History Main / WhatAreRecords

* An interesting case of this has come about as a result of the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic: As a number of school districts around the world started allowing in-person learning to resume in early 2021, a rather large number of Pre-K through 1st Grade teachers have had to repeatedly explain what Number 2 pencils, hard-copy textbooks, notebook paper, and the like are to their students, who had exclusively been using tablet or laptop computers up to that point.
** Similarly, a number of college professors have found themselves in the habit of having to [[https://www.pcgamer.com/students-dont-know-what-files-and-folders-are-professors-say/ explain]] to their students the concept of ''computer files and folders'', since the rise of powerful search functions on desktop OS and mobile devices where users have obscured or limited access to the device's file system have removed the need for any file organization.

A subtrope of TechnologyMarchesOn, initially fueled by the novelty of the notion that a format of media could actually become obsolete. It bears mentioning that it started cropping up in fiction before 1990, and the characters unfamiliar with records were full-grown adults, meaning that in its earliest form the trope ran on shameless hyperbole. Even in the 21st century, though, [[RealityIsUnrealistic its realism is dubious]]. Most young people do indeed know what a vinyl record is (from more recent media depictions if nothing else), even if they never listened to or owned one themselves and don't know whether a "seven inch" was an album or a single, or whether 45 rpm came before or after 33 1/3. Modern [=DJs=] still use them, for instance, and their appearance in pop culture is almost ubiquitous. They've also been [[http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/10/listeningpost_1029 undergoing a resurgence of popularity]] among audiophiles, hipsters, indie music fans and even teenagers since 2007 (Sony is even pressing records again), thanks to their [[PopularityPolynomial retro appeal]] and their exemption from the abuses of the LoudnessWar, and even outsold [=CDs=] for the first time in over 30 years in 2019. Consequently, while they still haven't overtaken streaming in terms of revenue, their renewed semi-popularity started to be acknowledged in mainstream media at the end of the 2010s, making this a DiscreditedTrope with regards to records themselves.

* Lampshaded in [[https://twitter.com/lindevi/status/1474179461688008711 a footnote]] for ''Manga/SailorMoon'''s 2018 rerelease, when characters discuss stuff in a video rental store. In the more than 25 years since the original release, younger fans would have grown up in the age of [=DVDs=] and Blu-Rays by then, and rental stores like that have been abolished since now you can do the same thing online.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': In a story from Issue #32, Dot invites some girls for a slumber party and tries to offer records for entertainment but her guests, not being cartoon characters from 1930s like her, don't know what records are.

* Played straight in an episode of "The Marshmallow Money Show" (a now-defunct online Flash series that was on the old Creator/CartoonNetwork website), when one character notes that record stores nowadays only sell [=CDs=] and tapes, yet are still called "''record'' stores", to which another character quickly responds "What's a record?"

* In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' serial "The Man Who Never Was", Sarah Jane's old editor tells her kids he still uses a typewriter. Sky's response is an innocent "What's a typewriter?" {{Justified}} because Sky was born circa 2011 and aged up by phlebotinum.

** [[https://garfield.com/comic/2017/10/03 A TV example.]]

* From ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark,'' when Stan is trying to convince the Goth Kids to buy their UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 early instead of waiting until they're cheaper:
-->'''Stan:''' [[SeriousBusiness Battle lines are being drawn]]! If you wait it out, but everyone else has already decided to go with [[UsefulNotes/XBoxOne XBox]], then that will become the standard! The [=PS4=] would be like Betamax was to VHS.\\

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v75QpvISUs This video]] shows the children of a mother who grew up in the '80s attempt to use technology from that era. At one point, they're shown having trouble figuring out how to control games on the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} despite it only having a joystick and one button. For contrast, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FLlxq5LSlo this video]] shows kids trying out a UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} with considerably more success and appreciation (once they get past the LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading, at least).

* Downplayed in ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' -- when traveling back in time about 20 years, Doremi is familiar with phone booths, since they still exist in the 2000s. However, she is thrown off that there's no slot for phone cards and that they instead require you to deposit coins.
* An episode of ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' has Goh stumble on a phone booth that used to be everywhere in early seasons, and doesn't realize what it's used for until Team Rocket tells him. Starting in Generation 8, calls are made via cell phones...or rather, Rotom Phones.

* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'': Played with. In ''Journey into Lost Memories'', Ashley and Matthew find a floppy disk when investigating the disappearance of the latter's father. 16-year-old Ashley is familiar with the storage format, while 13-year-old Matthew isn't, prompting Ashley to describe it being similar to a USB stick. Though given the time period of the story (2007), it's likely this has more to do with his affluent upbringing rather than his age.

* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'': Played with. In ''Journey into Lost Memories'', Ashley and Matthew find a floppy disk when investigating the disappearance of the latter's father. 16-year-old Ashley is familiar with the storage format, while 13-year-old Matthew isn't, prompting Ashley to describe it being similar to a USB stick. Given the time period of the story (2007), it's more likely this has more to do with Matthew's affluent upbringing than his age.

* There's a common anecdote/joke about the floppy disk, which although now very nearly obsolete, continues to see widespread use as the default symbol for "save" in almost every computer application you can think of. These days, kids who see an actual floppy disk lying about may remark that someone's 3D-printed the save icon. Some open-source developers have attempted to look into alternatives, but nobody's hit has anything that's garnered as much appeal or is as instantly recognizable at a small scale yet.

* There's a common anecdote/joke about the floppy disk, which although now very nearly obsolete, is still preserved as the symbol for "save." Kids who see an actual floppy disk lying about remark that someone's 3D-printed the save icon. Some open-source developers are starting to look into alternatives, but nobody's hit on anything that's as instantly recognizable at a small scale.