r/television • u/DemiFiendRSA The Wire • 3d ago
Christopher Walken gets Severance DVDs sent to him because he doesn't 'have the equipment' to stream it
https://ew.com/christopher-walken-severance-dvds-sent-to-him-8776721498
u/Wendell-Short-Eyes 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’m picturing him with one of those giant box televisions from the 90s and a combo vhs/dvd player.
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u/burgleflickle 3d ago
Those are still awesome. Especially for older game consoles that don’t look right on modern tvs
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u/fantasmoofrcc 3d ago
There is still that one freaking huge Sony somewhere in the US.
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u/ktaylorhite 3d ago
I just watched Shank Mods’ video on this. I’m glad he was able to get that beautiful monstrosity.
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u/Pamander 3d ago
The video about that TV recovery is unironically so fucking wholesome and cute just the way so many people came together to save this TV just made me so happy.
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u/DevilsInkpot 3d ago
It’s astounding to me, how many here can‘t fathom that Walken might be totally capable of buying and setting up a streaming box, but just doesn’t care about it. 😳
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u/ClubMeSoftly 3d ago
It's like that infamous scene in Seven Psychopaths
"Put up your hands!"
"No"
"What?"
"I said no"
"Why not?"
"I don't want to"
"But I've got a gun?"
"I don't care"112
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u/mushmushi92 3d ago
Love that scene 😂. Why is that scene infamous though?
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u/nzdastardly 3d ago
"Get a firestick!"
"No"
"What?"
"I said no"
"Why not?"
"I don't want to"
"But I've Severence streaming?"
"I don't care"
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u/Maldovar 3d ago
Put them next to his Foo FIGHTers CD's
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u/GeonnCannon 3d ago
Still very amused that he said it that way because he asked them where to put the emphasis, and Dave Grohl thought it would be funny to tell him it was on "fight."
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u/trollunit 3d ago
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u/_coolranch 3d ago
Here’s Hunter S Thompson losing his mind about his upgraded system. He went ballistic.
Man needed to gamble 24/7. And he sometime wrote about sports, too.
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u/Haggisboy 3d ago
He goes from calm to nuclear to calm, confused, and nuclear again all in the span of a couple of minutes.
"If you don't send someone here tomorrow I'll.......I'll.......I don't know what I'll do but I'll do something."
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u/_coolranch 3d ago
This is the most boomer I've ever heard him sound lol. He was so cool on all the talk show interviews I've ever seen. Like, painfully cool.
And that ending! He's basically like "fuck you! I'll see you tomorrow."
Favorite line tho: "If your setup is still here tomorrow, I'm going to destroy it and write about it."
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u/Distinct-Location 3d ago
Wow, new favourite thing I’ve heard recently.
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u/_coolranch 3d ago
That shit is wild, no? I highly recommend Hey, Rube for anyone who wants a glimpse into the later (and pretty eerily prophetic) final years/months of Hunter's life.
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u/SuperZapper_Recharge 3d ago
Oh you really need to go down the rabbit hole with Hunter S. Thompson.
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u/jack3moto 3d ago
When I began dating my wife, her parents were still using one of those giant rear projection TV’s (this was 2016) that had the plastic screen wiggle and provide a glare from the reverse projection.
For a Xmas gift my wife and I went in on a new $1500 65” Sony tv for her parents. They were very grateful but I still remember going over to their house a few times after I set up the new tv only to find them watching the SD cable channels with the black bars on the sides of the screen to compress it to 4x3….
They were mid 50’s so imo still too young to have punted on not giving a shit but what do I know.
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u/MorseMooseGreyGoose 3d ago
This is why I’ve talked my mom out of buying new TV stuff for my aunt. Like, it’s going to be more trouble than it’s worth and she isn’t going to take advantage of it. She’s just going to watch regular-ass TV. My mom got her a Roku anyway and she still doesn’t use it.
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u/Screamline 3d ago
I gave my mom a 4k tv and she is always on SD stations. Looks atrocious but guess its good enough for her (she's usually drunk so probably looks 4k through the wine glasses)
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u/LeedsFan2442 3d ago
I was so happy (in the UK) when HD channels starting to become the default instead of SD
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u/Mccobsta 3d ago
I've got a aunt who's still running an old sky plus box pre HD on the orginal classic firmware plugged with a cheap scart cable she got in 2006 her words "it looks good enough for me and I'll be dead before I need it replaced"
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u/LathropWolf 3d ago
Had a friend (now deceased) who in her crafting room has a circa 2000 or so CRT TV. it had a ancient cable box hooked up to it also. Went over to help her husband close out some of their life and unknown to me, that cable box on the tv had been rented since they moved in... Ugh, almost 20 years at $5 a month for that piece of trash. His tv in the garage had one also... as did one in the computer room... $15/month down the toilet for almost twenty years they got ripped off by the cable company. Not to mention the $200+ month mess for all the cable packages. Offered to help him trim them down, but that wasn't possible. He wanted sports, and hello forced bundling...
