Social media can be one long stream of garbage takes and rage-baiting, but every once in a while, you'll come across something that really makes you think. Such is the case with an X post I saw recently that loosely tied societal decline to the ending of a cherished Gen-X tradition: the Friday night visit to the local video store.
The poster argued that "the world would be a better place if we shut down all streaming services, re-opened Blockbusters and video stores worldwide, and shoved people back out into the world to find and enjoy their entertainment." This was in response to a video of a pop-up shop in Orlando that pays tribute to the bygone era of Blockbuster video stores.
Ex-Blockbuster employee here. And I mean it with 100% sincerity that the world would be a better place if we shut down all streaming services, re-opened Blockbusters and video stores worldwide, and shoved people back out into the world to find and enjoy their entertainment. https://t.co/QzDwW2KHef
— Rob (Ro2R) (@Ruleof2Review) March 17, 2026
I am definitely in the camp that thinks streaming services, while convenient, have made consuming entertainment more expensive and needlessly burdensome – YouTube TV is a nightmare to navigate and we often have to pay for movies that used to be free on HBO or Showtime. Can we please un-cut the cord?
But, what I really love about this tweet is the idea that we were better as a people when we had the shared experience of going to the video store on a Friday night to hunt and gather our entertainment. The poster was really on to something.
Back in the 80s, my area was super late getting cable TV, so we relied on the video store to watch recent movies. Erols was the name of the DC-area chain that we frequented, and it was a place to run into people you knew, find and give movie recommendations, and, in my case, ogle the quasi-punk dude who worked there.
And, let's face it, "Be kind, rewind" taught us how to be functioning members of society.
SEE ALSO: Gen-X Files: Generation X – Built to Last (Like That Harvest Gold Refrigerator in Your Mom's House)
Fast forward a few years, and it became a Friday night tradition to hit up Blockbuster once my husband and I had kids. After a long week of work and kid-herding, we'd load everybody up into the car in search of the perfect movie and few snacks. The kids had to learn to negotiate and take turns picking the movie, and, again, we often ran into friends and classmates, making it quite a social thing.
I do have a small quibble with the premise that resurrecting Blockbuster would cure some of society's ills, however. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced it was the asynchronous consumption of entertainment that helped hasten the decline. There was nothing better than sharing a love for TV show with a friend, watching knowing they were watching it, too, and then discussing it at length at school the next day. My Gen-Z kids are bemused by the whole idea of watching a show at the same as your friend group.
Jenny Has Changed Her Number
Some bad news for Tommy Tutone – Jenny, despite his pleas, has changed her number. The good news is that it's now the number for a cancer hotline.
The seven digits, made famous by the 1981 Tommy Tutone hit, “867-5309/Jenny,” now directs callers to the nonprofit organization, the Cancer Support Community (CSC), which provides information, support and advice from trained specialists to people affected by cancer.
Securing the earworm-inducing number for the free and confidential calls was part of a joint effort by CSC, Gilda’s Club locations and the health marketing agency Klick Health, according to organizers.
Luckily, Tutone is all-in on the number change.
“When we recorded ‘Jenny/867-5309,’ none of us imagined that number would still be stuck in people’s heads decades later,” Tommy Heath, Tommy Tutone’s lead singer, said in a statement.
“If that little piece of pop culture can now help someone remember Cancer Support Community’s and Gilda’s Club’s Helpline and connect them to real people, real community, and real support, that’s incredibly meaningful to us,” Heath said.
And, as a bonus, here's our very own Susie Moore talking about it on her morning radio show:
Jenny's Number Becomes a Cancer Helpline
— NewsTalkSTL (@NewstalkSTL) March 23, 2026
#8675309@SmoosieQ , @AVPMikeFerguson , @ProducerJerome pic.twitter.com/95fhIqp3AP
Gen-X Meme of the Week
My Gen-X meme of the week. pic.twitter.com/mOeQpYYrmV
— Teri Christoph (@TeriChristoph) March 25, 2026
