From hailing a cab to chatting with friends, from ordering food to listening to music, in the lifetime of any forty-something person, technology has become our primary link to what we do everyday. But not so long ago, things were very different. In pictures, a trip down memory lane.

1. Hailing a cab, then… and now!

Then: Hailing a taxi, from the sidewalks, one hand up, hoping to be seen by the driver, was the thing. At times, it was painful and frustrating. When you needed them most, taxi drivers seemed to be playing games with you, driving past, without a glance…

NOW: While hailing a taxi still happens, the most common experience is to seamlessly order a cab from one of the many apps around. Since the launch of Uber just ten years ago, hailing a cab has become optional…

2. Chatting with friends, then… and now!

THEN: Not that long ago (the 90s…) a phone call was reserved for quick chats and short discussions over where to meet. Chatting with friends was done in person. Yes, I know, it wasn’t that long ago. 

NOW: Sure the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a trend. Zoom calls, Facetime calls and other video calls have become how we stay in touch, making virtual exchanges one of the defining features of our times.

3. Paying for stuff, then… and now!

THEN: Remember cash? The bills and coins we used for the longest time? Yes, that’s how we paid for things. When the ATM machine came around (in the late 60s), we thought it was the greatest of revolutions since they made our cash available faster. 

NOW: Well, as things go, thanks in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, we may soon forget how cash used to look. Money has never been more of an idea than a thing as card payments, Venmo and Paypal become ever more common. 

4. Listening to music, then… and now!

THEN: For half a century starting in the 1960s, until a short 10 years ago, music albums were how artists put the music out in the world and how we all enjoyed it. It was either on vinyl, audio tape, and most recently on the compact disc (CD).  

NOW: The concept of the music album sounds quaint and music is mostly enjoyed online, streamed and downloaded. Spotify, Itunes and the likes have transformed music into a virtual thing. 

5. Watching movies and TV, then… and now!

THEN: Much as music was long-enjoyed on cassette, so was video, from the late 1950s onward. Then came, in 1995, the DVD. In recent years even the memories of these platforms have been fading, so quick has been their demise...  

NOW: It’s hard to imagine that Netflix started as a DVD distribution company since now its name is synonymous with video streaming. In addition to bringing the movies to our screens, Netflix has led the way in changing how, when, and where we watch movies.

6. Reading the news, then… and now!

THEN: In old movies (meaning from ten years ago…) there are scenes of people reading newspapers, in the morning, while ignoring their breakfast. A reflection of what many did, then. It used to be cool, intellectual even to hold a newspaper and read it.   

NOW: Admit it, you haven’t read a paper version of a newspaper in a while. Or maybe you have. Which makes you an exception. Today, it’s all about online news, just like this...      

7- Using delivery services then.... and now!

THEN: Somehow in the not so distant past, people viewed delivery with the same enthusiasm they have for a visit to the dentist. It was painful to arrange, uncertain when it happened, and often inefficient.

NOW: Yes, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend but even before this many were already riding on the delivery train, for food, clothing, drinks… anything really, thanks to the many apps out there.

8- Dating, then… and now!!

THEN: Old schoolers would want you to know that meeting people and dating them was done by getting a chance to meet in person first, through friends, family, at work, or by chance. Yeah, but that was then…

NOW: Unless you’ve been on a yet to be discovered and backward planet, you know that dating has massively moved online where, granted, Prince Charming can sometimes be far too charming with his filtered pictures and surreal six-pack…

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