Life Before the Internet… You had to do WHAT!

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#recollectionroad #nostalgia #internet

[@yvetteschaerer]

Thanks!

[@kaydublin5164]

Agree

[@Biofeedback1975]

It was beyond amazing. I really miss those days and wish they would come back.

[@hulkhatepunybanner]

*You paid for this information? What's the matter with your family or anyone over 40 anywhere?* I could've told you all this without making every sentence sound like a question. Sorry, like UH QUEStion.

[@robertmoir5695]

What for Yvette Schaerer ?

[@robertmoir5695]

@@Biofeedback1975 To some degree I feel exactly the same way

[@bridgetmccracken1381]

In my humble opinion life before the internet was so much better!

[@jamesdefrancesco7765]

I agree in certain instances. Social behavior has been damaged for sure. I fear for the younger generations.

[@mrflhx2009]

nobody is forcing you to use the internet now

[@urbandisturbin]

@@mrflhx2009 lol you're stupid

[@d.vaughn8990]

​@@mrflhx2009 I believe you just made Bridget's point! 👍

[@kevinsmith5288]

​@@d.vaughn8990 Exactly 💯!

[@erichill612]

My friends and I would spend hours in the Record Store. I miss how respectful and kind we were to each other. I miss good manners. We have become a country where we use profanity too much. We had self-respect, we took pride in how we dressed.

[@gregggoss2210]

Amen brother. I don't like where we're at now. Too many changes, and not for the good.

[@josephasner171]

Eric Hill: amen to that. I don't like modern technology. It has changed the way we live . and not for the good.

[@1mespud]

I agree. The problem in these new times is that too much bad behavior is being permitted, worshipped and promoted. Especially through the media and politics. Seems as if people want to be "badasses" because they think it's a joke to be humble which is sad. Everyone's not a WWE wrestler..

[@pulsarstargrave256]

"Manners....", what are those?

[@cejay67]

Rose tinted specs me thinks.

[@elainealibrandi6364]

We didn't appreciate it because we didn't know it would all end: Giving stationery sets as gifts, anticipating getting those photos back or wondering what was going to happen on that show for which we had to wait a week, the album cover art.... We didn't even realize we were learning patience. Now it's all instant gratification and bingeing shows we hardly remember.

[@cheryl9389]

....of course we knew it would end, are you daft?!... that's what memories are made of.

[@elainealibrandi6364]

@@cheryl9389 I think you misunderstood me, but that’s what KZbin is made of.

[@QuantumEffectResidue]

Exactly! Basically, by your comment, I just realized another thing. This technology is killing all of the moral virtues in all of us. One of them is patience!

[@nemesisut8793]

You hit it on the mark!!

[@fightingtosurvive6527]

@@cheryl9389 Your insult towards her also shows how people have become selfish and rude as well.

[@shannon3944]

One thing I miss most as an 80's teen is sitting on the porch in the eves, waving or chatting with folks who walked or drove past. It was a wonderful time.

[@uslines]

I agree. I am much older than you, so I would have the time-frame in the 1950s. However, television kept too many indoors, squinting at the one-eyed-monster. To the point of front-porch elimination on new home construction. Now everyone is squinting at their dumb-phones. No better.

[@betsyj59]

Yes. I remember how my brother, and myself (4 and 6) would go next-door to sit on the neighbors' porch and chit chat. The neighbors were three elderly women - one extremely elderly mother and her two daughters. Children used to interact with a much wider range of age groups. I remember moving to Austin, TX in 2000 and being so smitten with the dancehalls where people went to dance to live bands and sit around visiting - grandparents, parents, children, people out on dates, groups of friends, people out on their own. It was a rollicking good time. Could n't believe that this sort of thing still existed in the US.

[@brianmeen2158]

Porch sitting is pretty rare these days

[@ianstuart5660]

​@@uslinesDefinitely. It's really bad on public transit now. People used to at least acknowledge each other!

[@ianstuart5660]

@uslines Hard to wait for passersby on the apartment balcony! You make good points though!

[@ronlucock3702]

1980'S: "The 21st century is going to be so awesome!" 2020's: "Bloody Hell, take me back to the 1980's!!"

[@xavierrandall]

🤣🤣🤣🤣As the saying goes be careful for what you ask for.

[@billkussmaul2940]

Take me back to the 60's

[@ronlucock3702]

@@billkussmaul2940 Fair enough!

[@grarghov1]

basically it is not the 21st century or technology which sucks. it's PEOPLE - abusing technology and using it for completely useless things - who suck :)

[@johngore7744]

Born in 1961. It was supposed to be the Jetsons and robots doing all the work. Tons of leisure time. Hell I barely have time to answer my e mails. Lol. Freedom 55 ( early retirement ad from the 1970 s) sure I’m working till I’m 90 that’s when my mortgage will be paid. But you know at least I can laugh about. The post war boom of the 50s to 80s is over and it was a rare occurrence in the history of the world. Everyone had a house things were affordable you could easily earn a’ living ‘ wage. For most of history except for those 40-50 years life has been tough. Welcome to reality y’all. Peace from Montreal.

[@Parkwaymania]

I would go back to the 70's-80's in a heartbeat if I had the choice.

[@tias.6675]

Me too. I miss stealing washers from Sears so much 💕

[@Juliana65]

ME TOO!!! I've been watching old t.v. shows like Vega$, where old cars, phone booths, etc. can be seen. Miss those days soooooo much! I'd LOVE to go back to those days. The 70's and 80's are my favorite.

[@DavidLS1]

But only if we could be forty to fifty years younger again.

[@sergeipohkerova7211]

"I don't like the park, Smithers, for one thing there are too many fat children." *Mr. Burns knows what's up.*

[@DavidLS1]

@@tias.6675 Was that a reference to something or did you really steal washers from Sears?