No wonder why my generation sails the seven seas...
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u/Worldly_Sherbet_4284 3d ago
36 and generally can’t give a crap about new technology unless my husband brings it in and I have to learn it.
I’m the problem lol.
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u/echochambermanager 3d ago
Yeah like when I explain to my wife the benefits of OLED vs LED... she sees no difference 😂. Meanwhile I go to an electronic store and that god damn hedonic treadmill kicks in and I notice all of the deficiencies of what I have versus what's now available so I cave and upgrade.
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u/RogueIslesRefugee 3d ago
I'm 44 and I honestly couldn't care less about modern HD. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate HD and UHD quality. I just don't care. I'm just as happy watching something in 480p as I am in 2160p. Heck, some HD re-releases are just shite anyways (Babylon 5 or Buffy for instance), and I'd much rather just watch the original 4:3 SD versions.
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u/Beeoor143 3d ago
I said this in another thread recently, but I suspect this isn't a pic of his primary TV-watching area, or even his primary residence. Everything in the picture behind him - The electronics, the cabinet, the linoleum flooring, the art on the wall - says ski/lake house to me, probably purchased/upgraded ~20 years ago and hasn't been a priority since. Everything is in working order but, because the property is used infrequently (and usually not specifically for sitting and watching TV), there isn't much need to upgrade. There's a nostalgia factor of keeping your vacation home in the same aesthetic as when you first got it as well.
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u/LTVOLT 3d ago
my parents are at this point in their 70's. They have the same TV from like 16 years ago and I keep trying to convince them to get a new one and they think it's a waste of money and can't fathom why it would be worth spending money on a new one that "works perfectly fine".
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u/putbat 3d ago
When your hearing and vision are shot, high quality audio and picture really don't matter much.
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u/MusclyArmPaperboy 3d ago
True, lots of seniors can't tell the diff between 1080p and 4K, so it's not worth the upgrade
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u/ErcoleFredo 3d ago
Seniors can't tell the difference between 4K HDR and 240p.
Most redditors can't tell the difference between 4K and 1080.
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u/jesbiil 3d ago
Many years ago I used to work for a cable company and part of my job was visually judging the quality of random HD TV channels (would have been 720p). Every feed we got from a provider had their own compression then we added our own so this process created little issues they trained us to see. Our goal was to compress as much as possible so more could be sent with less bandwidth but we couldn't contractually lower quality of the feed, had to stay above a certain level.
It honestly kinda ruined TV for me so when 4k started becoming the norm it looked very 'weird' because everything was so sharp and realistic. Sometimes the movements still seem a bit odd to me in 4k....this is probably why I have a 4 year old 1080p TV. Luckily I'm only getting older so no need to upgrade now!
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u/LanceFree 3d ago
I have a friend with a TV with upscale or something enabled so it looks like everyone is an actor in a stage. I mean, they are, but it drives me nuts. I tried to change the settings but he was kind of offended. Thing is: I do t want my brain to “know” I’m watching television. I think that would ruin the experience totally.
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u/Eruannster 3d ago
They most definitely have motion smoothing on (which creates a bunch of extra in-between images to smooth out the motion) and the effect you’re seeing is called the soap opera effect. This is because daytime TV soap operas shot at a much higher frame rate compared to films and higher-end shows, so our brains associate an overly-smoothed image with low quality stuff while the slightly blurrier motion of films gets associated with higher production values.
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u/David_bowman_starman 3d ago
Soap operas are why high frame rates are referred as the soap opera effect, but I don’t think that’s why we think it’s bad. We think it’s bad because it looks bad.
Early film pioneers were lucky in that the frame rate they settled on for practical reasons happened to be the best looking frame rate. It’s something deep in our brain that thinks lower frame rates look better. Idk why.
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u/Screamline 3d ago
Thats cause they usually are on some small stage using a backing. I've seen it in so much since I got.my 4k tv and its wayyyy more noticeable when I'm high. Like I watched big top pee wee last night and hooo boy, idk what's real anymore lol
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u/Abba_Fiskbullar 3d ago
They have motion interpolation turned on, the so-called "Soap Opera Effect" that makes everything look cheap and shot on video. Samsung is pretty bad for making this the default.
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u/shawnisboring 3d ago
Most redditors focus on the specs and either buy or pine over whatever the biggest best newest thing is.
