Middle class kids were less motivated toward manual labor, and adults with cars began to take over the routes. 1984 revealed a telltale symptom of change: Atari released a video game called The Paperboy, in which players dodged perilous dogs and angry homeowners, and could even vandalize the homes of non-subscribers.

When did paperboys exist?

This is because it has long been the first paying job available to young boys. Newspaper industry lore suggests that the first paperboy, hired in 1833, was 10-year-old Barney Flaherty who was hired after seeing an advertisement in the Sun News and signing up for the job.

When did paperboys end?

By the mid 1990s, “paperboys” and “papergirls” were replaced by adult men and women. The shift in carriers' age was due partly to the disappearance of evening newspapers that provided student-friendly delivery times.