"Once upon a time … " is how we'll eventually tell our children about sitting around the TV for the evening news or spending hours in the library to write a research paper because we needed the encyclopedias.
Babies born in 2011 will probably never know the pure joy — or frustration — of these soon-to-be ancient ideas.
Now, I'm not saying these things are already extinct, but within the next 10 years or so, they will at least be endangered species.
1. MP3s players that aren't Apple – Before Apple was the electronic powerhouse that it is today, there was a time when buying a digital song didn't automatically mean that it was from iTunes.
2. VHS tapes, cassettes, CDs – Just like our parents talk about having old 8-tracks, we'll soon be describing the idea of a Walkman and a VCR.
3. Blockbuster – Netflix and laziness have taken over the act of getting in your car, driving to the video store and walking through the aisles to search for what to watch.
4. Dial-up Internet – If I needed to use the Internet, I had to turn on the computer and leave for 10 minutes while it warmed up.
5. Evening news – We'd always sit around the TV right after dinner to watch those famous anchors who felt like friends. Sadly, I can't remember the last time I watched the evening news. I watch it in the morning and get it online.
6. Film cameras – Vacation meant bringing not only your camera but also 32 rolls of film.
As a kid, I was a planner. I would use my 24 pictures so sparingly that at the end of the day, I would have used only three pictures because I tried to save them for something cool, which never happened.
7. Handwritten letters – We all tried the pen pal thing. It only ever lasted about four letters. But how freaking excited were you when you got that letter?
When I was a freshman, my mom sent me handwritten letters every week. Now that I'm a senior, take a guess how many I get. If you guessed zero, you'd be right.
8. Home phones – The only reason my family still had a home phone was because my youngest brother didn't have a cell phone yet.
If everyone in the family has their own phone, why do you need an extra one that isn't mobile, let alone corded to a wall?
9. Travel agents – With all the websites like Expedia, Kayak, Travelocity, etc., why would you pay for someone else to do it for you when it's so easy and fast?
10. Printed dictionaries, catalogs, phone books, encyclopedias, maps – Let's face it: Anything printed can now be found on the Internet. In other words, not just on our computers, but also our iPads, Kindles and BlackBerries. t&c;
