Life Was Before Internet

[uk666]

Life Was Before Internet

Before the internet, life was very different than it is today. Although some things have not changed, like eating, other aspects of life are unrecognizable today.

Life before the internet for everyone, including engineers, differed significantly from today. Many who lived through these “Dark Ages” will tell you how life seemed less busy, less stressful, and more enjoyable. 

But how different could it have been?

The modern internet-powered world is alien to even a few decades ago. We have never had an easier time accessing information, shopping, working, or starting a business. Here we’ve collected some of the funniest and most poignant tweets, that sum up life before the ‘net.’

1. AMAZON WAS JUST A RIVER
Life before the internet certainly was a more innocent time. For many of us old enough to have lived before its existence, statements like the above show just how much things have changed. Mention Amazon back then, and no one would ever have thought about an online store. 

Today, the mention of Amazon will most likely make you feel about the store first long before the mighty river, how things have changed.

2. YOU TAPED MUSIC OFF THE RADIO
Long before Spotify, mp3’s, or peer-to-peer file sharing existed, you had to save money to buy official copies of songs or tape them off the radio. Many of us who lived before the internet would wait hours for that tune to play and hurriedly press the record button on time.

Sometimes we were ‘thrown a bone’ and could tape the latest top 10, 20, or 100 charts, but you had to put in the effort for those less popular tunes. Today’s youth will never understand the satisfaction of perfectly timing it to cut out the DJ’s often inane contributions, life before the internet was the dark days indeed.

3. YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE HOUSE TO SOCIALIZE
Life before the internet didn’t have things like YouTube, eBay, Google, and social media, so you were required to get off your backside and leave the house. Shopping for gadgets would take you to the local store, watching a movie demanded you to go and pay at a cinema, and you’d meet and make friends with people in person. 

Today many platforms and apps let you do much of this from the comfort of your sofa. But is any of this an improvement? We’ll let you be the judge of that.

4. PRE-INTERNET TINDER DATING WAS VERY
Long before the internet, if you wanted to go on a date, you’d have to pluck up the courage to ask in person, send the request by proxy (usually your long-suffering best-friend), or, better yet, slip them a pre-date questionnaire.

Of course, this continues today but to a lesser extent, thanks to apps like Tinder. The internet has changed dating game forever.

5. ENCYCLOPAEDIAS, THE LIBRARY, AND ENCARTA ’95 WAS GOOGLE
You had to work to find information before Google was even a glint in Sergey Brin and Larry Page’s eyes. There used to be things called books, specifically encyclopaedias, buildings with books (called a library), and for those more tech-savvy, there was the mighty Encarta ’95.

Those were dark times when you needed to search and read through reams of text for the information, you’re after, and how things have changed. 

Of course, it had its benefits. It would take an equally incredible amount of effort for someone to check any statements of fact if not common knowledge, which was sometimes handy.

6. SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS WERE POSTED ON A REAL WALL
Before the internet, if you wanted to put up some information for everyone to see, you needed to stick something to a wall physically. A hardcopy post must be printed, carried somewhere, and attached to a noticeboard, wall, or other surfaces.

However, this didn’t mean you wouldn’t receive less than favourable feedback from some people, just like today. Frequently other nefarious members of the public could, and often would, deface your finely crafted notice or scrawl childish imagery on it. 

Some things never change.

7. DID WE MENTION SOMETHINGS CALLED BOOKS?
Before the internet, people used to have to research stuff in books. But these strange objects could also be used for entertainment.

Yes, that’s right, people used to actually read books for exposure to immersive storylines and fantasy worlds. Incredible.

8. MULTIPLAYER GAMES JUST NEEDED A TABLE
Who remembers board games or Subbuteo? To play multiplayer games before the internet, you needed to meet up with friends to play sports or board/tabletop games.

Although board games have been around for a long time, the 70s to ’90s saw an explosion in tabletop games like Subbuteo and war games like Warhammer and Warhammer 40K.

Although their popularity did fall after the mass-adoption of the internet, they have started to see something of a revival in recent years. May it continue and prosper!

9. TROLLS WERE MYTHICAL CREATURES
Before the internet, a troll was something out of children’s stories or those ugly child’s toys Troll Dolls. Not just that, you could politely disagree with someone in public. 

While the internet has opened up a literal world of opportunity to us all, the anonymity of some platforms seems to bring out the darker side of human beings. How some behave on the internet today would be unthinkable before the internet.

10. PEOPLE USED TO SEND LETTERS, NOT EMAILS
Long before the internet, people had to use a pen, and another piece of equipment called “paper” to write messages to one another. The finished message would need to be enclosed in more paper, called an envelope, postage required to be paid, and the letter was sent and delivered by people.

The entire process would take days, and you could never be sure the recipient received it, let alone read it. Today we are spoiled with an ’email’ that does all this at the speed of light.

And that's all folks. thanks for looking backwards.
Life before the internet seems like a distant memory for many who lived through it today. While far less convenient, the memories formed during these times will stay with those old enough to experience them forever.

Whether they were better than today is an opinion, but some of us long to return. What do you think?

[BamSec1]

Oh! What memories, what memories!