[@dekelanson5280]

This video almost brought me to tears. I'm 57, and I miss those days so much. Sure, the internet has made life easier in a lot of ways, but I long for the simpler days. No smart phones, no texting, no lockdowns at school, people weren't getting offended at every little thing. We could have never known how good it was till now.

[@betsyj59]

I experience this when I watch old TV shows and old movies (which is all I watch now with regard to television shows or movies). Often feel tears pricking the backs of my eyes.

[@joannagipson12]

Yes❤😢

[@halperkins1791]

I agree 100% 👍👍

[@lenoreandreas4000]

I’m 57 also, and more than anything I miss the days when we were allowed to just be kids, the 70s being the last time that was actually possible, before children were made into a target market. Now they’re a target commodity. I miss the safety that allowed us to play outside in peace until 9pm after it got dark in the summer, or when at 6 years old I could walk to the park by myself. And I’m talking the north side of Chicago, too!

[@halperkins1791]

Absolutely right!

[@sandygrimes7196]

So glad I grew up in the 70s and 80s, no spoilers especially on movies, waiting for that favorite song to come out on the radio to start recording it, talking to friends in person, great memories ❤

[@juansolis4796]

true

[@nicholashylton6857]

Yeah. I'm old enough to remember my parents and the media going on about "Who Shot J.R.?" mystery & the who Luke's father was. I didn't care about the JR thing - only the adults did, but I DID care about the mind blowing Star Wars revelation.

[@sandygrimes7196]

@@nicholashylton6857 I was more I to watching Star Trek in those days

[@impalaman9707]

I don't mean to brag, but I think those of us of Gen X had the best childhood of any generation in American history. For the most part, it was balanced. We weren't jaded, we were easily amused and if we didn't have anything to do, we created our own fun. We went outside and played games in the street without fear of being kidnapped, I even rode my Big Wheel around the block.

[@daughterofsekhmet81]

I once waited months for a song to come on the radio so I could record it, then the stupid DJ TALKED OVER THE BEGINNING 😫

[@Evil0tto]

I love how my childhood is basically just a KZbin history lesson now.

[@Lathander81]

it will be like that for everyone at some point my friend...have a good rest of your life.

[@virtualworldsbyloff]

I was thinking the same exactly, word by word, LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[@Flashahol]

In a sense I feel bad those times are now lost but my dad's childhood stories sounded like history lessons to me too. And these are much better than my dad's stories!

[@BradleyUK58]

Absolutely.

[@Zarkovision]

When I now talk to children about the past I feel that "granddad is telling from the war" moment I felt, when my grandfather was telling from the war... Well, for me it was only the cold war.

[@stevecrow3075]

Being 69 years young I wouldn't change things a bit. I enjoyed all the old times and when times were simple.😊

[@steveclark5357]

yes

[@eldorado1830]

Absolutely, I am 64 and I loved the 70's so happy we had the chance to experience those priceless times.

[@frankrizzo4460]

@@eldorado1830 Yes I totally agree with you I really believe that we were blessed to have experienced those days growing up.🤔

[@davidsquires154]

​@@eldorado1830 I am 65 years old and I also loved the 70's.

[@BuddyThePyro]

Boomers destroyed America.

[@CodyCole80]

I actually miss the anticipation of a new album dropping, cracking the plastic, and reading the credits while listening for the first time.

[@007KrausBean]

I know this makes me sound old, but I miss the days when things took effort. I think it made people appreciate things a bit more. I also liked how it got people together like game nights, arcades, and movie rentals.

[@RepentfollowJesus]

I miss board games so much . They are still out there but trying to find someone to play with you is nearly impossible. 😢

[@bricktasticanimations4834]

@@RepentfollowJesus I would play.

[@kim-jong-poon]

Nostalgia is a weird sensation. It's like happiness and sorrow all rolled into one feeling.

[@williamwilkins3084]

Thing is, though, nothing was ever the way it used to be.

[@garyclarke2808]

Do you know what the word means ? in its original latin interpretation ? well let me educate you NOSTALGIA = OUR PAIN and your more than welcome . X x

[@tiplady]

@@williamwilkins3084 explain that please? I think I get it, but it needs a bit more detail...

[@williamwilkins3084]

@@tiplady Meaning nothing ever freezes or stands still. Change is continuous. I'm not putting down nostalgia, I get nostalgic, too, and like to have and collect things from the past. But often when we get nostalgia, we tend to look back only on the pleasant things. There are times in my life I'd never want to go back to again. I've just learned to make the best of these times we have.

[@MDavidG1]

Sadly, nostalgia is not what it used to be.

[@mrray6983]

I wish I had a time machine. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

[@Write-Stuff]

Took the words right out of my mouth, brother. The Internet is waaay overhyped. Sure, it was cool at first, but now it's the butthole of society.

[@Vienna1902]

@Mr Ray, if you find it somewhere, may I go with you?

[@Write-Stuff]

@@trueobservers Cool, not many know who Valor is. I'm a bit partial to Mon-El-I've got family that worked on the comics.

[@BARZEL343]

You'd go back in time and invest every penny you had in stocks for Microsoft and Apple.

[@Brett.D]

@@canskasapaemanon708 Sounds like an awesome day!! Life was simpler back then, better relationships, less hurried....

[@terrasculp]

As a teen, I loved being out of contact with my parents once I went out with my friends for the evening. There was something very liberating about knowing I was on my own; my mom and dad had having no way to contact me nor, did they have a clue as to wherei I was until I came home early in the a.m. - Freedom!

[@noahpierce792]

I genuinely feel bad for the kids today. They'll never know the absolute horror of not having enough quarters to finish a game. Good times

[@hieutv8350]

Gotta run fast to the quarter change machine before the 10 second countdown to continue the video game! That was awesome.

[@the_kombinator]

Instead they panic about the battery level in their tablet, trying to beat a stage. Same feeling.

[@phxsisko]

Wut? Fuck that, I lived through that stupidity. Games being overly difficult to literally make kids broke... you can have that bullshit lol.

