No touch screen. No text messaging. No Internet on the phone. How will kids today feel when a rotary phone is placed in front of them?
All of them were all dumbfounded as Rafi and Benny of The Fine Brothers new-media production discovered. In its newest "Kids React" video, the new-media group asked kids between five and 13 to use a rotary phone.
"We've found from documenting reactions and opinions from them for years that most are thankful they live in today's world, but are also very aware of how everything they think is cool now may one day be obsolete. The stereotype of grandma not knowing what this new-fangled thing is may not be a stereotype once these kids are the seniors - as they are likely to be playing with the latest gadget and still playing video games well into old age. The world is changing rapidly," Benny Fine said.
While the kids who were part of the project successfully identified that it is a phone in front of them, things get crazy when they were asked to call someone using it.
"Dial the numbers," said one kid in the video but she forgot to lift the handset. Others just really cannot figure out how it is done. They all went "wow" when it was demonstrated to them.
When asked what they should listen for when calling someone, they blurted out different sounds from "bling bling," "ehhhh," or "dooroot dooroot." One kid even chirped that he wasn't born in the 1940s.
When the kids were made to listen to a busy signal and asked what it is, the answers varied from "loading or searching" to "ringing, dialling, message?"
Things got even crazier when they were asked to send a text message using the rotary phone. While some figured out that the unit is not meant for texting, some fascinating suggestions popped out.
"So you grab it, and oh...," one girl said then figured out that she can't continue "texting."
"If you like went to '2' and you want it to be A, you only do it once. If you want it to be B, you will do it twice," said one kid.
Another kids said that maybe he can send a text message using Morse Code.
When the host explained that people back then can only call when they are both home, reactions from the youngsters were mixed.
"Well, that was probably difficult for you guys," a kid said.
"It definitely made it harder...but people survived," an older kid blurted out.
The 8-minute video went on to discuss about the payphone and asked the kids to demonstrate how things are done using a smartphone.
As of reporting the "Kids React to Rotary Phone Video" has been viewed about 3.2 million times and garnered about 44,000 thumbs up and almost 1,900 thumbs down.
If you are part of the generation that knows how to use a rotary phone, then you know a ton of things that kids today consider as "Jurassic."
Now, give them a cassette tape, will you?