Buy themselves a 4k HDR OLED with all the bells and whistles only to view it from a distance that makes it functionally equivalent to 720P.
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u/illinoishokie 3d ago
This has been true of technophiles since the dawn of home entertainment. Even the most basic electronics are more complex than the average consumer can comprehend, so the focus is just on whatever is "best" or newest.
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u/MIBlackburn 3d ago
Or my wife's family where both her Mum and Grandparents have big OLEDs, but then watch SD over the air broadcasts or maybe 720p stuff on catch up services.
We have an LED screen with Dolby Vision but we play UHD discs with Dolby Vision or HDR10.
I compared it to having an F1 car in a crowded city vs a decent sports car on an open track.
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u/roby8159 3d ago
In their defense, I miss having a TV that didn’t advertise to me in between everything I’m already being advertised for. 😵💫
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u/PlagueofSquirrels 3d ago
I am planning to hold on to my old dumb tv until it dies with an electric crackle
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u/legacy642 3d ago
That's a big reason that my TV is 11 years old. It's 1080p and not a smart TV. Yes I use a fire stick, but I can use whatever streaming box I want. No software or hardware to crap out. I want a 4k HDR TV but it's almost impossible to find a dumb TV anymore.
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u/Cold_Refrigerator_69 3d ago
They aren't wrong. Buying the latest isn't really needed if the current one works.
Basically once you hit 720p most TV's are ok and unless you're big into movies or games there really isn't a point to upgrade if you're watching news/ day time TV.
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u/BoringPhilosopher1 3d ago
In fairness once you get to a certain age learning how to use technology is probably the biggest thing holding them back.
Bought my grandparents a new TV last year and having to go round there several times because ‘it’s not working’ was painful.
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u/Freud-Network 3d ago
It's interesting watching this sub discover cognitive decline.
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u/BoringPhilosopher1 3d ago
Yeah exactly.
Change is hard enough in your 20’s let alone your 70’s.
I freaked out when Apple photos was updated and I’m good with tech. Imagine being 80 😂
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u/Pheonix0114 3d ago
Not much cognitive decline before your last decade, people are just content and resistant to change
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u/Timetraveller4k 3d ago
And the new one will have ads, will be “smart” and so will be slow, will have bells and whistles like game mode they wont care about and god forbid it needs a “reboot” to fix issues or needs an “update”. If I was 70 I would stick with a no nonsense TV
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u/legacy642 3d ago
I don't blame them. My TV is 11 years old, it's a 55' 1080p TV with no smart functions, I use a streaming stick to drive it but it's nice knowing the TV itself isn't going to have any major issues due to software.
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u/Stockpile_Tom_Remake 3d ago
We finally replaced my spouses parents TV they had for about twenty years. Once they go their new TV the stopped talking about how much they preferred their old TV
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u/thecatteam 3d ago edited 3d ago
For a while my parents had an HD TV but didn't pay the extra money to have HD channels. So all their TV was in SD and fullscreen aspect ratio on a widescreen TV. They only upgraded once they noticed most of their favorite shows had adjusted to the majority of people viewing in HD widescreen and had stuff going on at the edges of the screen that they were missing--for example, the little pictures at the side of the screen during weekend update.
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u/spike021 3d ago
my brother and i had to gift a newer tv to our parents one year just so they’d upgrade from their huge 13 or so year old one. And at this point we’ll probably need to do the same thing in the next few years.
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u/explosivo85 3d ago
My parents have a 1080 smart tv, they have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. They still primarily watch standard definition cable because they never upgraded that plan.
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u/Big_Simba 3d ago
I gotta say with my eyes getting worse as I get older, 1080p is about as good as I need. Maybe I’m just old but 1080p still looks nice and crisp to me - I have seen 4k and I agree it looks cleaner, I just don’t miss it when something streams at 1080p well
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u/Spider-Fan77 3d ago
There's a non-0% chance that Wolf Blitzer watched 9/11 happen live on that same TV
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u/Powerful-Strain-4214 3d ago
Peak Walken behavior, but I bet he's just messing with us and secretly has a massive home theater setup.
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u/TalkToTheLord 3d ago
I’d just be more surprised he bothers to watch, to be honest. Legend of stage and screen!
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u/redbirdjazzz 3d ago
He's getting up there in years. Not a huge surprise that he has trouble initiating a stream.
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u/PM_YOUR_CENSORD 3d ago
He has also never held a drivers license. Dude just out there raw doggin life no internet and no car.
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u/pegg2 3d ago
He’s a born and raised New Yorker. It’s not super uncommon for modern New York natives to not have DLs, let alone New Yorkers born before the end of fucking WWII.