[@anglishbookcraft1516]

Growing up in the late 90’s and early 2,000s, I got to experience everything in the video in my early childhood and then I also got to experience the internet from its birth until now. So my childhood had both and I recall both. I think it is better now, but since I wisely use it, for others and for society it’s helped rot everything away.

[@keithbrown7685]

@@the_kombinator Tablet? Hardly. Rarely. It's about the phones mostly.

[@mattfleischman176]

Who here wishes we can go back to that simpler time.✋

[@DavidLS1]

Only if I'd be fifty years younger again.

[@jacksons1010]

You mean who wishes they could be young again. If we could actually go back in time but remain 60+ years old…we’d realize how good we have it in 2023.

[@DavidLS1]

@@jacksons1010 Medicare, home delivery, medical advances, etc.

[@70s80s]

👍🏻

[@meinbherpieg4723]

It only seemed simpler because people didn't have access to the information required to be an informed and enlightened citizen. People were much more ignorant and arrogant before the internet, and even today you can see the arrogance come through from older people who still don't know how to properly research and think their echo chambers are valid sources of information.

[@murphine969]

Life was fun. And it was a lot less negative. Less boring. Less depressing. There was genuine human connections and shared experiences. Music and movies were better because you’d wait so long for the experience that you cherished every second. For as easy as technology made everything it sure sucked the soul out of it too.

[@yuriykhasidov1626]

You are so right it’s honestly sad!

[@timtebowfan628]

I aagree and that is why the 1980s was one of the best decades to live.

[@QuantumEffectResidue]

Exactly; sucking the soul out of it is the key phrase there, because that's what this tech is turning us into cold, emotionless drones.

[@QuantumEffectResidue]

@@timtebowfan628 Amen to that; to me it was the best time to be alive. It had something for everyone no matter what you were into!

[@PeterKnagge]

It depended who you were. People were a lot more segmented by their identity. Unless there was a war, people stayed in their own (very specific) groups. Minorities had no voice and were drowned out by elitists or the majority, and anyone outside of the majority was beat up. Nonconformity was crushed. "Safety in numbers" was the general rule. It definitely wasn't anything like the greener pastures like what you see on popular 80's nostalgia shows today.

[@Randy.E.R]

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from this is what it once took to research something. While I remember all the ways we once did things, there was something about going to the library to find the information needed to complete a project. I still remember most of the information I spent hours researching some 45 years ago. It stays in your mind because of the time invested to learn what you needed to know. Today when I do a Google search on something I need to know, I am likely to forget that information a week later. I don't have to invest much time learning something specific, its easy to forget.

[@betsyj59]

True. Also, when one went to the library to find a specific book, one would also see the other books on the topic surrounding the book being looked for. On the internet, your topic searches are much more directed. I learned a lot from my accidental finds in the library.

[@bgrave1]

I've heard many people say that we have it so much better now because everything is much more convenient and safer. I'd go back to those times in a heartbeat. If the internet went away tomorrow, I think that our world would be a happier place.

[@RepentfollowJesus]

In no way is anything safer. Back then we didn't even need burglar alarms except in banks. I miss talking in person to people. And no, computers just cut out a lot of people from jobs and also made things harder and more frustrating when they stop working correctly or the lights go out. Girls working at registers can't even make change. You have to tell them how much change you are owed. But before long i guess the digital money wil stop that too.

[@betsyj59]

The safety obsession is bizarre. Somehow I made it through life riding a bike from the age of 6 without a helmet, getting measles, mumps, chickenpox and rubella in elementary school (like a lot of the other kids did), walking to school and back from the age of 6, wandered around the neighborhood with my friends as a child - finding good vacant lots to build forts in or just laying down on our backs, staring at the sky, talking, and chewing on sour grass without parents worrying about where we are and if we were safe, cooking main dishes and baking (using the stove and the oven) at 8 years old (pretending I was the Galloping Gourmet), riding in the front seat of the car, etc., etc. Nobody was going on about safety, we were just living life. (Parents also did not freak out when you got cut, scraped as a little kid or got a bad grade in school.)

[@keithbrown7685]

I think I'd feel some relief, like a weight was off.

[@ianstuart5660]

​@@betsyj59Well said!

[@ccculture9681]

Indeed

[@marthahubbard9463]

I miss those days. People were so much closer forming lifelong friendships because we got together and spent time making memories with friends and family

[@perapelman1037]

You truly nailed that one for sure,but if you look you can still find new good people trough facebook now,but it's not quite the same sometimes. Thank you for a good comment.I'm norwegian from Sandefjord city,Norway.

[@javawsey]

💯. On the weekend you get up, go out, maybe make an appearance at lunch and come back at night.

[@kajbyman3006]

I absolutely agree.

[@ross-carlson]

Uh, sorry, but BULLSHIT - I have just as many if not more friends now that are from a FAR more diverse group of people. From various religions, cultures and nationalities as the internet let's me connect to ANYONE ANYWHERE ANYTIME. Some of my best friends now live on other CONTINENTS which wouldn't be possible otherwise. Sorry that you live such a narrow life but those of us that embrace technology have in NO WAY given up connection - in fact we have FAR MORE STRONGER connections thanks to it. But sure, it was better back when we were more isolated, less educated, lived only in echo chambers and didn't have instant access to ALL OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE - all from our pockets or PCs. The ignorance in your comment is STAGGERING to me.

[@cipher01]

@@ross-carlson you should keep in mind that Internet friendships are much less meaningful than real life friendships made through mutual experiences and good memories.

[@bluelionsage99]

Man, I have no idea how many hours I spent randomly skimming through our encyclopedia set reading random articles as a youngster.

[@akc1739]

I literally donated my set from 1965 last week.

[@dlgal1019]

Yes. I am so glad I didn't buy a set when the salesman came around to my front door in the early 90's. What a waste of money that would have been!

[@jeanclover3182]

Me too

[@edwardrhoades6957]

Born in 82, the set we had growing up was from when JFK was still a Senator.

