I was hoping to post this in another relevant thread, since it doesn't sound thread-worthy, but I couldn't find a match, so here it is.

I was just eating dinner, and my mom was showing off baby pictures of my little sister (born mid-2005). Then, I busted out my phone and showed the pictures of her that I had. One of them was taken in late 2010, and it showed my then 5-year old sister carrying a fake toy Blackberry. The man at the phone store gave her one because she said she wanted a phone.

My sister's response? "What's a Blackberry?" Ouch, my world came crashing down! She's 12 and a half, almost a teenager, and she doesn't know what a Blackberry is! My brother explained "It was smartphones before the iPhone, they didn't have a touch screen", and she seemed honestly shocked that there were phones without touch screens. And I was shocked at her being shocked. Wow!

Do you have any shocking stories of young people not knowing certain technologies existed?

I remember handing my cousin a digital camera and instead of using the buttons he tapped on the screen.

I remember handing my cousin a digital camera and instead of using the buttons he tapped on the screen.


l7yxJDFvTRM

l7yxJDFvTRM

Lol I saw that video ;D

Wow. I personally didn't have a blackberry but I obviously know what they are. Although younger 00s babies have no clue about tons of the stuff from when I was a kid, like dial up or CRT TVS/monitors, or cellphones without a touch screen :-\\

I'm 31 and I'm unsure if I know what a Blackberry is. Not all of us stayed up to date with cellphones.

I'm 31 and I'm unsure if I know what a Blackberry is. Not all of us stayed up to date with cellphones.


:o That's surprising. It was one of the top cellphone brands circa 2008-2010, before the iPhone took over. Especially since you're 31, I would have imagined that everyone at your workplace had one in the late 2000s/early 2010s, because these were considered the best business phones.

Does this ring a bell? (Although, even if it does, I'm surprised it's not fresh in your head).

https://n1.sdlcdn.com/imgs/a/j/r/Blackberry-Curve-9320-Black-1171109-1-b0d20.jpg

Being slightly older than a teenager, I am not sure what a Blackbery is.

Blackberries were so huge. When teenagers don't know what they are it will make me feel very old.

When teenagers don't know what they are it will make me feel very old.
On your logic on not knowing what Blackberry is, does it make me feel young again?    ;D

I was hoping to post this in another relevant thread, since it doesn't sound thread-worthy, but I couldn't find a match, so here it is.

I was just eating dinner, and my mom was showing off baby pictures of my little sister (born mid-2005). Then, I busted out my phone and showed the pictures of her that I had. One of them was taken in late 2010, and it showed my then 5-year old sister carrying a fake toy Blackberry. The man at the phone store gave her one because she said she wanted a phone.

My sister's response? "What's a Blackberry?" Ouch, my world came crashing down! She's 12 and a half, almost a teenager, and she doesn't know what a Blackberry is! My brother explained "It was smartphones before the iPhone, they didn't have a touch screen", and she seemed honestly shocked that there were phones without touch screens. And I was shocked at her being shocked. Wow!

Do you have any shocking stories of young people not knowing certain technologies existed?


I'm old enough to know what one is.

:o That's surprising. It was one of the top cellphone brands circa 2008-2010, before the iPhone took over. Especially since you're 31, I would have imagined that everyone at your workplace had one in the late 2000s/early 2010s, because these were considered the best business phones.

Does this ring a bell? (Although, even if it does, I'm surprised it's not fresh in your head).

https://n1.sdlcdn.com/imgs/a/j/r/Blackberry-Curve-9320-Black-1171109-1-b0d20.jpg

Do you remember the Evo? I think it was called that anyway? It was a phone that was a slider/touch screen hybrid that came about after the Blackberry. After that everything went all touch screen android like we have now.

I shared an Instagram post with my brother born in 2006. It was a picture of a flip phone with numbers on top that would make you say “send nudes”. My brothers reaction? He said “I don’t get it. Why are there random numbers?” ;D :\'(

I shared an Instagram post with my brother born in 2006. It was a picture of a flip phone with numbers on top that would make you say “send nudes”. My brothers reaction? He said “I don’t get it. Why are there random numbers?” ;D :\'(
Sounds like something to avoid?

I didn't know what a Blackberry was until I looked it up on Google images. :-\\

I didn't know what a Blackberry was until I looked it up on Google images. :-\\

Did it ring a bell or did you just learn what it was?

I remember the Blackberry, but I never had one of my own.

I remember the Blackberry, but I never had one of my own.


never had one either.

But I recognize technology which I saw when I was 5 or 6, how is this even possible?

But I recognize technology which I saw when I was 5 or 6, how is this even possible?

Same here.

I remember the Blackberry, but I never had one of my own.

Same with me.