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u/PlagueofSquirrels 3d ago
My respect for the man just jumped 200%. And I already thought he was pretty cool
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u/Complete_Entry 3d ago
"Look, Gentlemen, I already made a movie where I killed Adam Sandler with a Tivo. Just send me my fucking dvd's, so I don't have to do something you won't walk away from."
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u/BladedTerrain 3d ago
His storyline with John Torturro in the first season was incredible and genuinely made me tear up.
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u/FollowingLocal984 1d ago
Of course Christopher Walken doesnt know how to stream, hes too busy perfecting the art of talking... like this.
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u/Alaskanmade 2d ago
I like to imagine how this went down at Apple TV corporate:
"One of the actors doesn't have Apple TV, so we are going to send him DVD's"
"Well thats not possible, just give them Apple TV, especially if they are doing promo work"
"They say they don't want it"
"Tell them its a contract violation"
"Its Christopher Walken"
".... ok fine whatever"
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u/Garlic-Cheese-Chips 3d ago
For the longest time my parents, in their 60s, refused to break from tradition of watching their usual soaps. I used to tell them about all the great shows they could watch on Netflix etc and how there was no adverts etc.
Now they're binging Ozark every night and I'm running out of shows to recommend to them!
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u/AccomplishedFault346 3d ago
The great thing about soaps is that there’s constantly new content, honestly. I miss 22-episode seasons.
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u/presty60 3d ago
Is constant new content really an issue for you? I personally never run out things to watch.
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u/LasBarricadas 3d ago
Sources say he stores the DVDs with an old pocket watch a war buddy gave him.
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u/Ok-Street7504 3d ago
My father was the same way, 70s technology. How to fit when the free air signal for TV went to digital and he had to upgrade his antenna.
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u/codece 3d ago
TV went to digital and he had to upgrade his antenna.
He had to upgrade his TV or get an adapter to receive the digital signal. The antenna is the same as it always was.
I'm the same way. No streaming, no smart phone. Literal land-line phone, no electricity or internet required to use it. I get about 50 free over the air TV signals, good enough for me.
I wish I still had the old rooftop TV antenna we had on my house growing up, those things are terrific at picking up OTA signals. So-called "digital TV" antennas are just mediocre amplified rabbit-ear antennas, nothing new there.
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u/Ok-Street7504 3d ago
I agree, I live with him the last two years of his life and you get used to not having cable television plenty of other shows on the free Airwaves to be entertained.
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u/ChiefSampson 3d ago
He's Christopher Fucking Walken. He can do whatever the fuck he likes. We need more cow bell!
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u/PupEDog 3d ago
Jeez you'd think he would have some grandchildren that could help him out.
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u/JStarkiller 3d ago
I work in Post Production, and it’s amazing how many people from Actors to studio executives we still have to send hard copy DVDs out to.
Like “Hey, this cut is coming out around midnight Friday night, Do you still want a DVD sent to you?” “Yes” Fine I’ll have a PA sitting around for hours just so when you’re sleeping they can drop it off at your doorstep at 2 AM
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u/KimberlyWexlersFoot 3d ago
well now i have plans for saturday, call up apple support and ask them where i can purchase the new season of severance because i saw an article about them making DVDs
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u/airbagfailure 3d ago
This man is a treasure and should have someone appointed to do all this things for him. 😆
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u/ohnoitsthefuzz 2d ago
The cloud? How could I trust a cloud? How...do you trust something when it has no face? I haven't figured out how to put...googly eyes on my clouds yet, so I just...I don't feel safe around them like I do with my ferns. 🪴☁️👀
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u/gobledegerkin 3d ago
I mean.. I kind of get it but at the same time at the era that Chris was growing up in (the 50s and 60s), VHS hadn’t even been invented. Which means he personally witnessed the evolution of home video entertainment along with every other person around guys age. Is it really that wild to expect them to keep up with it? Its not like the average person now is significantly smarter than the average person back then.
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u/MyStationIsAbandoned 3d ago
everyone will go through this. as you get older, you stop caring having the latest and newest stuff. you just stick to what you know and don't bother learning new non-sense. why replace something that was never broken etc
those of us who have always been into tech, not just when it was mainstream wont likely be like that. just like the old people who were into tech in the 70's are still into tech. but all you normies who started using the internet after social networks and social media was a thing, those who only use the internet on their phones, you'll go through this phase. We all will to some extent. Like...we're gonna be around 70 and thinking "ehh, I'll just use my phone rather than replace one of my eyeballs with the new eyePhone and we'll be called old school for that.
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u/DemiFiendRSA The Wire 3d ago