16 Retro Traditions That Are Now a Total Joke

Every decade ushers in fresh traditions and new social norms, leaving the standards of the past in the dust. What once felt completely normal now seems downright bizarre. It’s actually pretty wild to think how quickly things change! Younger generations often look at these old-school customs with total bewilderment, wondering, How did anyone live like this? Society has shifted so much over the years, and these once-common traditions now feel like relics of another world. Here’s a fun glimpse into just how drastically life has transformed!
Door-To-Door Salesman

Remember the days when a knock on the door could mean a friendly salesperson offering everything from encyclopedias to vacuum cleaners? Door-to-door sales were a staple of our youth, but today, this practice seems almost laughable. With the rise of online shopping and telemarketing, the idea of welcoming a stranger into your home to make a pitch feels outdated and intrusive.
Using A Phonebook

There was a time when every household had a thick phone book by the phone. We’d flip through pages of tiny print to find a phone number or address. Nowadays, the concept of a phone book is a relic, with Google and digital directories rendering them obsolete. Younger folks might find the idea of a physical phone book amusingly archaic not to mention the habit of memorizing phone numbers.
Cash And Checks Only

Remember when carrying cash and writing checks were the only ways to make purchases? This tradition has been overtaken by credit cards, debit cards, and digital payments. Why use cash when you can pay with a click on your phone? Seeing someone pulling out a checkbook at the grocery store can elicit eye-rolls and chuckles from those used to the convenience of modern payment methods.
Chain Letters

Chain letters were a big part of our lives, promising good luck if you sent them to a certain number of people and bad luck if you didn’t. These days, chain letters have migrated online, becoming email and social media spam. The old-fashioned paper versions are now seen as quaint and somewhat silly, and most youths have never seen one and may not even know they existed.
Rolodexes

In the pre-digital era, a Rolodex was a prized possession for keeping track of contacts. We meticulously organized business cards and notes in these rotating files. The Rolodex is a museum piece today, with digital contacts and cloud storage making it unnecessary. Millennials and Gen Zers find the idea of a physical contact organizer amusingly outdated.
Typing Classes

Learning to type on a typewriter was a rite of passage for many of us. We all learned this skill, whether in school or through private lessons. Typing classes were essential, preparing us for the workforce. With modern computers and smartphones, typing skills are still crucial, but the image of clunky typewriters and formal typing drills is now more of a nostalgic joke than a necessity.
Formal Dress Code

We grew up with strict dress codes for various occasions, from work to social events. Suits, ties, and formal dresses were the norm in our day. Today, however, casual and even athleisure wear has taken over, and younger generations often view our formal dress traditions as overly rigid and old-fashioned. This is surely more comfortable, even though most boomers disapprove.
Manual Car Window

Cranking a window up or down by hand was just how cars worked when we were young; honestly, we enjoyed it. Electric windows were once considered a luxury, and almost nobody could afford cars with them. Manual windows are rare now, and the effort it took to use them seems comically primitive to those who’ve grown up with automatic everything.
Landline Phones

Landline phones were our lifeline to the world. We memorized numbers and used rotary dials or push buttons. In the era of smartphones, the concept of a landline, especially one attached to a wall, seems almost prehistoric. Watching young people try to figure out a rotary phone can be quite entertaining, so if you ever get the chance, try to show one to your nephews and see their reaction.
Physical Maps

Before GPS and Google Maps, we relied on physical maps to navigate, and we had to learn how to read them. Unfolding a massive paper map on a road trip was a common sight. Today, using a physical map instead of a GPS system is almost a novelty, often seen as an impractical and humorous throwback. However, most boomers still prefer this method when traveling.
Milk Deliveries

Do you remember the milkman? Milkmen delivering fresh bottles to the doorstep was a regular part of our routine and made our breakfasts extra delicious. This tradition has all but disappeared, replaced by supermarkets and home delivery services. The image of a milkman and glass bottles now evokes a bygone era, often featuring in-jokes and nostalgic stories.
Sunday Best

Wearing our “Sunday best” for church or special occasions was a given. These days, the formality of dressing up for Sunday services or family dinners has relaxed significantly, even though some religious families still do it. Younger generations often find the insistence on such formality quaint and unnecessary, making it a light-hearted topic for jokes.
Smoking In Public Places

It used to be commonplace to smoke in restaurants, in grocery stores, and even on airplanes. Now, you would immediately get kicked out of any indoor public place if you tried to smoke. Smoking inside is no longer acceptable and something that seems a little insane even to consider. No one under the age of 60 would ever even think about trying to smoke inside!
Encyclopedias

Almost every baby boomer probably grew up with a massive encyclopedia set on their bookshelf. Everyone had encyclopedias, and that was how you looked up information. Want to know how much a tiger weighs or how many people live in Australia? You would look in the encyclopedia! Now, of course, we just search for the answers online. A smartphone is much less bulky and more informative than a 25-book encyclopedia set.
Postcards

Why would you spend your money and time on a postcard when you can easily take hundreds of pictures with your phone and send them to your relatives and friends at home in a second? There’s no doubt that postcards are on the decline, and in a few years, they may completely disappear from our shops. However, the older generation knows how special these are and how they cannot be compared to photos sent on WhatsApp.
Fax Machines

The fastest way to get information to someone in a different location used to be via fax. You would scan a paper on a huge machine, type in a phone number, and wait as the information was sent through the phone line and into someone else’s fax machine, where the paper would pop right out. Well, most of the time, the information would be sent, but more often than not, the fax machine wouldn’t work properly or couldn’t connect. That seems very complicated. Now, we can just email people or send them a photo of a document by text. Huge, annoying fax machines are a thing of the past that will likely never come back.