20 Outdated Or Obsolete Things That People Still Use Or Do Because They Prefer It Over New Technology
Recently, Best Buy announced that after this holiday season (starting in 2024) they would no longer be selling DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Ultra HD discs, both in-store and online because the rise of streaming had made the demand for them "obsolete." And, I think for myself, and a lot of you reading this, that's probably 100% true. We stream everything!
However, the Best Buy news also made me think of a trend that TikTok turned me on to of people who go out of their way to collect physical media. In short, yes, physical media is more inconvenient (takes up space, can't access it on your phone, etc.). But, for these TikTokers they prefer it the old-fashioned way. In the case of the ones who collect Blu-rays and DVDs, they prefer it for reasons like: they always own it vs. having a streamer remove it from their platform, they can find titles that will likely never be on streaming, extra bonus content on the discs, and in the case of 4K, watching it on 4K disc has better quality than you can get on 4K streaming.
So where the hell am I going with all of that? Well, for some people, new technology isn't always better! And not too long ago, I came upon a Reddit thread that touched upon that very subject, where user blankblank asked: "What outdated or obsolete tech are you still using and are perfectly happy with?"
The thread got over 16K responses from people sharing the everyday obsolete things they still prefer to use. Below are the top, best, most often repeated comments:
1."Wired earphones. Cheap, don't have to charge them, and don't need to worry about losing them."
2."A calculator. You know...with buttons and a screen."
"Honestly, a standard scientific calculator is just easier to use than your phones built-in scientific calculator."
3."Still love playing the Nintendo GameCube."
"My Sega Genesis and PlayStation 2 are still plugging along fine and still are fun!"
4."I still take a notepad and pen into every meeting,"
"Same!!! My boss (in his 50s) always laughs at me, but I like having that stuff on paper. In my phone or a tablet, I'll wind up deleting it, lol."
5."Watches that only tell the time. Maybe the date, too 🙂."
"Yup, I have a lovely, inexpensive, bombproof, analog, big face Casio. Can't wear smart watches at work so having one would be pointless to me. Big Casio does the job."
6."My iPod Classic - 160GB."
"iPods just have aged so well. Being offline devices (not counting touch) they’re just so perfect to this day, haha. Been fixing up a few lately."
7."Streaming services are too inconsistent, anything could be dropped at any time and we're shit outta luck. And too expensive — one is fine, but every company making their own now made the cost ridiculous. Now I just buy a DVD and rip it to a hard drive for convenience."
"Physical media in general (DVDs, CDs, video games, books, etc.). Yeah, it adds to clutter but most digital services have it in their terms of service that they can remove content (even paid for) at any time with no refund to you. You're basically paying a float rate to rent it until they can no longer rent it."
8."My film cameras."
9."I own my music. I have 100s of CDs, so I still use my CD player and MP3 player. And, to be honest, I still have about 150 vinyl albums I play on occasion."
"Growing up in the '90s, I developed a large CD collection and have them all in one of those Case Logic CD binders. I still keep it with me in my car and it’s a wonderful trip down memory lane every time I open it. I laughed and cried a little when my kids friend asked me what it was and I said, 'CDs' and they followed up with, 'What’s that?'"
10."Wired internet connection. I love wires, so much more reliable."
"Wired networking is definitely not obsolete or outdated, IMO. It's superior in every way except mobility. Wired is the ideal, you only go wireless if running cable is unfeasible for the situation."
11."Printers that you can print with without a subscription."
"That's a thing?!?! Doesn't surprise me that they make you pay a subscription now."
12."I store my passwords in a physical pen-and-paper notebook. I am not impressed at the notion of storing passwords in some sort of cloud-based solution."
"I'm studying cybersecurity. This is the way, as far as I'm concerned. Might I suggest adding some nonsense characters to the written password to throw off anyone who gains access to your passwords? Like, add four or five characters that only you know to remove."
13."A regular door bell."
"I wouldn't mind a video doorbell, but I really only trust one where the data is stored locally. I don't want anything uploaded online so I might have to create my own system....I'll just keep the old-fashioned kind."
14."I cone drip my coffee and heat the water up in a kettle. I have a fancy Keurig with a screen that has been collecting dust for two years and I refuse to use it."
"This. The recipe for coffee isn't very complicated. No need for advanced technology or unnecessary waste."
15."Physical buttons. Not everything needs to be touchscreen for goodness sake."
"I feel like it’s safer to have car radios that have buttons instead of screens — it’s easier for me to push a button to change the music while keeping my eyes on the road/ I can’t do that if my car has a screen. It increases distracted driving incidents."
16."A light switch. I just moved into a new house, which has 'smart switches,' which, I swear to god, are the dumbest f'ing light switches anyone’s ever thought up. On. Off. That’s what I want in a light switch. Maybe a little miniature fader bar on the side if you’re into romantic mood lighting. (I’m not.)."
"I am 22 years old. I program for a living, and I know my way around a computer. And I swear if I move into a house with these things I will rip every single one of those mother f'ing switches off my wall with my bare hands. F***. That."
17."Calendars and address books."
"I have a regular calendar on my kitchen wall and put my appointments and important shit on that. I just can’t get my phone’s calendar to easily show me what I want to see, in a view I like, or send me alerts the way I’ve set them up. I’m tired of trying, so the hanging calendar will always be there, even unto the future if I have to make them from scratch paper myself."
18."Some things don't need to be smart when the regular push button or knob version works fine. Simpler and fewer things that could go wrong. Like kitchen appliances. A kitchen faucet doesn't need voice commands. My air fryer doesn't need Wi-Fi connection so I can control it from an app."
"Only 'smart' appliance I'd even want is a smart oven since oven pre-heating can be pretty annoying."—Streptember
19."I am still transferring MP3s that I downloaded from the internet onto my phone. I tried paying for a music streamer for a year, but was not satisfied and also many old songs I like are not available. But by manually downloading my MP3s I can get many unusual things like: songs not on streaming, remixes, covers, etc."
"Me too. I hate streaming music. I buy MP3s or rip CDs and copy them to my phone."
20.And lastly: "My landline phone. I love it and will never ever get rid of it. It's in my kitchen, it's yellow, and my grandpa built a little wooden picket fence around it, with fake flowers in tiny clay flower pots."
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
