Patricia Grisafi
Have you found yourself feeling nostalgic recently? The older we get, the more we start to think about how things were—which can either be very depressing or very pleasant.
On Reddit, someone started a thread asking what people will be nostalgic for in 40 years—and the answers were really interesting.
While we can’t always predict what the future will bring or make obsolete, we already might have an inkling about which facets of our contemporary moment won’t make the cut. Have you seen a shopping mall in awhile? Used a payphone? Felt like you had privacy? What do you think you will be nostalgic for in 40 years? 
1.
“The Internet. Hell, I’m nostalgic for it now. Not the final form that the internet has taken over the past decade or so, but those wild west days before youtube, facebook, social media, reddit. Finding weird sites, geocities pages, looking up cheat codes for GTA, hanging out on forums, seeing something go truly grassroots viral and not just because it’s trending on instagram or something. Those days when no company knew what the hell the internet was or how to market on it, it was just left to the nerds and the kids who were making up the rules as they went along. I miss when the internet felt like a little adventure rather than a timesink or utilitarian tool to get the day to day done.” — shawnisboring
2.
“Poppable bubble wrap.” — armyofmoose9
3.
“Movie DVDs. With everything going digital, I think production houses will soon stop making DVDs and just start streaming the movies in either their respective streaming platforms or sell them to other platforms like Netflix.” — a_guy_named_gai
4.
“I don’t wanna live in the world where someone says, ‘Don’t you miss 2020, it was a simpler time.’ — Franka035
5.
“I think YouTube. Like how us 80/90s babies miss early Nickelodeon and Saturday morning cartoons I think future generations will miss the unlimited content.” — StonerLB
6.
“Back in my days we used video games with controllers!” — AmaterasuWolf21
7.
“Being able to say, ‘it must have got lost in the mail’ or ‘I didn’t get your text’ as a lie for ignoring someone.” — KenComesInABox
8.
“Privacy and water.” — OmegaTollett
9.
“Driving a car yourself.” — prc805
10.
“Honestly probably malls. I feel like a lot of them are going out of business and getting torn down. Well at least the old mall experience.” — BalakayyTheGoat
