A conduit from now to then.
Essays about the texture of growing up before the phone was in everyone's pocket — the stores, the sounds, the summers, and why they stuck.
Going to Blockbuster Was Half the Fun of Watching the Movie
Before streaming, choosing a movie meant Blockbuster, video store aisles, employee recommendations, pizza next door and a whole ritual before pressing play.
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Millennials Were the Last Generation That Had to Be Bored
Millennials had plenty of entertainment. The difference was that it eventually ran out—and we had to figure out what to do next.
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The Things We Didn't Know We Were Doing for the Last Time
From AIM and MapQuest to burned CDs and being unreachable, ordinary parts of millennial life disappeared before we realized they were ending.
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The Time Machine: What Dazed and Confused Preserved About Being Young Before Smartphones
Dazed and Confused preserves a teenage world built on cars, gathering places and word of mouth, when finding the night was part of the night.
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We Used to Listen to the Whole Album
We used to buy a CD, press play and live with every track. Streaming gave us almost every song ever recorded. It also changed the way we listen.
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Sound
Albums, mixtapes, radio, and the specific noises you can still hear.
Read Sound → -
Screens
Video stores, movies, television, and waiting for something to come on.
Read Screens → -
Places
Malls, basements, back seats — the places there was nothing to do.
Read Places → -
Growing Up
Boredom, school, summers, and the things you did for the last time without knowing it.
Read Growing Up →
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