I was born in 1967 and graduated high school in 1985. It seems to me that this was at a THE MAJOR time shift from the Industrial to the Technoligical Age. Most senior citizens will talk about "Back in my day." But when I was younger that was about saying Ma'am and Sir. Now, we are talking about completely obsolete technologies.

Such as--When my mom went to school she learned shorthand and so did I. Kids today have no idea what it is. She learned to type and so did I. I was on an electric typewriter but that was the only difference from the manual she learned on. But, if she were in a coma for 20 years during the change from manual to electric, she would be a professional again within a week. If I were in a coma for 20 years, it would take at least 2 years to become barely competent on a computer.

SO, HERES THE QUESTION:

If you had been in a coma for the last 20 years, what about today would have you completely baffled?

EXAMPLE:

Then: You still ordered from a catalog like they did in the 1920's and you usually picked it up at the store when it came in.

Now: Stores don't even have buildings, much less catalogs anymore. You order from the internet, make a payment and it's delivered to you without ever seeing anyone.

I'm only 25 so I guess I can't really answer this question. I don't remember what things were like when I was 5 years old. Hmm..well, guess I would be confused about pretty much everything in that case!

Yeah!!! This one is pretty much for us +40s or so. Sorry.

But, you could consider the differences between you and your parents(or maybe even ask them.) You just might learn something interesting.

I think of this sometimes in terms of things I was accustomed to that my kids have never experienced. For example, if I took them back in time before touch tone phones, I think they'd need instructions to dial a rotary phone.

So a 20 year coma takes us back to 1988.
Not taking film in to be developed after a trip, but being able to upload pictures while you're traveling and send pictures home via email without anything physically moving from location to location.

I remember about that time, having a director who refused to get an email account, because unless ALL of his paper mail was going to shift to the email account, he'd have two in-boxes. And he didn't want to check two in-boxes. Now, I'd have to say that at work, the shift is almost 100% complete. I get about 4 pieces of paper mail a month.

And in 1988 I don't think I could have imagined owning a shredder at home. Shredders were larger than dorm refrigerators.

It's not technology-related, but I think people 20 years ago would be completely baffled by how overweight/obese our general population has become. Just walking around the mall, or going to the grocery store... it's very apparant.

Technology-wise -- there's tons of stuff! Hi-Def pictures on tv's and in movie theaters, portable cell phones, mp3 players, gps devices, laptop computers. The whole "portability" age where you can get any piece of information you desire from any location on the globe.

The decline of traditional media, like newspapers. The decline of public pay phones and water fountains because now we have cell phones and bottled water.

Also, they'd probably be pretty amazed by TiVo!

Video games! When I was in high school in the 80's I had a friend whose family always bought the newest things. They had the first Atari I ever saw, and we spent endless hours playing Pong.

I don't play video games anymore, but my husband does, and they've come a long way from Pong!

20 years ago you were expected to be married before you had a baby. Now you don't have to be married , you don't even have to have sex to have a baby!That is really remarkable!

A couple of things that came to me that might shock someone that just came to after 20 years would be ~

1 ~tattoos and piercing on people of all ages

2 ~ "pause" TV and DVR boxes

3 ~ I-Pods and cell phones

4 ~ internet shopping

5 ~ housing and gas prices

6 ~ reality TV

There is a few that came to me real quick.

Which reminds me HAT TRICK...just yesterday I was talking to my nephew about his finishing up his senior year here. He has a few classes bordering on failure! He scores very high on tests but refuses to do homework this year, has some motor skill issues (with his handwriting) maybe from his ADHD...can't hardly read his writing, lacks "sentence" structure...way worse than me!!! And that is BAD!!

Anyway he just passed his physical for the NAVY (very proud of him)...he will be having to do a lot of school, providing he gets through training etc., for the job he qualifies for. I asked him if he NOW wished he had learned to "write" better and paid more attention in English classes..he said yes, he knew he was lazy and blew it...BUT...it doesn't matter because NOBODY writes anymore...we just use the keyboard....when I said that KNUCKLEHEAD you don't spell very well he just said...Uncle Gary...we have spell check! aaaarrrghhhh!

vent...vent....breath....breath....ahhhhh.....much better now.

Spellchecker Ha!
This is why we have manuals that say things like
Put the bolts in there wholes. Tern until snug.

I commented on another thread that my children print only. They know how to write cursive, but don't see any point in it. To me it's much faster for note taking. They are so used to reading computer screens and printed documents and read handwriting so rarely, they find it challenging to read a note written in cursive. They find it especially hard to read my quickly written scrawl. Especially when it says things like, clean your room, empty the dishwasher, put your clean clothes away.

Congrats to your nephew.

OK to keep some of this on topic -
The increase in crime and need for security.
The number of gated communities.
The size of the average home being built today (well last year)
Percentage of American adults in jail. (10%)

The common use of curse words too. Back in the day, the "f" word was never bandied about in common conversations the way it is now. I am constantly amazed at the way people cuss in public and don't think I should be offended at it.
And the sex stuff on TV. (Now I really sound like an old lady!)
The products sold on TV are also outrageous to me. Drug ads for ED are the worst I think. Back when I was a kid I remember being embarrassed if a commercial came on for a feminine hygeine product in front of my brothers. It's gone way beyond that now.

I work in a hospital and the devices and medical technologies have changed so much in the last 30 years. We now have electronic bracelets on babies in our nursery so people won't steal them! We chart on computers and fax records to doctors. We use all kinds of devices to monitor things in people's bodies. We have so many medications now it is dizzying! At least most of these inventions are helping people live longer.

We might have more medications but thanks to insurance companies and everyone trying to save a buck, medical care in general has taken a turn for the worse. Today you make a doctor's appointment and may never be seen by an actual doctor - in many cases it's a nurse practicioner. If you do see a doctor, they don't spend much time with you because they are forced to see more patients as a trade off to accept less money for the visit. Seems like alot of people have commented that they don't feel the doctors listen to them or give a cursory reponse to their issues.

I hear you on the nephew Gary - that's so pathetic. It seems like kids all over the country have decided en mass that it's no longer necessary to do homework. Where did that come from?

Spelling has gotten a lot worse from 20 years ago. Between shortcuts used in texting and using the incorrect spelling of a word (there when it should be their) people just don't have good written communication skills any more.

People waking up from a coma in 1988 would probably be horrified as to how badly people drive now. Complete disregard for any rules of the road.

I always thought it was a waste to pay for an entire record album when it usually only had one or two good songs on it. I said I'd be willing to pay for for an "album" if I could just buy 20 songs I liked from various artists. And now with I-Tunes and Napster you can. People waking up from a coma might wonder what happened to all the record shops and music stores like Tower Records.

People waking up from a coma might be surprised to find that if they don't like their appearance, they have choices available to them thanks to implants, dental cosmetic treatments, eye surgery, liposuction, and weight reduction surgical options.

And finally they might wonder what happened to the big hair and huge shoulder pads of the 80's.