It’s no secret that boomers and today’s generation live a world apart. Many boomers vividly remember the advent of color TV as the greatest tech leap of their generation. Nowadays, even the tiniest tots are using the latest iPad.

In their more analog world, many boomers spent time learning and mastering skills that have since become obsolete to the youth of today. From typing classes, to sewing, to balancing a checkbook, there are hundreds of skills that kids these days just don’t have to learn anymore. Here are just 27 of them.

Replaced by: Sat Nav, navigation apps

Cause: Advanced technology

For many boomers, knowing how to read a map was as essential as learning how to ride a bike. (Though that didn’t stop them from getting horribly lost and having arguments with each other on the road.) These days, physical maps are a thing of the past. While most cars manufactured these days have built-in satellite navigation systems, many are still choosing to use smartphone apps like Google Maps to find their way.

Replaced by: Automatic gearboxes

Cause: Change in trends

Learning how to drive stick was a rite of passage for many teenage boomers. These days, there are fewer manual transmission cars being manufactured. The advent of the automatic transmission put an end to the need for drivers to work the clutch and stick shift, which was a lot easier on the body, especially on those long drives. Automatic cars are safer, more convenient, and fuel-efficient—it’s no wonder they account for 96% of cars in the US. For this reason, fewer teens and young adults ever learn how to drive a stick shift.

Replaced by: Not writing in cursive

Cause: Computers

With the ubiquity of computers, there’s no longer a need to spend time practicing on your penmanship and learning how to write in cursive. This might sound like a foreign idea to boomers, many of whom went to schools that strictly enforced teaching cursive. Failing to write in cursive often meant harsh punishments from the schoolteacher.

In 2010, US schools were told they didn’t have to teach cursive as part of the curriculum anymore. As a result, some states have opted to drop cursive writing entirely, resulting in the first generation of school children who’ll never have to practice their hills and valleys.

Replaced by: Casual texting, different habits

Cause: Technology

Boomers were taught to write everything—letters, notes, cards—in perfect traditional grammar. To this day, many boomers prefer to type their texts and Facebook posts in the same style. Nowadays, kids prefer to use internet slang, casual grammar, and emojis over traditional grammar to express themselves, even offline.

Replaced by: Fast fashion

Cause: It’s often cheaper to buy new

When boomers were growing up, products and clothes were made to be worn for many years, so any tears or rips were meant to be mended and darned so you could wear your clothes for much longer.

These days, fast fashion reigns in the clothing industry. Most garments are made as cheaply as possible, compromising on their quality. For many people these days, it’s just not worth the effort to stitch up a tear when you could buy a new one for just a couple dollars.

Replaced by: Conscious shopping

Cause: Change in consumer behavior

Many boomers like to shop in bulk and prefer to keep their fridges fully stocked all year round, enough to carry them through a nuclear winter. With younger people, there’s a growing movement to shop more “consciously”—buying just enough to last a week or two at grocery stores, shopping for fresh produce at farmer’s markets, and supporting small businesses with the goal of living a more sustainable and impactful lifestyle.

Replaced by: Cellphones

Cause: Change in technology

Chances are, every single person you’ll meet these days has a smartphone—but few of them will have a landline at home. (And if they do, it’ll hardly get any use.) With all the messaging apps available these days, landlines have simply become a thing of the past. Many boomers will still prefer to keep one at home though despite having a smartphone, purely out of habit.

Replaced by: Using sunscreen whenever you go out in the sun

Cause: More research on skin cancer and more advanced sun care products formulas

Back when boomers were growing up, it was completely normal to sunbathe without slathering on any sunscreen. Why block the sun when you’re trying to get a gorgeous tan? Unfortunately, many boomers are now paying for their generation’s lack of awareness with sky-high rates of malignant melanoma and skin cancer.

Compare that to today’s generation—many of whom simply refuse to go outdoors without some level of sun protection. With the rise of skincare influencers and more advanced sunscreen formulas, millennials and Gen Z have some of the lowest rates of skin cancer ever.

Replaced by: Eating chicken or other items

Cause: Health and sustainability

Nowadays, more and more young people are choosing to live a meat-free lifestyle, even raising their kids vegan. Veganism rose by 600% in the US in the last 20 years, causing a boom in the meat-alternatives market. Many are choosing to forgo meat for a number of reasons.

Livestock farming has been known to produce significant amounts of greenhouse gasses. Healthwise, research has shown that meat consumption contributes to heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. For these reasons, many are choosing to go for healthier plant-based diets.

Replaced by: Vaping

Cause: Health concerns

Smoking was ubiquitous when boomers were growing up. Many people were smokers by default, and non-smokers were often met by social pressure and discrimination. Back then, people simply weren’t aware of the deadly effects of smoking, and many cigarettes were even advertised as healthy.