[@bob456fk6]

I well remember doing that but now I can't live without Wikipedia and Google.

[@alexandrakennedy8078]

At first he way he explains how we did things sound so tragic, difficult and sad. Yes, we actually got off our butts and went to the grocery, video or hardware store. We interacted directly with people in person. We walked with our heads looking ahead or even around us, not down at a screen watching other people live their lives. We got together and talked in person either one on one or in a group and laughed and had fun that lead to great memories. I'm so glad I was born when I was. To me it seemed like a lot more fun.

[@trubluecrafter1060]

It was more fun! More relaxed too.

[@MyDarkSide62]

Well said!

[@betsyj59]

Exactly. What was described as difficult and time consuming was actually often fun (going to AAA to pick up the motel/hotel/campground books, the maps, and the TripTik that the AAA travel advisor made up!), taught skills, built new brain pathways, was social and unpredictable, and everything you mentioned. We had required typing class in high school (mid 70s) for both boys and girls. To this day I type super fast. It's really something to see my "digital age" students so inept at typing (the two-finger method) even though they are tapping away on their phones and laptops constantly, and almost use handwriting. Remember Marshall McLuhan's famous 1964 book "Understanding Media: the Extension of Man" ("the medium is the message"!)? His theory that technologies "auto-ampute" parts of the human, both brain and body, was spot on. We're at the point now that there is almost nothing left to be auto-amputated. Maybe that's why "transhumanism" is the next big thing.

[@GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

People had longer ( or normal ) attention spans back then, and conversations were much more engaging. Nowadays people have shorter attention spans and will either interrupt you during conversations or will fidget with their cell phones. So many distractions now thanks to all the technology that we're surrounded by.

[@betsyj59]

Teen-agers used to talk for hours on the phone with some of their friends. Now they (and people a lot older too) communicate in short texts. The motto seems to be if you can't say it (or write it) in a few sentences, it's not worth saying (or writing).

[@finnisnotafish]

​​@@betsyj59teenager here, sorry to burst your bubble but we still talk on the phone for hours and text very long thoughtful paragraphs about certain topics to each other. There's nothing wrong with communicating thru short texts sometimes. I am unfamiliar with the mentality that "if you can't write it in a few sentences, it's not worth saying" and I'm not sure where you got this from lol. Addressing the comment you are replying under, I can't recall one time someone interrupted me in conversation or fidgeted with their phone because of a "short attention span". People have the same attention spans it's just that there are new things to multitask with which humans have always done. Like looking at birds while talking, watching TV while talking, playing a game while talking etc. It's not a new phenomenon to be multitasking while having a convo. If they're interrupting you it's more likely they don't really care for what you're talking about. This is another situation where it just sounds like nostalgia is skewing the past

[@ShanKayV]

Its so rude but has become acceptable to be out to dinner or just having a convo with someone and they pick up their phone ;/

[@MelywoodMedia]

So happy I got to experience so much of life before the internet.

[@chrisoakley5830]

Yes, it was much better.

[@starmnsixty1209]

Agree with you.

[@trecool9336]

heard ya bro!

[@catherine59226]

I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s where we played outside until the street lights came on. We rode our bikes everywhere, roller skated, swam every day in our pool, ( I grew up in Woodland Hills, California), and just had a blast being a kid. Now I have four grandsons who were raised with computers, laptops, iPhones and IPads. I wouldn’t change my childhood for anything.

[@DestinyAwaits19]

You missed out. Sucks to be your ass.

[@alexghous]

i know right...... when the only phone you needed were your mom screaming your name all over the neighborhood.........

[@donvito2682]

We lived in Sacramento California. I can remember 1970 when I was 10 years old. My mom bought me a 5 speed schwinn stingray orange krate for Christmas. Everyone thought I had the coolest bicycle in the neighborhood. After school we'd sometimes play kick the can until it got dark or until dinner time. We also played kick ball in the street. Sometimes we'd lose a player or two because they had to run home to watch the Partridge Family.

[@betsyj59]

I grew up in Del Mar, CA in the 60s and 70s too (when it was populated by surfers and professors, not multi-millionaires - although my mom is still living in the family home two blocks from the beach thanks to the 1978 Proposition 13 "tax revolt, my parents bought that 5-bedroom house in 1967 for 38k"). Del Mar didn't have any street lights in the old part of the town so we relied on a neighbor mom "ringing" her triangle to beat the band at dinner time to know we better head home too.

[@Freddie330]

I’m literally crying because how life has changed, just remembering when me and my friends and cousins were asking our parents to sleepover and watch a movie or cartoon and play cards or PlayStation 1. When dad and uncles arrange a get together or Saturday bbq. Our dreams were simple and we had to make a good effort to get what we needed which makes all of us grateful for what we have. Now i miss my cousins and old friends and neighbors. Life was really good back then.

[@yuriykhasidov1626]

I know life truly has purpose and excitement. It’s all gone and gone forever!

[@AnnoyingMoose]

The internet was created in 1969 to link together the computers at various universities in order to save money by not duplicating research resources. What changed in the 1990s was the introduction of the worldwide web which was a graphical interface that operated on the internet allowing ordinary people to connect their home computers to each other.

[@Number6_]

It is not the technology that's the problem. It is finding out that your part of the world is full of morons that is the problem.

[@TerryTappArt]

The internet is an amazing tool but a terrible addiction

[@pacmantravel2158]

Ask yourself this... how did I get this far to needing to rely on technology? People did it to themselves... allowed technology to takeover their lives

[@HeartFeltGesture]

@@pacmantravel2158 A sh*t load of research by some very shrewd people went into ensuring that happened.

[@pacmantravel2158]

@@HeartFeltGesture LOL

[@QuantumEffectResidue]

A double edged sword is what it is!

[@jameskox872]

Only idiots are addicted to the internet . .... because your to stupid to think for yourself . ....you got to have Google think for you . ....bet your one of those people that have to take your cellphone to the restroom with you so Google can tell you how to wipe your ass and how to flush the toilet .

