books, or other things from a catalog and waiting WEEKS for them to come:
James Keyser / The Life Images Collection / Getty Images
22.
Or ordering something off a TV commercial and waiting WEEKS for it to come:
23.
Making sure you didn’t miss an episode or season premiere of a TV show you liked because you saw an ad for it in the newspaper or TV Guide:
CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
24.
Looking through the Sunday circulars so you could find out what albums, movies, and video games were being released:
25.
Using a watch out of necessity just to know what time it was:
1550539 / Getty Images / iStockphoto
26.
Buying souvenir books:
27.
Mailing your friends postcards while on vacation so that they knew how miserable or happy you were — and it was the only way to communicate with them if you were far away:
28.
Squinting and then “aiming” in order to take your pictures:
Remember when you had to put a camera right up to your eye to see what you were going to take a picture of? #weird
Twitter: @LizzyMace
29.
And having dozens of pictures remain a mystery right after you took them:
30.
And lastly, trying to watch porn like this:
Nostalgia Trip
Take a trip down memory lane that’ll make you feel nostalgia AF