Millennials were the first generation to grow up with the internet, so they naturally learned a lot of stuff online, usually by clicking around until the computer finally did what they wanted.
The blank disc ritual
Burning a CD seemed like an easy enough job. But then you actually tried doing it. You needed to start with some blank discs and figure out whether your computer could even burn them, as well as which software to open. Then there was a bit of math involved, too.
A standard audio CD would only hold around 80 minutes, meaning a single extra track could end up being too much for it. You had to pray that the CD would burn correctly. Sometimes the progress bar got to 97% and stayed there forever. How annoying.
Your profile needed construction work
One thing that MySpace did was teach a lot of teenagers how to code. People didn’t call it coding at that time, but really, that’s exactly what it was. Millennials would copy huge blocks of HTML or CSS from a website and paste it into their profile.
They hoped they hadn’t broken everything. It was nothing like the systems we have today, as even changing a background or color could take ages. You spent half the time figuring out which song to use on your profile, and which bit of code controlled what.
One download could ruin the afternoon
It was a real challenge downloading just one song from the internet. They were easy to find, thanks to things like LimeWire and Kazaa, but actually downloading them was difficult. You didn’t always get what you were looking for.
You’d be lucky if it was only a mislabeled file. There was a chance that you could accidentally download a computer virus instead, so millennials learned how to spot fake files. They’d look closely at file types and file sizes, along with any other signs that the files weren’t real.
The video was never just the video
The online videos we have today are very different from those in the past. Those ones involved you pressing ‘Play’ but getting a black box or an error message instead. You’d have to figure out why Flash wasn’t working. You might have to install a plug-in, too, just to get it working.
Then came the most difficult part. You had to decide whether installing it was actually safe, or even worth it, because different sites wanted different players. Different browsers didn’t work in the same way. Millennials got pretty good at figuring out what they needed for each video.
The address bar became evidence
There was no checklist to follow when you were trying to avoid a dodgy website. No, you figured things out on your own, such as noticing a site had a weird web address or used broken English. The pages with ten flashing banners were a big no-no.
There were some millennials who took things further by looking for HTTPS and the padlock, although they weren’t the only signs. Millennials had to know what exactly to look for.
The printer was part of the navigation system
Millennials had homework when they wanted to go somewhere unfamiliar. There was no Apple or even Google Maps, after all, so they relied on sites like MapQuest instead. They’d type in both addresses and check the route before printing the whole thing.
Then came the hard part. Yes, millennials had to check each direction and read them out carefully to the driver. It’s not like there was a computer ready to fix your mistakes, after all. You had to simply get it right the first time.
Blocking had its own etiquette
There was something so serious about blocking someone online before. Sites like Facebook and MSN handled it a little differently, meaning that you’d have to figure out the right setting to block someone else. Then you had to figure out what the other person would see.
Maybe they’d be able to know you’d blocked them, and maybe their mutual friends would make things a little awkward. Millennials learned a lot about blocking and deleting, along with unfriending and ignoring. It’s like they became experts.
The bank didn’t really need your password
Phishing emails were way too easy to fall for. The typical idea of avoiding ugly-looking ones didn’t always work, so millennials quickly figured out how to spot the signs. They’d notice whether the email had the right logo and colors.
They learned to hover over links and check the sender address, too, while also questioning sudden account warnings. It’s served them pretty well today. You’d be hard-pressed to find a millennial who’d fall for such obvious scams today.
That percentage mattered
There’s no denying that buying stuff from eBay felt totally futuristic. You had to learn how to investigate that stranger first. Millennials learned the importance of checking a seller’s feedback percentage, as well as the number of reviews.
They got used to reading comments and checking how long a seller had been registered. Their generation would spend fifteen minutes researching a seller before buying something from them. It was that serious.
Google needed the right words
The act of searching something on Google was almost like its own little skill, as typing the first thing in your head didn’t always get you very far. No, millennials figured out how to optimize their searches by removing useless words and trying different phrases.
They understood the power of using things like a minus sign to cut out any unwanted results. That’s not all, though, as millennials also got used to changing the search completely when page one was rubbish. Sometimes the problem was how they were asking, not that Google had no answer.
The profile did most of the work
The days before swiping were hard. You couldn’t simply look at people for half a second when you were online dating and make a decision. No, you had to make a profile and choose photos that didn’t look terrible, then search through other people doing exactly the same thing. It was a lot of work.
Millennials learned how to send that first message on sites like Match.com without sounding creepy or boring. The waiting was the hardest part, of course. Maybe the person would reply, maybe they wouldn’t.
Buying a plane ticket became homework
There’s an art to booking a flight online that millennials had to learn the hard way. The cheap fare looked great, sure, but then they’d notice things like the six-hour layover. It didn’t seem like such an attractive purchase, then.
There was also the issue of figuring out how to check in online, before the days when it was very common. Millennials learned how important it was to type every single detail correctly. Otherwise, they’d have to deal with the drama at the airport.
Your bank account entered the browser
It genuinely felt dangerous when you logged into online banking for the first time. That was your actual money, sitting there on a webpage, and not in real life. Millennials soon learned how to deal with security questions and strange password rules.
They also figured out that, actually, it was a bad idea to follow random links in emails claiming to be from your bank. Checking a balance online might be completely ordinary these days. But in the past, for millennials, it felt like they were doing something they really shouldn’t.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
14 infamous urban legends that millennials fell for growing up
There were some stories that managed to race their way through playgrounds and inboxes before anyone could fact-check them, and that’s why they fooled so many millennials.
14 infamous urban legends that millennials fell for growing up
