15 ’80s Tech Accessories Kids Today Wouldn’t Recognize
This listicle features 15 tech accessories from the 1980s that modern kids would not recognize or know how to use.
- Daisy Montero
- 4 min read
These ’80s tech accessories were once part of everyday life but would confuse kids today. Things like cassette tapes, floppy disks, and rotary phones were normal back then. Now, they seem like strange relics from another world. This list brings them all back.
1. Rotary Phone
danken-newt on Wikimedia Commons
Rotary phones required you to spin a dial for every single number you called. If you messed up, you had to hang up and start over. Most kids today have never even seen a phone without a touchscreen.
2. Walkman and Cassette Tapes
Dillan Payne on Wikimedia Commons
Walkmans let you take your music on the go, but only if you had a pocket full of cassette tapes. You had to fast-forward or rewind just to hear your favorite song again. Using a pencil to fix a tangled tape was practically a rite of passage.
3. VHS Tapes and VCRs
VHS Tapes and VCRs on Wikimedia Commons
Watching a movie meant inserting a bulky tape into a VCR and hoping it had been rewound. Adjusting the tracking was often the only way to fix a fuzzy screen. Forgetting to rewind before returning the rental could actually cost you extra money.
4. Dial-Up Modem
Anthony Dalesandro on Wikimedia Commons
Connecting to the internet meant listening to a loud screeching noise as your modem tried to make a connection. You could not use the phone while online. Most kids today would never survive those loading times.
5. Manual Typewriter
W.carter on Wikimedia Commons
Every letter typed on a manual typewriter made a loud click, and there was no delete button to fix mistakes. You needed correction fluid or just had to start over. Typing a clean page took patience and focus.
6. Rolodex
ArnoldReinhold on Wikimedia Commons
Before smartphones, contacts were kept on cards inside a spinning Rolodex. You flipped through the cards by hand to find the number you needed. Losing one meant rewriting it all over again.
7. Payphone
Vee Satayamas on Wikimedia Commons
If you needed to call someone outside your house, you had to find a payphone. That usually meant having a few coins in your pocket. The idea of standing in public to make a private call seems strange now.
8. Pager
Florian Fuchs on Wikimedia Commons
A pager would beep or buzz when someone sent you a number to call back. You still had to find a phone to return the call. Even though they were small, pagers felt incredibly important.
9. Floppy Disks
Jacek Halicki on Wikimedia Commons
Floppy disks were used to save files, even though they could only hold a tiny amount of data. Carrying multiple disks was common if you had a lot of schoolwork. Today’s flash drives and cloud storage make them look like ancient tools.
10. Fax Machine
Pittigrilli on Wikimedia Commons
Fax machines could send documents through a phone line, one page at a time. You had to listen for a dial tone and hope the other machine picked up. It was like printing and emailing all at once, but much slower.
11. Photo Film and Developing
Vyacheslav Argenberg on Wikimedia Commons
Cameras used rolls of film that had to be developed at a photo lab. You had no idea if the pictures were good until you picked them up. Every click of the shutter counted because film was limited.
12. Palm Pilot and PDAs
Mogor on Wikimedia Commons
Palm Pilots helped people organize their contacts, calendars, and notes. They were early handheld computers before smartphones took over. Using a stylus to tap tiny buttons was considered futuristic.
13. Record Adapters
Mark Grant on Wikimedia Commons
To play 45 RPM records on a standard turntable, you needed a plastic adapter for the center hole. These little discs were easy to lose but essential for music lovers. Kids today might mistake them for toys or bottle caps.
14. Pocket Rockers
Fisher Price on Wikimedia Commons
Pocket Rockers were mini music players that looked like toys but played tiny tapes. Kids clipped them to their belts and showed off their favorite songs like fashion accessories. It was a music fad that burned bright and faded fast.
15. Talkboy Voice Recorder
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The Talkboy became famous thanks to the movie Home Alone 2. It lets kids record their voice and play it back at slow or fast speeds. Everyone wanted one, even if they had nothing important to record.