[@travelguy1564]

I grew up in the 70's - The 70's and 80's were the absolute best decades America has ever had! Everyone was civilized and safety was no big concern. I used to ride my bike 22 miles round trip to K-mart and my parents didn't care! It was a fantastic time in America! I sure miss those days.

[@joan-lisa-smith]

Well mainly true but don't forget it was also the decade of the serial killer. I miss those days too.

[@tyreekmurillo4524]

yea except for the serial killers

[@jessewolf7649]

50s & 60s!

[@theonlyonestanding8079]

22 miles whoa

[@theonlyonestanding8079]

​@@joan-lisa-smith oh shit 😂😂😂

[@juddstjohn1487]

I miss looking through the giant Sears catalog at all the toys my parents couldn't afford to buy me but imagining playing with them. Then we'd go out to the field near our house where people dumped old appliances and we'd strip them of their parts to try and build our own toys or weapons. It actually taught us early handyman skills that helped as adults.

[@ursirius4878]

What sticks out to me is the sense of community, pride in creating something with your own two hands, and the closeness of family and friends. Neighborhood barbecue's. Children outside playing and riding bikes, without being hovered over. Packing people in the trunk of the biggest car in the group and going to the drive-in. Exploring the woods and forests around where you lived. And no pressure to pack every minute of everyday so you could actually spend time just being in the moment. So glad I grew up when I did.

[@betsyj59]

Thoroughly agree.

[@joshm3484]

This is where we are. My childhood is now a history documentary on KZbin.

[@davidsault9698]

I have the same feeling. Kinda weird, isn't it?

[@StinkFingerr]

It seems like just yesterday. And now it's an Historica Curiosity. Our much-vaunted Youth, Extracted. But oh what a time.

[@fabienneroure9995]

OMG I was just thinking the same thing! During the video, when the narrator mentions " in those days people had to", I thought to myself my goodness it sounds like I'm watching a historical program featuring how I grew-up! I felt a pang in my stomach for a second or two. Sigh😪

[@calvinjackson8110]

Yeah, it makes you feel ancient like a dinosaur, out of place, like you dont belong to this time...this "history" WAS MY LIFE!!!

[@elleryeggen9678]

Like me watching a documentary about my how my Grandma grew up during the 20's. Coming of age in some bygone era that is just a footnote of history. I've become a documentary.

[@sharonramone9178]

Life before the internet, was a real life!

[@timtebowfan628]

I was 34, when the internet started. I agree life was better back then. People were more social and life was less negative and people took joy in simple things. I am glad I grew up without the internet.

[@colorfulcolorist6532]

The way you narrated the first part of this made it sound like these things were a hassle. I'm SO glad I grew up through the 70's and 80's.

[@dxradioman6351]

Life before the internet was much better in many ways.

[@Aphrodite_ErosLuvChild214-80]

Omg yes yes yes we need to make it trend to get back to reality!! How do we get there find our way back , surely we left foot prints or marked the trail !! We need to stop our materialism stop e-commerce!! Stop buying corporate!! Have nuclear family's, family trips across states , stopping for picnics family game nite, video stores even !! Line drying our laundry! Halt welfare and government programs so our money has more value, Home ownership Did you know the clothes and good comi g from China is full of lead , you ever wonder why cancer is so bad now in America?? Remember when ppl pushed for buying American only !! We must must must fight to get back to the American dream we are all so void of the true meaning of life its not the materialism we truly crave the materialismism creates temporary happiness because we aren't icing right

[@steveclark5357]

yes it was

[@keithwilson6060]

Most ways, actually.

[@Sonnyboy346]

Social media has ruined society

[@gearheadgregwi]

Yes and no. Back then, ignorance was bliss. There wasn't a choice. Now, we need to learn how to disconnect. This Gen-X does wax nostalgic, too. There's a price to pay for convenience.

[@AdamFrugoli]

Being born in 1979 I’m starting to think it was the last generation to have this kind of childhood. I didn’t know how good we had it. Now I wish my kids could experience what we had.

[@matthewsparks8821]

I was born in 83 , definitely the last generation. I had never been online until I was 21.

[@user-zq9xh4rc3c]

youre wrong bud. i was born in the 80s, my sister was born in the 90s, internet wasnt relevant or prevalent at that time. Our family was pretty well off and i didnt see home internet til about 2003.......

[@keithdean9149]

I agree in some ways. There is an advantage to having the sum of human knowledge at your fingertips, but I think we have lost some of the personal connections. It's great that you can play a game with someone 1000 miles away but there was something about playing face to face.

[@dustinryan9671]

I have told my kids that we are the last generation to not have internet or cellphones. Experiencing our society go from not having it to now completely tied to technology has been a sad experience. I do love having history and things like that at my fingertips to learn. But being a person who works in the cyber realm I would go back to type writers if I could hit a button. Overall technology has been a net negative for human interaction and has completely kill creativity.

[@timebong8366]

Wow I was born in 69 and look a lot younger than u

[@LabRat6619]

The only way to survive during miserable times is to remember the days when you had a good life.

[@artkingofwholefoods74]

If EVERY bit of this video hit you “home”…. Then you’re Golden… ❤

[@DebSherr]

The public library was a good way to spend time studying or just for reading. They were good times and life was good, especially the music. I admit, the internet changed the world, but I'm glad I got to go out to play when I was a kid.

[@wondergranny2299]

I love the memories of my childhood in the '60s and '70s!!!!

[@lavenderflowersfall280]

Lol it still is. They just need more places to plug in my phone.

[@haroldfridkis3536]

And I still do all these physical things even today.

[@GeorgieB1965]

I dearly miss that Dewey Decimal system card catalog.

[@Stache987]

My public library was at least 8 miles away, you had to "schedule" a visit with my parents.