Were Blueberrys useful in their day?

I know what it is, i think my mother had one around 2010.

I know what it is, i think my mother had one around 2010.
I am still not sure a Blackberry is or was, so how did you mother use it?

This is the only blackberry I know.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Blackberry_close-up.JPG/470px-Blackberry_close-up.JPG

HOw did you mother use it?

She used it.

Yeah I think 2004 borns are probably the last to remember it since it's popularity faded around late 2011 in favor of the iphone.

Yeah I think 2004 borns are probably the last to remember it since it's popularity faded around late 2011 in favor of the iphone.

True? Maybe?

Yeah, I remember Blackberries being huge from about 2008-2010 then around late 2011 at my sophomore year in high school I started seeing more kids with iPhones.

Were Blueberrys useful in their day?


Yes, they were.

I had a BB around 2nd/3rd grade and it was a pretty good phone. It used to be one of the more popular phones circa 2010. I never realized they were that popular before 2009 though.

Yeah, I remember Blackberries being huge from about 2008-2010 then around late 2011 at my sophomore year in high school I started seeing more kids with iPhones.


Yeah I agree. Freshman & Sophomore years in high school were all about BBM. It was the main source of smartphone communication especially if you wanted to get sexually close to someone, sort of a precursor to Snapchat/FaceTime

Around 2012, I noticed more and more kids my age getting iPhones (and to a lesser extent, like myself, Androids), and by Junior year Blackberrys & "What's your BBM" was a thing of the recent past.

I had a BB around 2nd/3rd grade and it was a pretty good phone. It used to be one of the more popular phones circa 2010. I never realized they were that popular before 2009 though.


No offense, but why did you have a BB in elementary school ???.

That's life.  :-\\

No offense, but why did you have a BB in elementary school ???.

I'm the same age as Ofk and I remember my friend had an iPhone in 5th grade (2012-13 school year) and he was so addicted to it that one time someone tried to steal it on the bus and he got in a physical fight with them. It was crazy.  ;D

No offense, but why did you have a BB in elementary school ???.

Oh, my parents gave me older phones so that they could call me when I leave the house (They're helicopter parents ;D). It was the only way I was allowed to be alone outside the house, believe it or not 8-P. I actually got my first phone ever when I was 7 or so, but it was an old Nokia phone.

Teenager here, (13,) and if I'm being entirely honest I don't know what a blackberry is, so sounds like the title is accurate.

Honestly teens are lucky in a way they don't remember slow dial up internet and the early cell phones. Honestly it sucked. I even thought it sucked at the time, and really wanted something better and eventually it did get better! I remember when you used to have to wait like a minute for a simple web page to load on a desktop computer too! I remember the old analog cell phones that did nothing except make calls and there was no "nationwide calling" in those days. Like once we left Northeast Ohio it went to roaming (insanely expensive).


Everytime that webpage just pops up instantly on a phone! in the palm of your hand and you can use it all over the country without paying a ton...just realize how good we have it now!  ;D

Taking photos and video was SOOOO different back in the day, I mean back then it was you had film and you had to try not to "waste" film and be more careful with your pictures and then you had to wait to have it developed! Taking video meant lugging around a camcorder and if you wanted to "share" it that meant connecting the camcorder to the VCR and going through the tedious process of making additional copies with your VCR and then literally mailing the VHS tapes to friends/relatives!  ;D

I was really into photos and videos as a child and teen, I personally took a lot of photos and even made videos for family with my camcorder, and I remember this process so vividly. TBH it sort of makes me laugh today how primitive it seems.  ;D

Honestly teens are lucky in a way they don't remember slow dial up internet and the early cell phones. Honestly it sucked. I even thought it sucked at the time, and really wanted something better and eventually it did get better! I remember when you used to have to wait like a minute for a simple web page to load on a desktop computer too! I remember the old analog cell phones that did nothing except make calls and there was no "nationwide calling" in those days. Like once we left Northeast Ohio it went to roaming (insanely expensive).


Everytime that webpage just pops up instantly on a phone! in the palm of your hand and you can use it all over the country without paying a ton...just realize how good we have it now!  ;D

Taking photos and video was SOOOO different back in the day, I mean back then it was you had film and you had to try not to "waste" film and be more careful with your pictures and then you had to wait to have it developed! Taking video meant lugging around a camcorder and if you wanted to "share" it that meant connecting the camcorder to the VCR and going through the tedious process of making additional copies with your VCR and then literally mailing the VHS tapes to friends/relatives!  ;D

I was really into photos and videos as a child and teen, I personally took a lot of photos and even made videos for family with my camcorder, and I remember this process so vividly. TBH it sort of makes me laugh today how primitive it seems. D
Yea true, cellphones has evolved so rapidly in the last 20 years it's hard to believe that we live in an era now where cellphones = smartphones whereas as in the 2000s a cellphone could've been a fliphone,slider phone, a sidekick, blackberry or a brick phone. The Internet has changed a lot to from what it was in the 90s and early 2000s. Since about 2004 high-speed internet has become the norm in the US and now it's gotten to the point where you don't even need a computer to use the web. People still use Desktop/Laptop s but not like they did in the 2000s because of how far mobile technology has come.

