DJ Talk

Retro Poll: People Have Never…

It’s 2023, which means that you might have to be in your 40s to remember a time BEFORE the Internet.  And some stuff that was only around for a few years . . . like Friendster, Koosh balls, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas . . . are in danger of being forgotten.

A new poll asked people how often they did various “retro activities.”  They included people of ALL AGES, and here’s a rundown of what they found:

 

1.  6% haven’t listened to music on a cassette.

2.  7% haven’t used a printer in their own home.

3.  9% haven’t sent a postcard.

4.  10% haven’t taken photos on a non-disposable camera that used film.

5.  10% haven’t used a wall calendar to keep track of birthdays and events.

6.  11% haven’t bought a physical newspaper.

7.  12% haven’t used a fountain pen to write.  (It’s actually shocking that 88% have . . . unless they were a little loose on their definition of “fountain pen.”  That might be the case.  13% say they “currently” use fountain pens.)

8.  13% haven’t used a Yellow Pages to look up a phone number.

9.  14% haven’t used a public pay phone to make a phone call.

10.  15% haven’t listened to music on a vinyl record player, even if it’s hip again.

11.  16% haven’t used a floppy disc on a computer.

12.  18% haven’t used a physical road map.  (This one is underappreciated.  The next time you’re navigating an unfamiliar area with navigation on your cell phone, imagine trying to do it with a paper map.)

13.  19% haven’t connected to the internet using a dial-up connection.

14.  19% haven’t paid for something using a check.

15.  25% haven’t made a phone call on a rotary phone.

16.  26% haven’t watched a black-and-white television.

17.  26% haven’t owned an encyclopedia.

18.  33% haven’t typed on a typewriter.

19.  36% haven’t sent a fax.

20.  42% haven’t smoked a cigarette.

21.  44% haven’t written to a pen-pal.

22.  73% haven’t used a pager.

23.  73% haven’t had an account on MySpace.

24.  78% haven’t sent or received a telegram.

 

(Hit up YouGov.com for even more, including how the percentages broke down by sex and age.)

(Technically, this poll was conducted in the U.K., but there isn’t really anything that wouldn’t also apply in the U.S.)

(Except maybe the fountain pen thing.)  (???)