Life Before the Internet

17Apr/0716

Life Before the Internet

It's almost hard to imagine at this point. Just a few years ago, people went about their daily lives without the internet. I was in college the first time I saw a website. It was black 10-point font on a white screen. Only a handful of my friends had email addresses at the time. And it would be several years before I'd have internet access at home. Life was different back then:

If I wanted to leave my co-worker a quick note, instead of sending an email or an IM, I'd leave a Post-it.
If I wanted to keep in touch with all my friends, I couldn't just spend a few minutes on MySpace. I'd have to call them and actually talk to them.
If I wanted to know what movie George Lazenby was in before he was James Bond, I couldn't do a quick search in IMDb. I'd have to ask the movie dork at Blockbuster.
If I wanted to buy a used guitar, instead of checking Craigslist, I'd thumb through the classified section of the paper.
If I wrote a funny story and I wanted to share it with my friends, I couldn't post it on a blog. I'd have to print it out a few times and bring it to them.
If I wanted to know when my favorite bands were heading on tour, I couldn't search Pitchfork. I'd wait for next month's NME.

Okay... That's enough from me... What else?

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cinders
April 17th, 2007 - 22:52

If I wanted to get laid, or even just flirt, I’d have to get all dressed up and go out to a bar and drink myself silly.
Omnipotent Poobah
April 17th, 2007 - 22:58

The first computer I saw was a 7×4 ft monster that set type by reading paper tape. Still better than what my buddy Gutenburg used though.

Oh, Blockbuster was still years away as were video tapes and DVDs.

When I wrote a funny story it was with a pencil and a piece of paper (which happily never crashed and ate the story) or typed on a manual typewriter. You could make copies though. That cc on your email stands for Carbon Copy which, once upon a time, was actually copied with carbon paper…and I have the still black fingerprints to prove it.

If I wanted to leave a quick note for a co-worker…I didn’t.
trouble
April 18th, 2007 - 09:03

If you wanted a porno, you had to either go into a sleezy adult video store with all the other pervs, or order it in a plain brown wrapper. No amazon.com or limewire for free pornos.

And if you wanted a song? You had to go to the record store and buy a cassette tape or album. No downloading it free and burning it to make your own mix CDs. You’d have to have a dual cassette tape or maybe record it off the radio.

That sucked.

Cinders: Don’t you do that anyway?
randi
April 18th, 2007 - 12:18

I am in college with a bunch of 18-20 year olds that can.not.believe.it when I tell them I used to type papers on a typewriter when I was first in college.
sarah
April 18th, 2007 - 13:26

dude. you had to look thru a phone book for a phone number and look at the newspaper for movie listings.
Kevin Kubusheskie
April 18th, 2007 - 19:23

You can order a fucking pizza online to be delivered to your house. The pinnacle of the internet.
Julie
April 23rd, 2007 - 21:33

How about … I used to hold my cassette player up to the radio to tape songs.
trav
May 8th, 2007 - 00:56

if i wanted the news, i’d have to wait until 6pm to watch it instead of going to 11alive.com (shameless plug).

if i wanted to find out the criminal history and background of anyone i’d actually have to make calls and go research through local clerk of court archives… waste days on something that now takes seconds…

if i got bored at work, i’d have to do something that people back in the 80s would do when they got bored at work… what the hell would that be? read a book? play cards? i just don’t know!!! i boggles the freakin’ mind!
Baguette
April 20th, 2009 - 10:52

before the internet, a boyfriend and i used to send handwritten letters because calling long-distance was too expensive. now there is skype and all the rest of it!
jeannie
August 8th, 2009 - 12:57

before i the internet i would spend a small fortune every week on magazines and trailing shops for clothes now i just buy online
michael
September 26th, 2009 - 00:42

before the internet, if I wanted to see if someone else had an opinion about some random topic, I had to pick people I knew who actually might have an idea

if I wanted to shop for anything pricey that was worth comparing features and looks, I had to go to a lot of stores or get printed catalogs.

also I cannot tell you how glad I am every bill is electronic both receiving and paying!
yamin
November 8th, 2009 - 17:09

I’m 22 but here are a few things I remember from a childhood without Internet:

- When there was this new toy on the market that you just had to have, you had to talk your parents into taking you to Toys-R-Us or beg your parents to call the number on the screen. There wasn’t a website your parents could go to and order the toy.

- When you wanted your pictures developed, you had to go drop off a roll of film at the store. You couldn’t post your “digitized” photos to Flickr or Photobucket and have them printed at a local store.

- When you wanted to write your friends, there was no email. So you had to put a stamp on an envelope and walk your letter to the mailbox. It was really exciting to get a letter in the mail after waiting a few days/a week to hear back from them. Now it happens instantaneously.

- You went to the library to do your research. There was no Google or Yahoo! And you had to find books using the library catalog. The catalog wasn’t accessible from your home computer!

- You had to drive down to Blockbusters to rent movies – there was no Netflix!

- Sharing videos was done by making copies of the video tape and mailing it to your friends. Or, if you were VERY lucky, you could get on America’s Funniest Videos. There was no YouTube for you to quickly send links to everyone!
Basant
December 1st, 2009 - 08:12

Internet is just like drugs. A little or wise use can help you a lot, but an addiction or misuse can destroy the person in you literally.
corey
December 15th, 2009 - 13:45

Yeah I remember the days before the internet, and Im only 25.

- I enjoyed it more. It was a time when people actually getting off their lazy fat asses and – heaven forbid – went outside and actually talked to other people, and LIVED LIFE

Nowdays people are such fucking losers- wasting their lives away on the internet, having every excuse in the world to never leave the confines of their computer

Its actually pathetic really. Life is like one big fucking parody nowadays
bobby
March 3rd, 2010 - 20:23

i live in time with internet!!!
i couldnt live without it
i really enjoy it
eg
msn
hotmail
research
youtube
it isnt pothetic
sassy
March 3rd, 2010 - 20:30

internet rox