Nowadays, it’s a well-established fact that smoking is one of the most deadliest habits you can pick up. But the nicotine industry isn’t giving up just yet. Vaping (using electronic cigarettes) increased by 1,800% in the last year among Gen Z and millennials, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon.

Replaced by: Different vacations

Cause: Lack of spontaneity

For many boomers, the idea of going on a cruise is heaven on earth. All you have to do is sit back on your deck chair on a large ship with all your entertainment and meals planned out for you. For many young people, this type of vacation seems too limited and manufactured.

Younger people tend to prefer more spontaneous vacations. When traveling abroad, they’ll often make an effort to have as “authentic” an experience as possible and will avoid committing to one idea when they can, preferring a more flexible itinerary.

Replaced by: Sneakers

Cause: Comfort and practicality

Boomers grew up regarding heels as a mark of a woman’s class and elegance. While they can certainly look stylish and sophisticated, the young women of today are forgoing heels for more comfortable kicks, leading to the rapid decline of stiletto sales.

These days, the best-selling women’s shoes are geared towards comfort and practicality. Sneakers, flats, and chunky boots are all the rage, as well as hybrid heels that are easy on the feet and offer more support. No more bunions!

Replaced by: Growing a full beard

Cause: The hipster beard

Back in the day, the art of getting a clean shave was one of the most important things a young boomer could learn from his father. Now, it’s considered sexy to grow out your beard. Men are forgoing their shaving creams and razor blades for beard oil and pocket combs.

This trend has caused razor blade sales to plummet by 11%, and experts are saying the industry might continue to see further losses in the future, as it doesn’t look like this trend is going away anytime soon.

Replaced by: Booking one electronically

Cause: Uber, Lyft

Gone are the days of standing on the side of the street and sticking your arm out in hopes of getting a taxi. With rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft, you’re guaranteed a ride to your destination with just a couple taps on your phone.

Millennials are the biggest user demographic of rideshare apps, and it’s not hard to see why. Most millennials prefer to live in the city, where owning a car can be expensive and impractical. Who wants to pay for parking?

Replaced by: Digital banking

Cause: Distrust, keeps assets in cash, no stock investment

For most boomers, going to the bank to make a deposit or cash in a check is a fact of life. Boomers have reported that they feel much more secure knowing their hard-earned savings are taken care of by a real person they can talk to at the bank.

The same cannot be said for today’s generation, a demographic that is notorious for their distrust of banks and financial systems in general. Many experts attribute this skepticism to their growing up during the financial crisis of 2008. It’s also the same reason this demographic has the lowest rates of stock investment—many are reluctant to put their money away for the long term for fear of a stock market crash.

Replaced by: Flexible working

Cause: Change of belief systems

Back in their day, boomers took a lot of pride in being able to hold down a 9-to-5. Their work was closely tied to their identity and status in society. As a result, boomers take great pride in the companies they worked for, the positions they held, and how long they worked there.

Millennials came to the work scene and turned this idea over its head. Their generation is a big reason why the routine 9-to-5 is slowly dying off—and no, it’s not because they’re lazy. As a demographic, millennials and Gen Z have different priorities and values from boomers and would much rather put themselves and their self-fulfillment first over any 9-to-5.

Replaced by: A more transparent workplace environment

Cause: Resistance to pay secrecy

Growing up, boomers were told it was rude, offensive, and tacky to talk about their income at work. This long standing taboo has held its grip on American society until just recently. Today, more young people in the workforce are doing away with the taboo of talking about their salaries and aren’t shy to tell their friends exactly how much they make.

But there’s a surprising upside to this for employers. Professor David Burkus of Oral Roberts said that employees could be disclosing their salaries under the incorrect assumption they’re getting paid less. If they find out that they’re being paid fairly, they’re more likely to stay at the company for longer.

Replaced by: Grabbing something from the cafeteria or not eating at all

Cause: Getting ahead at work, avoidance of “sad desk lunch” stigma

Sadly, it looks like the art of making a mean packed lunch may be fading soon. More young people at work prefer to grab something from the cafeteria or skip lunch entirely to clear out their to-do list for the day. This happens more often than you think, with 37% of millennials choosing to power through their lunch break and finish their tasks instead.

In a survey, FoodAndWine.com found another unusual reason why younger employees are skipping lunch—and it’s got to do with how they think they’ll look eating lunch at their desk. The food blog found that if millennials think they’ll look “depressing” eating lunch alone in their cubicle, they’ll simply skip it instead.

