Do You Remember Life before the Internet?
Sometimes I wonder what am I doing right now if there were no Internet.
shareIn those dark days, I was a huge World Almanac fan.
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MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Do You Remember Life before the Internet...
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Yes, I do! Life was better. We communicated by phone (landline), face to face, and letters. We received physical greeting cards which were put in a memory box. Not some animated thing which is deleted after reading. I know people who have saved every card received through the years....stacks & stacks of them. The cards give them a smile, a tear, a laugh, comfort.....memories. Think of all the well written letters from Washington, Lincoln, historical letters that take us back in time. Priceless!
But, the most important activity lost...family time. Board games with the kids. Teaching kids how to write thank-you notes. Going to a movie together, shopping with the whole family in actual stores. Now it’s “I need such and such.” So, I fire up the pc, laptop or tablet and shop to my heart’s content, but alone with no interaction from someone else.
As for me, I got a lot more accomplished, kept a much cleaner, neat house. Now I sit my rear end down with my iPad, look around saying to myself “I really should tackle that. Unpack from my trip which I made 3 months ago....Nah! It will be here when I’m dead and gone!” So back to MovieChat I go!
Books! Glorious books! I buy them, but I don’t read them. I’m out of the habit of know how to read and enjoy. We used to have the newspaper delivered. My husband read every blasted word! I would read the paper also, just not as thoroughly. We would discuss what we read. We no longer have newspaper delivery. He reads on the internet; I watch the news.
In the evening I’m in my chair with my iPad. My husband is in his chair with his iPad....and there is silence.... except for the tv white noise in the background.
Yes, handwritten letters are priceless. And look at all has been learned about the past through diaries and letters of what people were thinking and doing at the time. What will they look back on in years to come? Facebook accounts with really nothing substantial on them? I still give out greeting cards too and like receiving them. :)
shareKspkap, these are my exact thoughts! I used to read so much more, really get lost in books. I would get on some subject and that would be it for the next few months. I've only read one book this year-pathetic. I still read the newspaper every day but not like I used to. I would do the crossword during every spare moment. I had to see the headlines before I left the house, well, that hasn't changed much. I think this reminds me that I've got to do something different!
shareNot only do I remember life before the internet. I remember having to do input via punch cards - [b]FRIGGING PUNCH CARDS[b]
I view to internet as pre-broad band and post-broad band, two totally different experiences
I do remember it well!
Having to look things up in books.
Doing your homework at the library.
Owning a large hardcover dictionary.
Looking up movie times in the newspaper.
Cutting recipes out of magazines and newspapers.
Being the only one you knew who liked a certain band or tv show and having no one to talk to about it.
Subscribing to "zines" ( xeroxed paper version of blogs, basically)
Having pen pals that you wrote actual letters to.
Having to physically go to 5 stores to find what you wanted.
Trying on clothes in brick and mortar stores.
Receiving paper catalogs for different specialty clothing stores , book stores, etc.
Standing in line all night to get concert tickets.
Reading magazines to get makeup or fashion ideas.
BUYING PORN! In an actual adult video store. LOL does anyone actually pay for their porn these days?
As someone who grew up with a love of reading, books and libraries, this really hits home.
And so do most other items on your list.
I still trying on clothes in brick and mortar store. You can't try on clothes in the Internet, can you?
I had never bought porn, but many people actually still buy them. Porn is in abundance in the Internet, but most of them are crap, from very old time, terribly edited, etc. So you pay not for the product itself but for the curation service. It's like the movie Personal Shopper, but porn.
'You can't try on clothes in the Internet, can you?'
No you try them on at home and then return what doesn't fit, most places have free returns because they expect people to do that.
Sometimes I order two of the same item in different sizes because different brands you might take different sizes. Then you return the ones you don't need.
A little bit. I mostly played outside, read books, and watch TV before the turn of the millennium. My dad had one PC around for office work before we started investing in Mac software like Words, PowerPoint, etc. My parents also brought few CD-rom games to play too. My elementary school pretty much have computer labs too after the turn of the century. I also remembered how much of a big deal AOL, Google, and Yahoo was when I was about 5 or 6 years old. To the point where they would get referenced a lot on TV and movies.
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