Teenager here, (13,) and if I'm being entirely honest I don't know what a blackberry is, so sounds like the title is accurate.
Dang, when i was your age every kid wanted a Blackberry, thankfully I had something better than the Blackberry I had the very first Android phone which changed the way we used cellphones.

I'm the same age as Ofk and I remember my friend had an iPhone in 5th grade (2012-13 school year) and he was so addicted to it that one time someone tried to steal it on the bus and he got in a physical fight with them. It was crazy.  ;D


Damn thats crazy ;D. So question, were smartphones pretty common for guys your age in late elementary/early middle school? I remember when I was in 5th grade that there were a few kids in my class who had cell phones, one of them actually had a slider. But most kids still just depended on the schoolwide payphone to call their parents. I started noticing more kids with cell phones in 6th/7th grade, and I got my first in 7th, but it was a crappy nokia.



Oh, my parents gave me older phones so that they could call me when I leave the house (They're helicopter parents ;D). It was the only way I was allowed to be alone outside the house, believe it or not 8-P. I actually got my first phone ever when I was 7 or so, but it was an old Nokia phone.


I see. I guess they could've just given you a flip phone, but it depends on the parent. Was it common for guys your age to have smartphones that young? I was a similar age to you at the time when the iPhone had just released, but you hardly saw any kids my age with one let alone a Blackberry. Around 8th grade I started to see a few a kids my age with iPhones or BBs, but those were typically the spoiled rich kids (and you don't want to know how they turned out...)

Honestly teens are lucky in a way they don't remember slow dial up internet and the early cell phones. Honestly it sucked. I even thought it sucked at the time, and really wanted something better and eventually it did get better! I remember when you used to have to wait like a minute for a simple web page to load on a desktop computer too! I remember the old analog cell phones that did nothing except make calls and there was no "nationwide calling" in those days. Like once we left Northeast Ohio it went to roaming (insanely expensive).


Everytime that webpage just pops up instantly on a phone! in the palm of your hand and you can use it all over the country without paying a ton...just realize how good we have it now!  ;D

Taking photos and video was SOOOO different back in the day, I mean back then it was you had film and you had to try not to "waste" film and be more careful with your pictures and then you had to wait to have it developed! Taking video meant lugging around a camcorder and if you wanted to "share" it that meant connecting the camcorder to the VCR and going through the tedious process of making additional copies with your VCR and then literally mailing the VHS tapes to friends/relatives!  ;D

I was really into photos and videos as a child and teen, I personally took a lot of photos and even made videos for family with my camcorder, and I remember this process so vividly. TBH it sort of makes me laugh today how primitive it seems.  ;D


Yeah I even remember a time when cell phones were not as ubiquitous as they are today. Things like smartphones seemed like a bit of a pipe dream growing up, something out of an episode from like Phil of The Future or something. I remember around the mid 2000s was when cell phones massively rose into popularity due to the release of the Motorola Razr and thus the flip phone (and to a lesser extent, the slider phone) style becoming prevalent in cell phones. That was occurring around the time 3G was starting to become unvelied to public, WiFi was becoming huge, and we were officially entering the Web 2.0 era of the internet (and the subsequent rise in social media and YouTube). More and more, I am starting to realize that the mid 2000s was the true crossover between the old school technological world of the later 20th century into the truly modern world of the relatively young 21st century.

Damn thats crazy ;D. So question, were smartphones pretty common for guys your age in late elementary/early middle school? I remember when I was in 5th grade that there were a few kids in my class who had cell phones, one of them actually had a slider. But most kids still just depended on the schoolwide payphone to call their parents. I started noticing more kids with cell phones in 6th/7th grade, and I got my first in 7th, but it was a crappy nokia.


I see. I guess they could've just given you a flip phone, but it depends on the parent. Was it common for guys your age to have smartphones that young? I was a similar age to you at the time when the iPhone had just released, but you hardly saw any kids my age with one let alone a Blackberry. Around 8th grade I started to see a few a kids my age with iPhones or BBs, but those were typically the spoiled rich kids (and you don't want to know how they turned out...)

Yeah, it wasn't rare in my school. I went to a private school, so there were a lot of rich spoiled kids ;D. No one had an iPhone until around 5th grade though. I personally had the same BB until middle school when my dad gave me his iPhone 4S.

