MomSkoop
Growing up in different times means different habits, and Gen X and Gen Z couldn’t be more different in how they live their daily lives. Gen X grew up without smartphones, social media, or instant answers to every question.
They learned to navigate the world using tools and skills that Gen Z might find totally strange today. Let’s explore some of the quirky things Gen Xers do that leave younger generations scratching their heads.
1. Making Mix Tapes as Love Letters
Recording the perfect mix tape meant sitting by the radio for hours, finger hovering over the record button, waiting for your favorite song. Each tape was a carefully crafted gift that showed someone exactly how you felt about them. You’d spend time picking the right songs in the perfect order, writing the track list in your best handwriting, and maybe even decorating the label with drawings.
Gen Z might stream playlists for friends, but they’ll never understand the patience and dedication it took to create these musical masterpieces. Every song had to be timed perfectly, and if you messed up, you’d have to start all over again. The whole process could take an entire weekend, but the result was something truly special and personal.
2. Using Paper Maps for Road Trips
Before GPS and smartphones, finding your way meant wrestling with giant paper maps that never folded back correctly. Gen X remembers stopping at gas stations to grab free maps and highlighting routes with markers.
They’d navigate by reading street signs and counting exits, sometimes getting gloriously lost in the process. Wrong turns meant real adventures, not just a quick reroute from an app.
For Gen Z, the idea of driving anywhere without Google Maps sounds like prehistoric survival training. But Gen X mastered the art of map reading, co-pilot arguments, and the satisfaction of actually arriving at the destination through pure skill and determination.
3. Memorizing Phone Numbers
Gen X had dozens of phone numbers stored in their brains, from best friends to pizza delivery. There was no contact list to scroll through—you either remembered the number or you didn’t call.
They kept little address books filled with handwritten numbers and would panic if they lost them. Calling someone meant dialing every single digit, and long-distance calls were special occasions because they cost money.
Gen Z can barely remember their own number since phones do all the work now. The mental gymnastics Gen X performed daily just to stay connected would feel like unnecessary brain clutter to today’s teens, who simply tap a name and connect instantly.
4. Rewinding VHS Tapes Before Returning Them
Renting movies from Blockbuster came with an unwritten rule: always rewind the tape before returning it. Gen X would groan when they popped in a movie and had to wait for it to rewind because the last person was inconsiderate.
Some families even bought special rewinding machines to save wear on their VCRs. It was basic courtesy, like returning a shopping cart.
Gen Z streams everything instantly and can skip to any scene without waiting. The concept of physically rewinding entertainment sounds absurdly time-consuming. But for Gen X, it was just part of movie night, and forgetting to rewind meant facing the wrath of late fees and dirty looks from video store clerks.
5. Looking Up Information in Encyclopedias
Homework meant hauling heavy encyclopedia volumes off the shelf and flipping through hundreds of pages to find one fact. Gen X spent hours in libraries, cross-referencing topics and taking handwritten notes because photocopying cost money.
Families invested in expensive encyclopedia sets that took up entire bookshelves. Updates came as yearly supplements, and outdated information just stayed outdated until the next edition.
Gen Z Googles everything in seconds and considers scrolling past the first search result to be extensive research. The patience required to manually search through physical books for information feels impossibly slow by today’s standards, but Gen X developed research skills and persistence that shaped how they solve problems.
6. Recording Songs Off the Radio
Creating the perfect mixtape meant waiting by the radio for hours, finger ready to hit record the second your favorite song started playing. Gen X became experts at timing, trying to avoid capturing the DJ’s voice at the beginning or end.
They’d make custom playlists this way, spending entire weekends crafting the perfect collection. Each tape was a labor of love, decorated with careful handwriting and given as gifts to crushes and friends.
Gen Z has millions of songs available instantly through streaming services, making the radio-recording ritual seem ridiculously inefficient. But those homemade mixtapes held emotional value that playlists can’t quite replicate, representing hours of dedication and thoughtfulness.
7. Waiting a Week for the Next TV Episode
Must-see TV meant being home at exactly the right time every week, or you’d miss your show entirely. Gen X planned their schedules around TV programming, and missing an episode meant waiting for summer reruns to catch up.
Water cooler conversations revolved around what happened last night on popular shows. Everyone experienced the story at the same pace, creating shared cultural moments.
Gen Z binges entire seasons in a weekend and hates waiting even a day between episodes. The discipline of delayed gratification that Gen X practiced weekly seems torturous to a generation raised on on-demand everything. But those weekly waits built anticipation and made TV watching a communal event rather than a solitary marathon.
8. Using Pay Phones to Check In
Going out meant carrying quarters for pay phones in case you needed to call home. Gen X would check in with parents from mall pay phones or call friends to coordinate meeting spots since nobody could text locations.
Collect calls and 1-800 numbers were lifelines when you ran out of change. Pay phone etiquette included keeping calls brief when people were waiting.
Gen Z considers being unreachable for even five minutes an emergency, always connected through smartphones. The freedom and slight danger of being truly off-grid while out sounds both liberating and terrifying. But Gen X learned independence and problem-solving skills from navigating the world without constant digital umbilical cords to home.
9. Developing Film to See Your Photos
Taking pictures meant waiting days or weeks to see if they actually turned out okay. Gen X shot entire rolls of film at parties and vacations, then dropped them off for developing, crossing fingers that someone didn’t blink in every shot.
You paid for every photo whether it was good or terrible, so people were more thoughtful about what they photographed. Getting double prints meant you could share copies with friends.
Gen Z takes hundreds of photos daily, deleting bad ones instantly and applying filters before posting. The suspense and occasional disappointment of film photography seems wasteful and inefficient now. But those printed photos in albums carry tangible memories that somehow feel more permanent than thousands of digital images lost in cloud storage.
10. Writing in Cursive for Everything
Gen X learned cursive writing in elementary school and actually used it daily. Birthday cards, school assignments, and even grocery lists were written in flowing, connected letters. It was considered a sign of maturity and good education.
For Gen Z, cursive is practically a secret code. Most schools stopped teaching it years ago, making it an almost lost art. When Gen X writes a thank-you note in elegant cursive, younger people might struggle to read it.
The skill represented more than just fancy writing. It connected people to history, personal expression, and a slower pace of communication that feels almost magical now.
11. Calling Someone Without Texting First
Back in the day, picking up the phone and calling someone was perfectly normal. Gen X didn’t think twice about dialing a friend’s number without warning. Conversations happened spontaneously, and people answered calls from unknown numbers without fear.
Gen Z finds unannounced phone calls almost rude or anxiety-inducing. They prefer a text to schedule when to talk. The idea of calling someone out of the blue feels invasive to them.
This difference shows how communication styles have shifted dramatically. What was once friendly and direct now feels aggressive, revealing how technology has reshaped our social boundaries and expectations in surprising ways.
12. Owning Physical Music Collections
Gen X spent hours organizing CD towers and vinyl collections by artist and genre. Music was something you could hold, display, and treasure. Album artwork mattered, and liner notes were read cover to cover.
Streaming services have made physical music seem pointless to Gen Z. Why own CDs when millions of songs fit in your pocket? The concept of buying individual albums feels wasteful and outdated.
Yet Gen X remembers the thrill of unwrapping a new album and the pride of showing off their collection. Music felt more valuable when it took up physical space and cost real money per purchase.