The abbreviation L.O.L.
What is “laugh out loud”?
Before the smartphone, a sleek, foldable tech that fit easily in your back pocket and got its name from what you would need to do in order to access the buttons or keyboard.
What is a flip phone?
This refers to a video that shows the viewpoint of someone else.
What is POV?
The invention by Alexander Graham Bell that made vocal communication over long distances possible.
What is a Telephone?
A social media platform used mainly by the gaming community for communication and voice calls.
What is Discord?
A shortened version of saying that you will be back soon
What is brb?
Before computer-based slide presentations, teachers would use this dedicated machine to shine a light through a transparent sheet to present information to a class.
What is an overhead projector?
Saying this word in a TikTok video may cue Spanish guitar music and Dom Toretto.
What is “family”?
The precursor to the keyboards that we use today with our computers, this invention was used to type letters onto paper, rather than writing with a pencil or pen.
What is a Typewriter?
Before TikTok, the app that allowed you to post only 6 second videos.
What is Vine?
A shortened term to tell someone that you need to leave
What is gtg or g2g?
Before email, a device that transferred documents from one office to another via a phone line.
What is a fax machine?
A slogan for Nike that became popular after a video of Shia LeBeouf shouting it out multiple times.
What is "JUST DO IT?"
Before movies were put onto DVDs and digital services, they were put onto these home entertainment tapes.
What is a VHS tape or VCR tape?
The social media platform that was purchased and rebranded by Elon Musk.
What is "Twitter" or "X?"
Two letters that abbreviate a personal communication exchange, often in the context of "slid into"
What is DM?
Before cell phones, wearable devices that received incoming phone numbers alerting the receiver to call the sender, which was often accomplished by payphone. The sender could include additional numbers to communicate a sort of “coded” message.
What are beepers (or pagers)?
An 80s song by Kate Bush that became popular because of the hit TV show Stranger Things.
What is "Running Up That Hill?"
This invention was a way to communicate over long distances before the telephone, through a series of taps, usually using Morse Code.
What is the telegraph?
The experience of clicking on a video or link only to be surprised by the song "Never Gonna Give You Up"
What is Rickrolled?
A term used to express concern for missing something fun or exciting.
What is FOMO (or “fear of missing out”)?
Before Google or Wikipedia, a collection of books that provided the best source of facts and information.
What are encyclopedias?
A trend where people would lay face-down on random objects.
What is Planking?
A removable storage device from the 70s that uses a thin magnetic disk to store data on the computer
What is a Floppy Disk?
This household animal is the focal point of a mashup meme that depicts two Real Housewives angrily yelling at this pet sitting in a chair in front of a plate of greens
What is a cat?