Millennial mom struggles to explain old-school TVs to curious Gen Alpha daughter — and now we feel ancient
A millennial mother's attempt to explain pre-streaming TVs to her Gen Alpha daughter took a hilarious turn.
Technology has transformed our daily lives, making once-impossible tasks routine. From smartphones to smart TVs, it’s hard to fathom how we managed just a few decades ago. The rapid pace of these innovations has made the past feel almost unrecognizable. Millennial mom Tobi Gilmore (@thegirltobi) experienced this firsthand when she tried explaining pre-streaming television to her Gen Alpha daughter. She shared the hilarious video on TikTok, where it captivated over 100,000 viewers.
Gilmore told her 7-year-old daughter that, as a child, she couldn’t pause TV shows—a revelation that left the little girl baffled. “So, could you just restart it or turn it off?” she asked. It was clear she had no idea what life looked like before modern TVs with streaming services came into existence. “You don’t turn the show off. The show just kept going, all day long. There would just be shows running, 24 hours a day,” Gilmore explained, as her daughter laughed in disbelief. The mother went on to give examples of popular kids' channels like Disney. She explained how they followed pre-set schedules, airing shows one after another.
"'Halloween Town', the movie was coming on at 7 'o'clock on Thursday night, if you did not get there in time at 7 'o'clock on Thursday night to start 'Halloween Town,' you missed it. Like that was it, you just missed it," Gilmore revealed, making her daughter's jaw drop. Judging by her daughter's baffled reaction, the mother could tell she didn’t believe her. When she further explained that bathroom breaks had to be timed around commercials, or else they’d miss part of the movie, her daughter seemed skeptical.
The idea was so foreign to her Gen Alpha daughter that she repeatedly asked if there was a way to turn the TV off. Patiently, Gilmore explained, "Just because the TV is off, did not mean that the shows were not still going. I just could not see or hear them but when I turned it back on, they would still just be playing," she added. Hearing this, Gilmore's daughter burst into uncontrollable laughter. "I did not realize how old this would make me feel," the mother said at the end.
@thegirltobi Explaining to my 7 year old how TV worked when I was a kid was an interesting experience. She has only ever known streaming and I didnt realize how hard this would be to explain. #millennial #millennialmom #millennialmoms #genalpha #genalphaparent ♬ original sound - Tobi
Gilmore’s TikTok video quickly went viral, with many viewers relating to the struggle of explaining old-school concepts to today’s kids. One user, @nplusv09, shared, "My daughter didn't understand what a commercial was so I explained it. She said 'That's called an ad mom,' Lol!" Similarly, @chris wrote, "Crazy to think we have to explain this. And it just blows their minds. I had the radio on one time and my nephew kept begging me to replay the song. lol!"
Meanwhile, @meganalbritton commented, "Tell her it’s like when someone goes live on TikTok, just because you aren’t watching them live doesn’t mean that the live isn’t happening." On the other hand, @dana wrote, "Explain it as if you went to the movie theatre now to see a movie. You have to be there when the movie time is and if you’re late you will miss it. If you get up to go to the bathroom you will miss it."
You can follow Tobi Gilmore (@thegirltobi) on TikTok for more parenting content.
Share on Facebook