[@TheNetymags]

Living before the internet meant when we got bored we used our imagination. It only took once for me to tell my mom I was bored. She found something for me to do and it was usually extra chores😂

[@jeannerogers7085]

Me too.

[@wanderingfool6312]

I’d have swopped my Lego for the internet though.

[@laurafranich4807]

When I was a kid an encyclopedia salesman sold those World Book encyclopedias to us. I remember when they arrived with their gold pages. They were just beautiful. What a good memory

[@ttgyuioo]

My dad bought an encyclopedia set for us kids in the 60s. Yep, they were beautiful with gold gilded pages. We loved them we just liked to read them

[@christophertolman7023]

Born in 1980. Our street was full of kids. I grew up building forts, catching gupies or crawdads in the canal, riding bikes, and playing home run derby, and all kinds of other sports, trading baseball cards. My sisters used to talk on the phone to friends, and we had this phone on the wall with a really long cord that would go under their door. :) When I was old enough to drive, I got the old family station wagon to drive to school. It wasn't all easy, but we did have some good times, and I think we felt blessed for what we had.

[@betsyj59]

Usually the "easier" things get, the more passive people become. Expending energy and problem solving (building forts, riding bikes on unknown routes, figuring out how to get the phone receiver outside or under the door, etc.) make people feel happier. Depression levels are off the charts in this country now when everything is the easiest is ever been (except for paying rent or mortgage and affording groceries!)

[@Pettyphatcat]

How blessed I was to have lived growing up in that era!!!

[@SimonRaahauge1973]

well, I most certainly do not miss the cold war, growing up litterally on it's front line, but hey, whe had a library full of adult cartoons, so we didn't need to spend money on adult magazines :oD

[@robs5252]

@@SimonRaahauge1973 You do realize the "Cold War" wasn't real - it was just fear mongering to keep the American people afraid and easily controlled and manipulated.

[@SimonRaahauge1973]

@@robs5252 It was real enough here in Europe......

[@123canadagirl]

I remember and miss those days. I’d happily go back.

[@frankrizzo4460]

Yes same here, someone please invent a time machine.

[@DavidSmith-fr1uz]

You and me too sister.

[@cynthiablandford6213]

I was born in 1963 and l couldn't agree more!🙂

[@marcellocolona4980]

I was in university and grad school in the 70’s. Loved doing research with the card catalogue, reference materials, roaming the stacks in search of an elusive title. To me it was pure joy.

[@betsyj59]

And while searching the stacks, accidentally finding incredible books that hadn't come up in one's reference search.

[@williamclark1244]

This video has me nostalgic for a time before the internet. We have gained a lot with technology but I think we lost so much more.

[@curt5361]

This brings back so many fond memories. I'd go back in a heart beat to spend one more day with my parents and grandparents. I miss them and these old days very much.

[@scarycarrie1809]

Me too, mine were the best people.

[@andaimhineach4131]

Amen.

[@thrummer1953]

Oh Curt, So would I. How about a nice Thanksgiving with your family back in the day?

[@curt5361]

@ThrummerOfLove Absolutely...including Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, etc

[@citrine65]

I always think that too, one more day with my parents to tell them how wonderful they are.

[@sisuriffs]

I was a teen in the seventies. Two things I miss: 1) having lots of still fairly young adults around who had lived through the Great Depression and WW2-without antibiotics- (and grandparents’ generation who remembered very well WW1 and the Spanish flu epidemic); 2) learning that a good letter contained hardly any references to “I, me, my”. Those older generations understood things we would do well to know today. And man, could they dance! I miss them dearly and thought they’d be here forever.

[@starmnsixty1209]

Yes, really. My parents were born in the 1920s, and I grew up heating his tales of being in WW 2. My grandmother recalled WW 1, and so much of other things you mentioned. Gone now. I miss their generation a lot.

[@pablodelsegundo9502]

Yes, they taught us the meaning of effort. We have teens (and older) on the internet now who can't even bother to google whatever it is they want to know. They demand it be spoon fed. I feel sorry for their children.

[@tomsotos1467]

You can say that again. Now our once great country is being reduced to resemble a 3rd world South American shithole.

[@noyota]

And CCR was new 😄. I am a 70s teen myself. Kids are dumb & daft now.

[@clpbuttercup]

Just one more reason that history is important!

[@linas-oh3kq]

I'm a 60's baby girl and today's technology may be useful for some things. But it pales in comparison to the days. When life was simple, safe, fun and people actually talked to each other. And not having their faces stuck to a cell phone or a stupid computer. 4:35 OMG! I have that recipe box too! 😊 It came with flowers in it at the time. I bought it for my Sweet Mamma and I have it. 🥰 I miss those good ole days and would definitely go back there if I could! Especially for the drive in movies, miniature golf, arcades, and theme parks. Where it didn't cost an arm and a leg to go on rides or having to buy a stupid membership to have fun, buying our favorite summertime treat from an ice cream truck. And who can ever forget watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Those were the best of times and I'm so grateful to have experienced it all. ❤❤❤❤

[@kat35lulu88]

I definitely remember seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan...... in our den watching on a black and white tv in a teal and white cabinet!!!!

[@linas-oh3kq]

@@kat35lulu88 Yes those were such memorable times back then. Our family watched The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show. In our living room. With 7 kids plus me in a 4 bedroom house. Their was no den and our TV's always came in a brown cabinet. I thought that was the only color they had. 😅😅😅

[@RachelPenningtonHull]

Born in 61. When I was a young person there was nothing better than sitting at the country store in a little town in Texas, drinking Coke, eating a fresh apple crispito with soft serve ice cream, and talking to friends for hours into the night. The local cop would come by and join us and tell the best cop stories and burn through those cigarettes. The ceiling in the country store was yellow with cigarette smoke, painted with thousands of hours of good story telling. Today the cops don’t even talk to people, like just gossiping and telling stories, they don’t do that anymore.

[@betsyj59]

Born in 59 and your memories of small town Texas life when you were a kid are beautiful.