Damn thats crazy ;D. So question, were smartphones pretty common for guys your age in late elementary/early middle school? I remember when I was in 5th grade that there were a few kids in my class who had cell phones, one of them actually had a slider. But most kids still just depended on the schoolwide payphone to call their parents. I started noticing more kids with cell phones in 6th/7th grade, and I got my first in 7th, but it was a crappy nokia.


I see. I guess they could've just given you a flip phone, but it depends on the parent. Was it common for guys your age to have smartphones that young? I was a similar age to you at the time when the iPhone had just released, but you hardly saw any kids my age with one let alone a Blackberry. Around 8th grade I started to see a few a kids my age with iPhones or BBs, but those were typically the spoiled rich kids (and you don't want to know how they turned out...)

From what I can remember, a decent amount of 5th graders owned a smartphone at the time but not a lot. It wasn’t until 6th grade (2013-14 school year) that a lot of people had a smartphone, including myself.

Yeah, it wasn't rare in my school. I went to a private school, so there were a lot of rich spoiled kids ;D. No one had an iPhone though until around 5th grade though. I personally had the same BB until middle school when my dad gave me his iPhone 4S.


I see that makes a lot of sense. The rich kids in my school growing up were the only kids in school that had cell phones, while when you were growing up were the only ones with smartphones.



From what I can remember, a decent amount of 5th graders owned a smartphone at the time but not a lot. It wasn’t until 6th grade (2013-14 school year) that a lot of people had a smartphone, including myself.


So it almost seems like the progression of how kids adapted technology was similar, but obviously a generation behind. When I entered middle school I started seeing more kids my age owning cell phones, but just plane jane flip phones mainly. The cool kids in school had the sliders. While for you, when you started middle school smartphones became big. But if smartphones were already pretty ubiquitous by 2013 there really were no classist or elitist differences when it pertained to kids with the cool gadgets, if I'm not mistaken? So regardless of one's popularity, socioeconomic situation, etc. they would've likely owned a smartphone.

That's actually pretty interesting, cause in the case of when I was growing up there was a clear distinction of different subcultures in school based on the phones they owned (or lack thereof). The rich kids had the sliders, the Blackberrys, and some with iPhones. The scene/emo kids were really into the sliders. The normal kids like myself had just typical flip or brick phones. The kids that got brutally made fun of were the ones with no phones and or brought their Gameboys or Nintendo D.S to school. Damn how times have changed.

Yeah I even remember a time when cell phones were not as ubiquitous as they are today. Things like smartphones seemed like a bit of a pipe dream growing up, something out of an episode from like Phil of The Future or something. I remember around the mid 2000s was when cell phones massively rose into popularity due to the release of the Motorola Razr and thus the flip phone (and to a lesser extent, the slider phone) style becoming prevalent in cell phones. That was occurring around the time 3G was starting to become unvelied to public, WiFi was becoming huge, and we were officially entering the Web 2.0 era of the internet (and the subsequent rise in social media and YouTube). More and more, I am starting to realize that the mid 2000s was the true crossover between the old school technological world of the later 20th century into the truly modern world of the relatively young 21st century.
Cellphones was pretty big in the media prior to the razor, I remember cellphones being really "common in 2002 with the Verizon can you hear me now" commercial and with rappers using cellphones in their music videos in the late 90s and early 2000s. Flip phones were already common by the late 90s but it just looked different than the ones that came out in the mid-2000s. The early fliphones had monochrome screens, long antennas on the back and clamshell protected the keypad.

I've never owned a Blackberry but almost every one of my peers have. I was late to the cell phone game, with getting my first phone (which wasn't a smartphone) in 2011 at age 16. I'm glad I didn't though, there was no need for me to use one and I got along absolutely fine without one in my early teen years. I did have an MP3 player and IPod though. Then I got my first smartphone in late 2012.

I've never owned a Blackberry but almost every one of my peers have. I was late to the cell phone game, with getting my first phone (which wasn't a smartphone) in 2011 at age 16. I'm glad I didn't though, there was no need for me to use one and I got along absolutely fine without one in my early teen years. I did have an MP3 player and IPod though. Then I got my first smartphone in late 2012.


Yeah I could relate to this. I had my sister's Discman during middle school as my source of music, a Nokia brick phone to call my parents & limited text messaging, and a Nintendo D.S. That was enough to get me through the day back then, no smartphones, just a bunch of devices and some good ole communication.

I arrived to the smartphone game relatively normal with my peers, circa 2012, but it was a crappy Android in comparison to the flashier iPhones of my peers. I did have one cell phone freshman year that looked exactly like a Blackberry (keyboard and all) but it was just a standard cell phone ;D.