--- title: People Love the Video of Teens Struggling With a Rotary Phone description: People really love this video of teens failing to figure out a rotary phone in less than four minutes. canonical: https://time.com/5503086/rotary-phone/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-15T14:59:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:10.722Z og:title: People Love Watching These Teens Struggle to Use Rotary Phone og:description: Bemoan the passage of time og:url: https://time.com/5503086/rotary-phone/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf19835deab7a621d/6989434abc6cfc6a483e7eb7/rotaryphone.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5232 og:image:height: 2943 og:image:alt: New York street scenes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Love Watching These Teens Struggle to Use Rotary Phone twitter:description: Bemoan the passage of time twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf19835deab7a621d/6989434abc6cfc6a483e7eb7/rotaryphone.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Teens in Hilarious Video Can't Figure Out How to Use a Rotary Telephone for the Life of Them > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0035d382-b16a-4b3c-b806-1eb6177d66c0&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How Generation Z Will Change The World [Watch (HLS stream): How Generation Z Will Change The World](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/K2BPVddO.m3u8) (4:31)  _Published 2018-04-20. Dr. Jean Twenge, David Stillman, and Jonah Stillman study generations, they offer some predictions for how Gen Z will change the world._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jan 15, 2019 2:59 PM UTC  A vintage rotary dial telephone for sale at a flea market in the Chelsea district of New York City. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) A vintage rotary dial telephone for sale at a flea market in the Chelsea district of New York City. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) Robert Alexander—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jan 15, 2019 2:59 PM UTC Two brave teens recently endeavored to achieve the impossible: master a rotary phone in four minutes. Possibly for the laughs and to mark the passage of time, Kevin Bumstead shared the [video that documents](http://time.com/5502447/snoop-dogg-hockey-game/) his son Jake and nephew Kyle on their journey to the conclusion that trying to make a call on a rotary phone is a puzzling experience. In a [video](http://time.com/5502447/snoop-dogg-hockey-game/) that has racked up 23 million times on Facebook, we begin to understand that phoning a friend the old fashioned way was no easy task for this pair. “Are we supposed to pick up the phone and then do it?” Kyle wonders during the popular clip. Yes, Kyle. Lifting up the receiver, it turns out, is an important start. A dial tone? Apparently, a totally new phenomenon to these two teens. They eventually figured it all out, but it was too late. Bumstead said he hatched the video challenge plan after seeing something similar on YouTube. It’s not a brand new genre. The jokey portrayal of [rotary phone struggles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HyyAlcoUXo) has really resonated with generations for whom the dial-turning came naturally. And yet these teens deserve credit for their effort, as does the man behind the camera for capturing the struggle, and of course, for making internet sensations out of his family. You can watch the latest viral video of teens using an old phone [here](https://www.facebook.com/kevin.bumstead.5/videos/10211342373829153/) or below. ## Transcript Generations are really about cultural change. By studying generations, we can get an idea of how growing up now as a child or a teen is different from, it was for say the Gen X's growing up in the 80s, or the Boomers growing up in the 1960s. [ MUSIC ]. Looking specifically at numbers we define genzie as those who were born between 1995 and 2012. 1995 just happens to be the year the internet was commercialized. So that also captures. The generation of people who were born after the Internet existed, who don't know a world without the Internet. Compared to previous generations, they spend a lot more time communicating with their friends electronically. And they also spend less time hanging out with their friends in person. My generation, we're truly digital natives. We've really only known a world where our phones are smart. We turn to technology for a lot of things, whether it be entertainment, research, education, it's truly just part of who we are. I'm not entirely convinced that [ UNKNOWN ] skill with social media is going to be a complete positive, it's also linked to depression and anxiety. And unhappiness, especially for people who are spending too much time on social media, who are comparing themselves to others too much. People always talk about taking digital detoxes and stepping away for a little bit, and I don't know if it's necessarily cutting out the phone for a month at a time, but understanding that it's okay to put down your phone for a couple of hours, don't have it at the dinner table, Try not to be on your phone right before bed, there's just time and a place for everything and I think understanding that is really important. I think something the parents can do to help with this anxiety the phones and information overload is really helping them sort of analyze and prioritoze the information. Is what we find is something that's definitely needed with this generation. At the moment what many people think of when they think of igen Is teen or young adult looking at his or her phone. But I'll think they'll become known for other things as time goes on. One of our traits that is very up front with my generation is that we're very, very realistic. At a young age we were thrown into a world that you could say wasn't the prettiest. We grew up amongst the 2009 recession after 9 / 11. And our parents didn't tell us we could necessarily be whatever we wanted. They told us that It's a hard world out there. You're gonna have to work your **** off. And if you're not willing to, there's plenty of others that will. Gen Z entering the workfoce, it's gonna be a lot of change. For Gen Z, if I can log on and login, I'm at work. So I think the physical office is really gonna be challenged. Another thing that we know about this generation that they're really gonna challenge is the pace at which things get done. Everyone talks about work life balance. I got my work and my life and work's from 9 to 5, and then your life, and how do we balance the two. What I love about gen z is they just don't think it works, and it really hasn't worked. What they go for is work life blend, where work and life are 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. By spring of their senior year, [ INAUDIBLE ] teens are less likely compared to previous generations To have their driver's license, to work at a paid job. To go out on dates, to drink alcohol. And we've already seen this with millennials in young adulthood. Taking longer to settle into careers, to marry, to have children and so on. So the whole developmental trajectory is slowed down. Gen Z is by far the most diverse generation ever and we're also the most interconnected around the globe. And part of the reason is now with our generation when something happens, the entire world finds out immediately through social media, through hashtags, we're always connect to each other. So we feel as though whether it happened in the same building or a thousand miles away it is Immediately effecting us because we hear about it and so there we feel obligated to help and be a part of the situation, whether it is positive or negative. They are also the ones that values equality the most, whether we are talking race or gender or sexual orientation or transgender trander issues. They're really much more open and focused on equality. And we really do not fear failure, so whether it be through political activation, or entering new workplace, or trying new things we're willing to try new things and fail. And this is gonna have a great impact on the other generation. For the rest of us who are being very cautious, that's really gonna rub off to get us to step outside of our box and maybe try some new things. 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