[@megank3412]

I was born in the 70’s and raised in the 80’s. I miss all of this. Family game nights, Friday nights at the video rental store, Saturdays at the mall, and writing letters to your pen pals!

[@cabellero1120]

Wow! Great memories, indeed 😊

[@petrofilmeurope]

@@cabellero1120 Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks.

[@skyangel6336]

Ah yes the family Game night...We did have so much fun back then!

[@CandanceOnline]

Same here I was born in the 80’s raised in the 80’s & 90’s I do miss these times

[@sweetipie1995]

Amen sister

[@MissMarinaCapri]

Being born in the 1950’s was without any personal computers. It was always wonderful when you telephone a business and you actually got to talk to someone every single time to help you right then and there without having to go through a maze first.

[@jrnfw4060]

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

[@bidencrimefamilymottof-cky953]

I have to disagree. We didn’t always talk to a real person. Sometimes we got a “busy signal” and had to hang up and try dialing the number again hoping they had finished their call and hung up so our call would go thru. Lol Hell, I remember party lines when you’d pick up the phone and hear your neighbor talking to someone instead of a dial tone. (I know you know. The explanations are for the young-uns) 😉

[@clpbuttercup]

Press 1 for English. Now you either go through 20 questions and/or get hung up on. Absolutely NO accountability or ownership from employees. Including the programmers!

[@krisblunt6293]

@@bidencrimefamilymottof-cky953 Do you remember when they turned hoses and dogs loose on Black people?

[@kushking420]

Being born in the 50's would have been so amazing, to see the best musicians and concerts in from the 60's to 80's. mid-late 60's and the 70's had the best music in my own opinion

[@samlee86421]

Born in 86 and man I can believe how we grew up. I used to leave the house as a 10 year old on my bike for hours (no mobile phones) and my parents just assumed I would be home at some point before dark. People were less anxious and we knew all our neighbours. Things really started to take a turn for the worst around 2012 when smart phones and social media became the norm. No longer did you have to see your friends face to face you could just stalk them on Facebook. And when you did manage to see you’re friends they would be on their iPhone checking Facebook. 😅

[@betsyj59]

I was a kid under 10 during the 1970s. I always felt sure that someone born in 86 would have missed the sociality I remember. Your comments indicate that the horror show we are living in today was able to erect itself in record time (most of it on the last 20 years or so)!

[@janeprepper177]

Crates full of albums to look through, watching movies in your pajamas at the drive-in, roaming the isles at Blockbuster, meeting your friends at the food court in the mall. It was WONDERFUL 😊

[@betsyj59]

Record albums were just the most wonderful thing, from going to the record store, to carrying your purchase home in a record album sized slim bag, to listening to the album or albums you procured for the first time while reading everything printed in the liner notes, to homing in on your favorite songs and then playing those over and over again until they popped and crackled from the needle scratches. Those needle scratches lived on as permanent historical markers of experience. I was a huge Bowie fan in high school (70s) and was surprised to see one of the surfer kids walking across the high school campus, clutching his copy of "Aladdin Sane" to his chest like it was the most precious thing he owned (thought he'd be more likely to be toting around a Led Zeppelin album around). Those days are gone forever and so is the quality of popular music (a lot of it I can't even seriously refer to as "music").

[@themermaidstale5008]

He’s talking about this like it was a bummer, but it was a blast. Hanging out with friends and doing stuff together.

[@maryyoung4046]

Yes I noticed that also (the tenor of the presentation).

[@thesnare100]

not all of it, I don't miss waiting in long movie lines, or for film to develop the next DAY.

[@fuzzyduck1989]

That's because he's an AI voice...

[@Paul-kd3ui]

2080 - (cue pensive music) in 2023 before the invention of butt wiping robots people had to wipe their own butts😢 (cue sadness, shock, disbelief)

[@johnnyq4260]

What are you talking about? 3:45.

[@jerlewis4291]

I grew up in the 60's and 70's, whenever we could we were outside with our friends. The last place you wanted to be was indoors. There was also the dreaded back to school shopping. When your mom took you to get school clothes you knew summer was over. There were always that last week when we tried to do all the things that we told ourselves we were going to do at the start of summer break.

[@davidsault9698]

Built a treehouse. Played whiffle ball in the street. Built scrap go carts to run down a steep street. Played in the local cemetery without destroying or defacing a thing. Ran from the police for harmless things. They pretended to chase. laughs. No guns, ever.

[@perapelman1037]

I dreaded school every summer because I had bad school refusal,it was hell along with anxiety and depression so school did not go my way.I still struggle over that today.

[@kokolanza7543]

Interesting thoughts! Thanks for sharing them. I grew up in the 50s & 60s, and also spent most of my time outside with friends. Back to school shopping was great for me though - it was about the only time I got new clothes, and once I got into 7th grade or so my mom was pretty ok with me choosing. I was always prepared to go back to school and didn't have things I didn't do. Maybe because I didn't do much anyway but read and play with my friends!

[@mattyrock2467]

yes. There was no worse feeling than that back to school moment and no better feeling than the last day of school before summer break.

[@gabriellashimone6546]

And rarely did we ever get all of them done. Ah, there was always next summer... a million years away to us and which came too soon to our parents.

[@margaretbatson83]

Life was much better before the internet.😊👍

[@cjsansoo7]

Thank you so much for your channel. You bring back so many pleasant memories. And a little bit of sadness for our loved ones who have passed on. Life was certainly simpler, but also so much more fun. The narrator has the perfect calming voice that adds tremendously to the subjects. Makes me wish for a machine that could take me back in time. Running home from school so as not to miss a second of the gothic soap " Dark Shadows." Those were the days!!!

[@georgescott4505]

Back in those days we didn't have this, and we didn't have that. Yet less was more, and life was better.

[@ajp2223]

Exactly, we seemed to have managed! I think that back then most people knew how to deal with being bored. It seems to me that many people spend most of their lives on their smart phone.

