20 photos that show how summer vacation in the US has changed over the last 100 years

Gabbi ShawAug 17, 2022, 00:28 IST

Summer games have changed significantly.H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Summer vacation is almost over, and 2022 certainly looked different than years past.
Kids used to wander around on their bikes, play sports in the streets, and play on "dangerous" playgrounds.

Think back to your favorite summer vacation memories, and it's possible they involve activities you would never catch a kid doing in 2022.

Do kids even read comic strips anymore?Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In the early 1900s, school used to be centered around crops, and summer wasn't a vacation — it was a time for hard work.

Eight-year-old Peula Amava carrying cranberries while working at a berry farm in Cannon, Delaware, in May 1910.Lewis W. Hine/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

Bathing suits used to be a little more elaborate.

Young bathers paddling in the sea at Ostend in July 1909.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Kids didn't need any fancy technology; a stick and a hoop used to be more than enough to keep everyone entertained.

A girl playing with her stick and hoop in the 1930s.H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Stickball was the sport of choice, especially when there was no grass to be found.

A group of boys play stickball on the street in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1930s.Cincinnati Museum Center/Getty Images

Who doesn't remember sliding down a burning hot metal slide in the dog days of summer?

Children enjoying a slide in a playground circa 1950.Popperfoto/Getty Images

Over time, metal was replaced by wood and wood chips, which still wasn't great. Remember all the splinters?

Grayson Goga, 6, plays at Kid's Castle at Central Park Playground, which is made from pressure-treated wood, July 18, 2002.William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

Kids used to have to meet up with each other just by biking around the neighborhood and seeing who was available.

A group of kids biking in their suburban neighborhood in the '60s.H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Pool floats were a lot simpler.

A family enjoying their backyard swimming pool in the '80s.D. Corson/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Arcades eventually became the entertainment of choice, with games like "Pac-Man" and "Asteroids" taking over.

A young girl on June 1, 1982, playing "Pac-Man" at a video arcade.Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images

Sometimes, all you needed for a fun time was a tarp, soap, and a hose — voila! A makeshift slip-and-slide.

Kyle Jones, 11, keeps cool with a makeshift slip-and-slide provided by the summer camp counselors in 1998.Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

And ideal summer jobs were lifeguarding or being a camp counselor.

Teammates for City of Thornton Recreation cheer for their teammate during the Lifeguard Medley Relay at Hyland Hill's Water World "Surf's Up" wave pool.Kathryn Osler/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Now, bathing suits look a little different.

Teenagers bathe in the sea in June 2018.Sergei Malgavko\TASS via Getty Images

Virtual-reality games mean kids don't even have to go outside to get the summer experience.

Virtual reality is the next big thing.Thierry Le Fouille/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Playgrounds are so safe they've become kind of boring, and some kids have forsaken them altogether.

Children on playground at Rise School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 2010.Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

Kids meet up via text, and even when they're together, they barely speak.

A couple of teenagers at the skating rink.Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Now, having a pool without a gigantic float is frowned upon.

Amanda St. Pierre, Kameron Mowry, and Adam Mowry, ride a floating unicorn down the Saco River at Bar Mills in Buxton, Maine, in August 2018.Robert F. Bukaty/AP Images

Sports are well-organized these days, and significantly less dangerous.

Children play games of cricket during the Indian Summer Festival Family Day at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 23, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia.Scott Barbour - CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Finally, even slip-and-slides have been commodified into giant events.

Slide the City is a traveling 1,000-foot-long slip-and-slide.Cliff Grassmick/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images

During the last couple of years, masked kids were a normal sight because of the pandemic.

Children with and without masks are seen playing at a playground on the Upper West Side in New York City.Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

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