5 Of The Biggest Shocks If You Time Traveled From 1980 To Today

It’s always fun to dive down the old rabbit hole and compare how things were back in the day to how they are now. It’s only a matter of time until time travel becomes a thing, and then we’ll have an intimate understanding of how much things have shifted.

That being said, obviously, much has changed. Then, it’s a matter of personal opinion on what has changed for the better and for the worse. Is it necessarily an improvement that we now live in a world where we can consistently expect members of the younger generations to break out their phones to catch that could-be viral video for their up-and-coming TikTok account? Definitely not. Privacy? What’s that noise about? Let’s look at some of the most notable changes from the 1980s to now.

1. The Internet

Oh, internet. Whatever will we do with you? If you were to take a leap forward in time from 1980 to the state of things as they are today, the internet would no doubt leave you troubled, vaguely impressed, and generally confused. Confused because there’s just too much information available at the fingertips. Not only that, but now you have the whole AI-generated content debacle running amok, and the implications that brings. Like, online communities. Who is human, and who is robot in those at this point? At least it’s never been easier to look up fun facts. Back in the day you had to hoof it to your nearest library.

2. The Phones Out At Every Concert

What’s that you said? We’re at a live show? Sorry, I was busy watching it through my phone. I needed to get the video footage just to make sure that everyone I know, and the strangers that follow me online, see how great this concert is. I’ll tune in shortly enough. Promise.

3. Sears Peacing Out

Sears, remember that whole beast of an operation? Well, they really dropped the ball when it came to making the necessary shift from paper magazines to online orders. It’s right up there next to when Blockbuster declined to buy Netflix for $50 million when it comes to colossal, haunting failures. That $150 billion would be pretty sweet right now.

4. Fast Food Deliveries Via Your Phone

It’s dangerous. It’s glorious. The sheer convenience is terribly enabling. What else do you need? I guess the only thing working for us these days is that the price of fast food has soared through the roof. You might as well take the family out for a nice steak dinner if you’re even thinking about hitting McDonald’s.

5. GPS

To think that there was a time when we all had to find our way around by using things like paper maps. It’s laughable to picture certain folks from younger generations trying to make sense of one of those. Nowadays, you just need to bust out your phone and you’re on your merry way to getting successfully from point A to point B.