Zoomers struggle to imagine the world before smartphones and the Internet. And Kathy Torrence, 52, learned that her son, 21, is no different. Recently, he texted Kathy, asking, “How did any of college work before email?” So she decided to teach him about those ancient times.

The conversation they had hilariously highlighted the differences between the two generations. One is used to commuting and bulletin boards, the other doesn’t even know what that is. However, it proves that they can overcome them, too. In the end, both Kathy and her son walked away understanding each other a little better.

Image credits: kathy.torrence

“I think he has always known that times were different when I was growing up pre Internet and pre -mail,” Kathy told Bored Panda. “But one day after one of his classes was canceled and he was notified electronically, it just hit him how different communication was when I was in college.”

Zoomers (Gen Z) is the newest generation to be named and were born approximately between 1996 and 2015, which makes them 5-24 years old.

The average Gen Zer received their first mobile phone at the age of 10. But many of them grew up playing with their parents’ mobile phones or tablets. They were brought up in a hyper-connected world and the smartphone is their preferred method of communication. On average, they spend 3 hours a day on their mobile device.

Image credits: kathy.torrence

Kathy’s son, as a Zoomer should, has always been connected to technology. “I have photos of him at 3 years old sitting at a computer,” she explained. “He got his first phone in 6th grade and has several laptops, an iPad, a Raspberry Pie, and a brand new phone that he bought himself from the money he has earned at summer jobs.” He also spends a lot of time online writing code, including contributing to open source projects. “He is a math major with a computer science minor, a music minor, and a French minor in college.”

The proud mom said her son is very bright and excels in math and science. “He is now a senior in college and has almost a 4.0 GPA. He picks up on new technology very quickly and is a very logical thinker.”

“He is also very independent and has done two summer research projects (at Brown and UCLA) that he applied for and traveled to himself.” The guy also has a great sense of humor and a sense of sarcasm that can be seen in those texts. He is currently applying to graduate schools for mathematics.

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