Weather check
Checking weather 1990: a Triangle-person is staring at the cloud in the sky.
Checking weather 2020: the same person is staring at a mobile device held up high (the cloud is in the same spot, but the device is obstructing it). The device is communicating with a cellphone tower, which then sends signals to a computer displaying a globe, which then radios a satellite in the sky. This satellite finally is observing the cloud.
My house already comes with special screens installed in each room which can be used to check the weather without going outside!
These ancient devices don’t require power to function, and have other useful purposes such as telling the time, allowing security monitoring and (depending on what’s installed beyond the screen) - even entertainment.
This is a joke about windows, but I do think we took an interesting turn somewhere around the 2000s. We are now doing amazing things which are un-imaginably convoluted, but we are also doing simple things in un-imaginably convoluted ways.
I don’t necessarily yearn for the “simpler” times - I like the comfort of the 21st century - but I don’t think more complexity is always good.