The Harry Potter world is full of magic and wonder, and there are many things in the world that would make life easier. Using magic would make life more convenient in many ways, and it has a lot of advantages. However, there are many ways in which the wizarding world is a lot less advanced than the Muggle one. Wizards and witches don’t use many Muggle inventions even though doing so would make their lives a lot easier in many cases. From a lack of technology to using old school ways of doing things, many of their ways of life are impractical.
Here are the ten ways the wizarding world is really outdated.
THEY DON’T HAVE MOVIES OR TELEVISION
In the Muggle world, movies and television have been around for decades. But, in the Wzairding world, that doesn’t seem to exist at all. While they do have moving pictures, these are more like portraits that can interact. There isn’t really a storytelling method that rivals that of television. While wizards and witches in the world can listen to music on the radio, and there are wizarding bands, the same doesn’t hold true for movies.
THERE ARE NO TELEPHONES
Telephones are another Muggle invention that’s been around for decades. They are one of the easiest ways to communicate as these days you can talk to people all around the world in real-time. However, Muggles don’t use telephones at all. This isn’t even just smartphones or cell phones. While there are some ways of communicating instantly such as with Floo powder, this seems like more of a hassle. You have to have a fireplace and can’t just use that method anywhere.
THEY STILL USE INK QUILLS
The days of using ink and quills to write are long in the past for most Muggles. Instead, simple and effective writing utensils like pencils and pens are used. These are easy to use, cheap, and not very messy.
Using ink and quills to write essays for school would be quite tiresome and take way longer than writing with a pen. It’s a very strange way of doing schoolwork, and it comes across as quite medieval.
AN OUTDATED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
The healthcare system in the wizarding world, at least in Great Britain, seems like quite a disaster. There only seems to be one wizarding hospital, and it doesn’t seem to actually address many real-life illnesses. So, if a wizard or witch gets a wizarding illness or accident, they can get help there. But, there isn’t any help for things like cancer, diabetes, and other regular illnesses. Unless there are spells to get rid of these, but this isn’t really explained or explored.
NOT HAVING CARS
There are some cars that seem to be in use in the Harry Potter world, but they aren’t the norm. While it’s mentioned that the Ministry does have cars to use, most wizarding families don’t seem to have any of their own. While there are other methods of transportation such as apparating, they aren’t always practical and not all witches and wizards can do it. Plus, there are times when you need to carry large items or many items around, and cars are much easier for these times.
NO CREDIT CARDS OR CHECKS
Just like the wizarding healthcare system seems to be rather outdated, it’s also the case that their banking system is quite medieval. Instead of having multiple banks that are easy to access, there is only one.
Plus, there aren’t things like credit cards and checks that make it easy to pay for things. This means that wizards and witches have to carry around coins for everything they pay for which really doesn’t make a lot of sense.
LACK OF MODERN APPLIANCES
While magic can make a lot of things easier for people, there are some things that are much more convenient. For example, witches and wizards might be able to use magic to help cook, but they don’t seem to use many appliances. Muggles have things like microwaves and coffee makers, and it’s not that clear if wizards use any of this. Even with magic, it sounds like not much could be faster than a microwave.
COMPUTERS DON’T EXIST
One of the most convenient and multipurpose tools we use today is the computer. Now, we have computers in our pockets most of the time, too. The wizarding world has none of this. They don’t have the internet or email.
This means that many things such as communicating and organization would be much more difficult. On top of this, they use owls to deliver letters instead of the mail post which doesn’t seem like it would always be more convenient.
USING ELECTRICITY SEEMS TO BE RARE
In Hogwarts, it doesn’t seem like there is any use of electricity at all. Instead, things like lanterns and candles are used for light along with fires for warmth. While this might create a great atmosphere, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense. Electricity is way more convenient, even with the use of magic to keep the fires going. It seems strange that wizards and witches finally incorporate using modern plumbing but don’t seem to use electricity near as often. This is definitely one of the problems with the wizarding world being so isolated.
USING CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT FOR ALL CRIMINALS
Azkaban is a pretty messed up place to have a prison. While maybe it makes sense for people who committed truly heinous crimes to go there, it is quite ridiculous that every criminal sent to jail ends up there. Having creatures who make people miserable 24/7 guard the prison is cruel and unusual at best, and this prison system seems like torture more than anything else.
