The Fine Brothers continue their series of “Kids React” videos, by giving bright kids the challenge of reacting to technology from the dim, dark past. This week the kids are extremely flummoxed by rotary phones! One boy goes so far as to state that this was the phone Alexander Graham Bell used. If you weren’t feeling old before you watched this, I guarantee you will be by the time you’ve finished. Our family thought we’d hit the pinnacle of sophistication when we left the party line behind for a private number!
Recently we showed the episode where the kids – who range in age from 5 – 13, were presented with a cumbersome ‘old fashioned’ computer. While it lacked internet capability, decent games, and had scarcely any memory, they were able to figure it out quite admirably. That is why it is surprising to me that a simple telephone gave them the most trouble. Asked to try to make a call, most all of the kids struggled, as they would. Some have only seen the peculiar phones in movies. The boy pictured gave up, saying “I wasn’t born in the forties, I have no idea what the beep you’re talkin’ about.” It’s a good thing he’s cute.
If a call was difficult to figure out, forget about texting – though they did try! The idea of paying extra for long distance calls is also an unknown to this generation, as are phone booths…The very idea of paying money to call was met with horror.
All in all, the idea of only reaching your friend if they were at home, and no one else was on the phone seems like quite a trial for these kids, and certainly not the way they would want to live. After so much culture shock, their faces lit up when familiar Smartphones were brought in. We old timers have certainly have struggled through privations!