When Gen Z Looks Back at AI the Way Millennials Looked Back at Life Before Smartphones

I was scrolling TikTok when a nostalgic video stopped me in my tracks.

It was one of those “millennials before smartphones” videos.

Kids riding bikes until the streetlights came on.

Calling your friend’s house and hoping their mom didn’t answer.

Passing notes in class.

Spending entire summers outside.

And of course, it was set to “Here’s to the Night” by Eve 6.

As I watched it, I found myself smiling right along with everyone else.

Then I had a thought.

I can picture it now: Gen Z without AI is going to be our “millennials before smartphones.” And although it may feel nostalgic, think of how far we came.

That’s the part of nostalgia we often forget.

Or maybe it’ll be Gen Alpha.

Maybe it’ll be a generation we haven’t even named yet.

Either way, one day there will be a TikTok adjacent platform we haven’t even imagined yet. Maybe “Birds of a Feather” will be playing in the background…while people post nostalgic videos about the days before AI.

Remember when we had to write everything ourselves?

Remember when brainstorming took hours?

Remember when finding answers meant searching through pages of information?

Remember when AI wasn’t built into everything?

And just like today’s nostalgia videos, people will talk about those days as if they were simpler, better, and more authentic.

The funny thing about nostalgia is that it has a way of editing reality.

We remember playing outside until dark.

We remember knocking on friends’ doors without texting first.

We remember life before smartphones as simpler.

But we rarely remember the inconveniences.

Getting lost because we didn’t have GPS.

Printing directions from MapQuest.

Calling a movie theater to get showtimes.

Not being able to reach someone when plans changed.

As much as we romanticize life before smartphones, very few of us would willingly give ours up today.

That’s the part nostalgia often leaves out.

We didn’t just lose something when smartphones arrived. We gained something, too.

We gained instant access to information. GPS. The ability to connect with people anywhere in the world. The ability to learn almost anything in seconds.

The transition felt uncomfortable at first. Then it became indispensable.

That’s what makes me wonder if we’re doing the same thing with AI.

Right now, AI feels unfamiliar.

For some people, it feels intimidating.

For others, it feels uncomfortable.

And that’s understandable. Humans have always been skeptical of the things that change the way we work and live.

But smartphones felt disruptive once, too.

The internet did.

Social media did.

And yet over time, those technologies stopped feeling revolutionary and started feeling normal.

I suspect AI will follow a similar path.

One day, using AI may feel as natural as opening Google Maps, sending a text message, or searching the internet.

And years from now, we’ll probably look back at this moment with the same selective memory we use when talking about life before smartphones.

We’ll remember the simplicity.

We’ll forget the friction.

We’ll remember the discomfort of learning something new.

We’ll forget how much it ultimately helped us evolve.

Because the most interesting thing about AI may not be what it changes today.

It may be how ordinary it feels tomorrow.