Is it just me or has the world become increasingly silent? Don't get me wrong, we're certainly bombarded by things fighting for our attention—ads, content distributed by algorithms, notifications. But it's mostly visual noise. The more time goes on, the more it feels like there are fewer and fewer real, tactile sounds in our life.
Even the relatively iconic "iPhone ringtone" is a thing of the past, as is the text message "ping." A majority of people keep their phones on silent, even going so far as to watch YouTube and social media videos without sound. After all, auto-captions are far less intrusive when out and about.
One social media user, perhaps nostalgic for when real-life objects actually made noise, had a question for people over 30: What’s a sound from your childhood that younger generations will never hear?
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The answers in the Reddit thread did not disappoint. Collectively, they're a warm and welcoming stroll down memory lane, and a reminder that the world used to sound, well, really nice.
1. A floppy disk being read
Honestly everything about old computers was so manual and tactile. This is what booting up a computer and reading a few files sounded like back in the day. You can practically feel the vibrations running down your spine in the best way!
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
2. The clink of a metal seat belt buckle
Buckling yourself into the car used to sound so much better when the entire buckle was made of metal and not plastic. The satisfying "cachunk" really made you feel safe and protected.
You just had to watch yourself if your car had been sitting in the hot sun for a while, or you could seriously burn your leg. But that's also why the 80s and 90s invented car window shades that looked like a big pair of sunglasses.
3. Cassette tapes and VHS tapes rewinding
It might shock younger people to hear it, but that Netflix button "Play From Beginning" didn't always exist. No, media used to be linear, and when you were done watching, you had to rewind it back to the beginning for next time (or for the next person... "Be Kind, Rewind" was the saying).
The sound was incredibly soothing.
4. The sound on AIM when your friends logged on or off
To me, this is the sound that encapsulates middle school. It was mine and my friends' first taste of freedom; the freedom to communicate with each other outside of school without our parents facilitating it. We'd spend hours on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and the sounds of a buddy logging in, logging out, and sending a message are forever etched in my brain.
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5. The sound of the phone operator
Hey, remember when you picked up the phone and waited too long to dial? Or dialed the wrong number? I bet you can recite the script from memory if you're over 30:
"If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again."
6. The sound of hanging up a phone
Just trust me, kids. Pressing the little red "End Call" button on your phone has nothing on physically hanging up a telephone receiver the size of a large hot dog.
If you were pissed at someone you could even slam it down to end the call with incredible emphasis. It was powerful. It was awesome. You really had to be there.
7. The Windows start-up sound
In the 90s and 00s, you were either a PC family or a Mac family. If you were a PC family, you probably walked into your family's "computer room" thousands of times only to hear this:
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8. A dial tone and the busy signal
On some modern phones and carriers, you may still hear some form of "busy" signal when you call someone who's talking on the other line. Chances are, though, the phone will just ring and eventually you'll be sent to voicemail.
The dial tone, though, is truly special. Any time you picked up a phone, you'd hear this sort of plain, inoffensive, steady tone that indicated your phone line was active and waiting for you to punch in a number.
Anyone who's old enough to have used a landline phones knows these sounds intimately.
9. The dial-up Internet sound
Similarly, you have to be of a certain age to remember "logging on" to the Internet. You'd have a small machine called a modem that, instead of being constantly connected, had to quite literally dial a number to connect to the web.
For some reason, they all made the same hideous screeching noise while trying to connect. It's called a "handshake" and it's basically the sound of your modem exchanging data with a server somewhere. Why our poor ears had to hear it is a mystery, but after all these years, the horrid sound has become nostalgic and quite pleasing.
10. The "KASHUNK!" of turning off an old, chunky TV
Older televisions, too, were not dainty little things. They were filled with tubes, lead, circuit boards, and gasses. They made real noises, both when you pressed in their gigantic Power buttons (or better yet, turned a knob).
But the innards also made very satisfying sounds when they turned on and off. Some models had a very tangible pop that felt so much better than modern TVs which just silently go dark.
11. The sound of a quarter in a juke box
Or an arcade game. Or a vending machine.
Sliding a metal coin into a slot and hearing it fall down and activate the mechanical mechanisms inside a machine was so outrageously satisfying. And you knew right away when it didn't sound right and the machine was broken! Today, most machines are coinless. Some still accept bills, while others take credit cards or "game cards" that are loaded with money. We really lost something when we got rid of quarter pinball machines, I'm telling you.
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12. The popping of paper caps in a cap gun
It might be for the best that toy guns are no longer in vogue, but the sound (and smells...mmm, the smells) of paper caps popping off from a cap gun just take you right back to childhood.
I can still remember exactly what the little cap rolls looked like, the way they felt in my hands, and what they sounded like as those little puffs of white smoke drizzled out of the end of the toy. Pure bliss.
13. AOL: "You've got mail!"
It's not just a rom-com! No, "You've Got Mail" was truly a way of life for early Internet users getting by on free AOL trial CDs.
Can you imagine your computer literally saying "You've got mail!" every single time you get an email nowadays? It would simply be unmanageable. But back in the 90s, getting an email was an exciting event, and AOL helped commemorate it with this iconic sound effect.
14. A dot matrix printer
Laser printers really ruined everything. This is what real work is supposed to sound like:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
15. The "Cha-Ching" of an old cash register
Cash registers are still around, obviously, but they're computer-driven with fancy interfaces, touchscreens, and automatic drawers.
You haven't really lived until you've experienced what a real cash register sounds like. When you hit that drawer button and the mechanical springs pop the drawer open, my goodness does it sound nice. It sounds like commerce is supposed to sound. In fact, "Cha-Ching!" is so iconic that we all associate it with money even though most young people have never heard the sound in its truest form.
16. The popping sound of opening a fresh Snapple
Snapple may still exist in some stores, but there was a time when it was one of the most popular beverages on the planet. And it had to be in no small part because of the satisfying "pop" you'd hear when you twisted open one of their famous glass bottles.
As a little bonus, you were then treated to a Snapple Fact under the lid for your effort. Now that's refreshing.
The good news for millennials and Gen Xers is that tactile, mechanical buttons and interfaces may be making a small comeback.
Engineers and designers have recently realized they've gone too far in some cases—people truly don't want everything to be a touchscreen. In cars, for example, customers find computer interfaces annoying and distracting, much preferring a real knob to change the temperature or a button to turn on their hazard lights.
We like a little physical and audible feedback in our lives. It's why our phone sometimes buzzes or pulses every so slightly when we press a button. But those little vibrations just aren't the same as a ratcheting dial, a thick heavy button that snaps in and out of place, or even the iconic trilling noise of collecting coins in Mario. Call it pure nostalgia if you want, but some things were actually better when they made noise, and this list is the proof.
Children eating lunch together.Photo via Canva/Photos
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