We're glad the internet exists, but before that, we spent a lot more time in libraries.
Even today's kids still hang out at libraries, in case you were wondering. It's lovely to see parents reading to their kids, librarians hosting story hours for toddlers who won't sit still, and families checking out a dozen books for them and the kiddos. Some things never change.
The library-going experience for today's kids is usually about fun, though. Most kids will never have to worry about going to the library to use the computer, because they can just use their iPad or their parent's phone to look something up with speed and accuracy. The stress of going to research a school paper five minutes before the library closed, and photocopying pages from books to use as sources, probably isn't going to bother kids these days. We just have the technology for these things everywhere, and we totally take it for granted. I love learning new things by just Googling them and reading news articles or watching videos about random subjects. Today's children will always have these wonderful troves of info right at their fingertips.
It's hard to explain to people born after 2000 how difficult everyday tasks used to be, compared to how utterly effortless things are now. Not everything is an improvement, though. Lots of people in the comments below ruminated on their incredible childhoods spent biking with friends and coming home when the streetlights went on. We don't see that much anymore…
Check out all of the thoughtful answers to this person's question: “What one thing a kid born after 2000 will not understand no matter how long you explain it?”
Next up, this woman held onto a petty declaration for fifty years, just to spite her husband.
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