12 Old-School Habits Gen Z Picked Up From Boomer Grandparents, Like Film Cameras and Grandma’s Dress From 1964

Gen Z grew up with a camera in every pocket, so one that makes you wait feels new. About 35% of the world’s 42 million active film-camera users in 2025 were 18 to 30, and camera shops say teenagers come in daily asking for film.

“Another studio portrait for my Grandpa’s 100th Birthday.”

100 years young <3 . Crazy to think when he was my age it was 1942. I’m 22 btw.

Crochet used to be what grandma did in front of the TV. Now it’s how her grandkids take a break from screens: in a 2026 survey, 63% of Gen Z said they were cutting screen time, more than twice the share of boomers.

“My grandma taught me this pattern.”

My bestie loved it so much she has me make her niece this scarf.

I’ve always called it her diamond blanket growing up and I finally got to learn it from her last weekend, it’s beautiful and I’m thankful for her teaching me.

Thrift stores are full of clothes that are almost right, and a grandma with a sewing machine can fix “almost.” Big clothing chains now run free hemming and patching lessons for young shoppers who would rather alter than toss.

“$15 find at a vintage store in TN. Thanks to my grandma, it’s now the perfect summer dress!”

She used to make dresses all the time too! Thought it would be a fun and nostalgic project ☺️

I have no idea how to sew so I just helped her with some of the measuring but it’s so much simpler than I thought! Measure, draw line (w pencil), cut, fold hem, iron hem, sew (w machine).

About 78% of Gen Z adults say they’re interested in buying secondhand clothes, and fashion writers have noticed the store many of them try first: a grandmother’s closet. A dress that has lasted 50 years was made to last.

“Three generations, one dress (grandma, 1964, mom, 1991, and me, 2017)”

Mom was so beyond excited for me to wear the dress!

Got altered after grandma to fit mom (and eventually I’s) height.

Grandma 5’1″ mom 5’4″ and I’m 5’5″

A record needs flipping every 20 minutes, and young listeners love it anyway. Music-data firm Luminate says younger fans have shown more growing interest in vinyl than older ones since 2023. Plenty of collections start in a grandparent’s basement.

“‘Not too sure of what’s down there but you can take anything you like’ — Grandma”

My mom said that my grandma had a box of LP’s somewhere in her basement that might still be there.

A couple of days after being there I asked my grandma about it, she told me that there really wasn’t too much and that I could take anything that I’d like. To my surprise there was a ton of goodies down there. Happy that I could bring a little bit of my grandma’s house back home to remind me of her!

She’s actually in a motorcycle club with my grandpa and a bunch of other old people who like cruisin’ hahaha

Darning a sock used to be a chore. This spring, The Economist noted that Gen Z looks fondly at “such dull things as darning an old pair of socks,” and visible mending in bright thread has turned the chore into a craft.

“I feel a little silly and ‘everything old is new again,’ but I did not grow up with mending and I feel so proud to be wearing these socks that I darned!”

One of those things that skipped the generations. My mom never taught me to darn, but my grandma said she used to use a lightbulb back in the day. I set myself up with YouTube in the year 2025 😅

Knitting and needlework meetups for people in their 20s now fill up, NPR reported in January 2026. Many of those knitters learned at a grandmother’s kitchen table, and the first big project often goes straight back to the teacher.

“A blanket I made for my grandma who taught me how to knit. It’s the second one I’ve made so far :)”

It took a while, probably 3-4 months, but I also took a lot of long breaks to work on other stuff!

A recipe card never needs charging, and flour on it is a feature. Food writers say young cooks are going back to paper to keep phones away from sticky hands, and families are copying old handwritten pages before the ink fades.

“Whoopie pies made the same way my mother’s grandma taught her.”

My mom has the original recipe page at her place. I had to rewrite a photo copy of it.

A dessert that is not found commonly outside of the New England region of the east coast. I wish I knew how old they are but my mom think at least 70 years old since my Great Grandma made them way back when in Maine.

Many schools dropped cursive for years. Now about half of U.S. states require it again, and Pennsylvania joined in February 2026. Teens who have never learned it find out why it matters the first time they try to read a card from grandma.

“So many kids couldn’t read cursive that my lit teacher gave us this worksheet”

He specifically told us to copy everything in print.

I am in 12th grade. I get not being able to write in cursive, but read?? Come on guys what are we doing 😭😭😭

It’s useful for reading historical documents.

The bedside alarm clock is back, for a simple reason: if the phone is the alarm, it’s the first thing you touch in the morning. A Gen Z reporter wrote that a $16 clock completely changed her mornings.

“I stopped using my phone as an alarm clock and it changed more than I expected.”

For years my phone was the first thing I touched in the morning and the last thing I touched at night. it was because it was my alarm clock.

I bought a $12 alarm clock. One of those basic digital ones with the red numbers.

My phone started charging in the kitchen overnight instead of my bedroom. And because it wasn’t the first thing I reached for in the morning, I actually just... got up?

Grandparents have always kept the lopsided things their grandkids made, and now the grandkids are finding out. The first project tends to turn up again years later, in a drawer, with a note.

“My grandma who taught me to crochet as a kid sent me this text. 23 years later she still has this!”

I also love that I didn’t know how to put her initials on it so I stapled them on lmfao.

She always sends the waving one haha, so cute.

Grandpa’s slide carousel used to mean a long evening in a dark living room. His grandkids are turning those evenings into something new: scanning the slides together while he tells the story behind each frame.

“My grandpa and I have started the enormous task of digitizing his 80-year collection of slides. He is the family photographer and the reason I shoot film today. I’m also recording video and audio as we work to keep his stories for each shot alive.”

He has an excellent memory and can recall a lot of details about each shot.

It takes a while and it’s generally hands off. Gives me time to listen to his stories and really appreciate the photos as they come through.