Gen X grew up in a weird in-between world. Too old for social media in their teens, too young for rotary phones in childhood. They lived through cassette tapes, landline drama, and Saturday morning cartoons that only aired once a week. To Gen Z, a lot of it sounds like ancient history—or just plain weird.
They experienced the golden age of arcades, where high scores were a badge of honor, and rode their bikes for hours without a cellphone to check in. Here are 20 Gen X experiences that Gen Z will never truly understand, no matter how many throwback TikToks they see.
1. Rewinding VHS Tapes
Before streaming or even DVDs, watching a movie meant rewinding a clunky VHS tape before returning it. Forget to rewind? You’d get scolded—or charged extra by Blockbuster.
2. Making Mixtapes From The Radio
Gen X had to wait for the perfect moment to hit “record” when a song came on the radio. Sometimes the DJ would talk over the intro and ruin it forever. Still, it was an art form.
3. Using a Payphone to Call Mom
Lost after school? You had to find a payphone and hope you had a quarter. There was no texting “Here” from the driveway.
4. Waiting for a Song to Come on MTV
Before YouTube, music videos weren’t always on demand. You’d sit for hours waiting for your favorite video to show up on Total Request Live.
5. Writing Notes Instead of Texting
Flirty? Bored in class? Gen X passed notes. Carefully folded, creatively coded, and sometimes intercepted by the wrong person. It was texting—if texting came with origami skills and possible detention.
6. Getting Internet from a Phone Line
Logging on meant unplugging the landline. Cue the dial-up screech. And if someone picked up the phone, your connection crashed. It was chaos.
7. Watching Saturday Morning Cartoons
You had one shot to watch your favorite cartoons. If you missed it? Too bad. There was no streaming or rewatching later. It was a sacred weekend ritual.
8. Using an Encyclopedia for Homework
Gen X had to dig through physical books to look up facts. If your family had the full set, you were basically a scholar.
9. Having to Remember Phone Numbers
Every friend’s number was memorized or scribbled on a piece of paper. Lose your address book? You were out of luck.
10. Watching Movies on TV with Commercials
You’d sit through two and a half hours of ads just to watch “Back to the Future”. Pausing for snacks meant missing part of the movie—there was no rewind button.
11. Printing Out Directions from MapQuest
Before smartphones, you’d print directions and pray you didn’t take a wrong turn. If you did? Pull over, ask someone, or just wing it.
12. Burning CDs from LimeWire
Gen X flirted with early internet piracy, using LimeWire or Napster to make the perfect burned CD. You might’ve gotten viruses, but at least your playlist slapped.
13. Calling a Radio Station to Request a Song
You’d wait on hold, then nervously ask the DJ to play your favorite track. If it made it on air, it felt like winning the lottery.
14. Developing Film and Waiting for Photos
No instant preview, no filters. Just blind faith in your disposable camera. You didn’t know what you got until you picked up the prints—often with half a roll of blurry thumbs.
15. Reading Actual TV Guides
Want to know what was on tonight? Grab the guide, flip to the listings, and plan your evening. If you lost it, good luck figuring out what channel anything was on.
16. Using a Pencil to Fix a Cassette
When a tape got chewed up, you’d wind it back in using a pencil like a surgeon. Every Gen X kid became an audio engineer at some point.
17. Having Only One Phone—and It Was in the Kitchen
Private calls didn’t exist. Your mom was making dinner five feet away. If the cord stretched to the next room, you were lucky.
18. Watching the Same Movie Over and Over
Gen X kids didn’t have hundreds of options. They had maybe five tapes—and wore them out. You could recite every line from The Goonies, and still watch it again.
Read More: 10 Skills Gen X Has the Rest of the World Should Master
19. Playing Outside Until the Streetlights Came On
No phones. No tracking apps. Just be home by dark—or else. That was freedom, and it came with a healthy dose of risk and adventure.
Read More: 30 Things People Don’t Know About Gen X
20. Taping TV Shows on Blank VHS
If you were going to miss your favorite show, you had to record it yourself. Mess it up? You missed the episode—and everyone would spoil it the next day.
Gen X didn’t have the sleekest tech, but they made it work. Their world was messy, hands-on, and full of analog charm. To Gen Z, it’s a different planet—but for Gen Xers, it was just growing up.
Read More: 15 Gen X Trends That Totally Disappeared