Replaced by: Fast fashion and cheap new options

Cause: Partly due to cobblery’s reputation as being old-fashioned

Cobblery is another industry that’s quickly fading into obsolescence. Older generations used to take their broken shoes for repair to cobblers—shoe artisans who took great pride in their work and were capable of fixing almost every type of shoe damage there was.

With the rise of fast fashion, shoes just aren’t made with the same type of durability anymore, so it doesn’t make any sense to repair them when they eventually break down after a couple uses.

Replaced by: Simply not wearing one

Cause: Millennials prefer more casual workwear

News website Vox put it best when they said that thanks to younger generations changing their perceptions and values, the “power suit has lost its power.” Older generations were expected to wear a suit and tie to work. Back in the day, you could even risk getting sent home by your supervisor for looking sloppy.

But thanks to changing employment conditions, younger employees are coming in to work in casual wear and ditching the tie. The tie industry has taken a major hit with this change in consumer tastes—sales plummeted by 59% in 2020 alone.

Replaced by: Dryers, non-crease material

Cause: Less formal clothing

Boomers grew up in a world where the best thing you could wear was a neatly pressed, wrinkle-free shirt. The importance of ironing your shirt and getting those clean pleats just right could not be emphasized more. It comes as no surprise then that boomers (especially women) were taught how to press their clothes when they were young.

What’s surprising is how rare it is to find an ironing board in Gen Z and millennial homes. With the prevalence of dryers and anti-crease fabric, young people simply don’t have to care so much about creases in their clothing anymore. And when they do wear wrinkled shirts, they’ll tell you it’s all part of the look.

Replaced by: Mobile banking

Cause: Different banking methods

While this might come as a shock to boomers, the truth is most Gen Z and millennials don’t even know what “balancing a checkbook” means. The ubiquity of credit cards and mobile banking has rendered the humble checkbook obsolete.

Back in the day, boomers used to be diligent about balancing their checkbooks to make sure that every penny was accounted for. These days, your bank will be the first to tell you (through an email or push notification) if there’s been any suspicious activity in your account.

Replaced by: Using regular crockery

Cause: Out of style

Back in the good old days, any respectable home had a set of good china to bring out to impress guests at dinner parties. Daughters would eventually inherit their favorite set upon moving out and continue to host dinner parties with them.

These days, American families have different priorities. Homes are typically smaller, which means there’s no space for keeping fragile goods like fine china. Most families like to keep their cupboards and crockery simple and durable. While they’re still prized for their beauty, Americans just don’t value good china the same way anymore.

Replaced by: Sending a text, uploading a photo to social media

Cause: Social media

Back in their day, it was a custom for boomers to stop by a souvenir shop to pick up a few postcards for friends and family while on vacation. They’d pick a few cards of their choice, pen a short note to their loved ones to tell them how their vacation was going, and then send them off.

These days, you can do the exact same thing—in real time—on Instagram. While it’s much less personal than sending a postcard, it’s quick, convenient, and it’s free. And these days, when you’re on vacation, chances are you’ve already dropped a couple grand on your flight and hotels. Who has the money to spare for postcards?

Replaced by: Renting

Cause: Financial constraints

These days, it’s common to see young people move back in with their parents after college. Many young people cite overwhelming student debt and high cost of living as their reason for moving back and say that home ownership has become a luxury they might never be able to afford.

According to Forbes, 70% of millennials, across all ages and categories, reported that their living situation is hard or extremely hard to afford. One respondent candidly shared, “We feel cheated because, no matter how hard we work and save, we can never get ahead—we're always three steps behind. This American dream is seeming more like a myth...”

Replaced by: Common-law marriages

Cause: Different idea of the family unit and changing priorities

With boomers, getting hitched was a milestone expected out of everyone. The rare outliers that never got married were subject to intense scrutiny and discrimination. Today, more than half of millennials are still unmarried at an age where most boomers were already starting families.

Experts attribute these falling marriage rates to the rise of individualism and liberalism. Most young people don’t see the point in getting legally married and view alternatives such as cohabitation, civil partnerships, and common-law marriages just as valid—and even more desirable—than legal marriage.

Replaced by: Pets, not having children

Cause: Various reasons

It wasn’t just enough for boomers to get married—the expectation of having children was just as absolute. Couples were expected to have not just one but multiple children to make the picture of a happy family. Nowadays, young people are having kids later in life—if at all.

According to a government report, birth rates in the US fell by 4% in 2020. While it may not seem like much, this is the largest single-year decrease in birth in nearly 50 years. Gen Z and millennials cited overwhelming student debt, the climate crisis, and low salaries as the reasons for their reluctance towards having children. Experts say the US might see a sharper decrease in birth rates in the coming years.