[@McIntyreBible]

If there's one thing that is a lost art: it's letter writing, writing a letter to a loved one!

[@LeTrashPanda]

Most don't bother with greeting cards, I miss them (and post cards from far away loved ones) was something to look forward to when going to the mailbox.

[@finkelmana]

I never understood people's nostalgia for letter writing. You can argue when home phones become ubiquitous, but by the 1960s, more homes had a phone than indoor plumbing. If you wanted to communicate with someone, it was far quicker and easier just to call them.

[@marcellocolona4980]

Was in grad school at Heidelberg. Everyone used fountain pens, Germans still do.

[@marcellocolona4980]

@@finkelmanaBut sometimes it was a subject best done in writing rather than getting into a screaming match on the phone with someone slamming down the phone.

[@Ironheart73]

Indeed. There is nothing like sitting down, devoting an hour and composing your thoughts for a person you cared about

[@anon7596]

the 90s was an amazing time for me. I was never home unless it was to study or eat. Other than that, I was always outside skateboarding, playing baseball, riding bikes around dirt roads with friends. every year on the 4th of july, the whole family would play flag football in my grandma's yard lol. good times.

[@smesui1799]

That's why people were physically and mentally in better shape back-then, than they are now.

[@betsyj59]

I remember playing tag flag football in my grandma's yard in the late 60s and 70s with all the cousins, both girls and boys, with the fireflies twinkling under the trees.

[@missgirl745]

Some may think this was annoying times but I think it's the best times ever.

[@revandenburg]

The people of today's times (the younger folks in particular) Probably would think those times were annoying. But Not having those things that save time (cell phones, Home computers) to begin with; weren't a thing. You just knew if you wanted or needed to do something you'd have to take necessary steps to do or get it.

[@wanderingfool6312]

@@revandenburg Home computers were a thing, long before the internet, so were cell phones.

[@Wooargh]

Best times ever? Before Bill Gates and Google invented the Internet there was massive censorship because only a small amount of people controlled what information you could see. Now you have complete freedom to know everything so you can make important decisions yourself like how many times you're going to get vaccinated.

[@revandenburg]

@@wanderingfool6312 Cell phones didn't make an appearance to the general public until the early 90's 'the brick phone' Home computers also the vast majority of folks didn't have one in the mid 80's there were probably a subset of people who had either or. Not most

[@ConglomerationCat]

As a child of the 70's and a teenager of the 80's, it certainly felt like a different planet then. It seemed easier to hook up and meet friends because you had to physically make it happen by going to places, being in the same rooms with folks who had similar interests. You made connections with people face to face. While I do appreciate the leaps and massive bounds that technology has provided, I always think it's taken away much of what's listed above. And if any technology of any kind now glitches or crashes for any amount of time, people's lack of patience and ability to simply wait has vanished. Hence the short tempered, quick reactionary behavior we witness in stores, waiting lines and worst of all, traffic. Just the anger on the road let alone everything else is almost incomprehensible. I'm only 50 now but I'm still trying to find the balance of the past and the galloping pace of today. I'm thankful where I'm at now and I'm fortunate to be "plugging along" with what comes my way but I got a little emotional watching this because again, it seemed we lived in a time where humans bonded a little more and it felt more constructed then say destructive.

[@artaxorwelle2206]

*Best comment on here. It deserves so many more likes, buy alas there's only me...minted in '75

[@ConglomerationCat]

@@artaxorwelle2206 That's super kind of you, thank you. It's nice to hear I'm not alone.

[@1050speed]

Yes !!

[@nancyomalley6286]

I was also a 70's child/80's teen. Born in 1966!

[@chrisoakley5830]

​@@nancyomalley6286I was born in 66 also, the 70s and 80s were so much fun and much better than any of this century.

[@alevidals350]

I am 54. And let me tell you i enjoyed that part of my life. It was fun, interesting, expecting something down the road, reading maps to move around in Mexico City when going there, those letters to my cousins, etc. It was good

[@nvs4u2]

Born in the 60’s (1967). Raised in the 70’s. Grew up in the 80’s. I wish I could flip the album and do it all over again. It was a wonderful time.

[@JerryN7970]

I was a teenager during the 1980’s, so I appreciated this trip down memory lane.

[@a.b.creator]

me too :)

[@jpeek1009]

One of my best friends died in an accident at age 16. Before that happened, I’d moved away to another state for a few years. She and I exchanged letters during those years. I still have them, and cherish them. To this day, I’m so glad I grew up during this era, because of those letters.

[@jrnfw4060]

Well, it is possible to print out e-mails and save those, but it's just not the same as receiving handwritten letters. Faster, true -- but knowing that someone took the time and care to craft an interesting and personable letter in his or her own handwriting instead of just typing out a few terse words or lines on a screen makes receiving them much more special. It takes more time, more thought, more heart put into it -- and more practice to maintain one's penmanship. People were also more courteous about answering correspondence in those days. Trying to get a reply to an e-mail can be like pulling teeth. Nobody seems to have the time, anymore, or wants to MAKE the time. It's much easier to just ignore an e-mail than a personal letter. Less guilt involved. Less caring. Yeah, it took more effort to do some things prior to the internet, but I'm not sure that was such a bad thing. I think it helped make us better people.

[@clpbuttercup]

Sorry for your loss. The “me” generations don’t have the same values on life.

[@fobbitguy]

Remember, no one has ever cherished an email

[@thesnare100]

when email first started I put a lot more thought and content into it, just like regular slow mail. That trend is appeared didn't last long........I remember on Prodigy people would have pen pals they'd email just like they did with regular mail.

[@QuantumEffectResidue]

All of this technology has DESTROYED society.

[@anthonywillmschen]

Life before the internet was awesome! Jobs were easier to get (although receiving and handing in paper applications was the hard part, on the positive side we didn't have to worry about false sites and computer hackers though) and when people received those jobs they were less likely to quit. Going to movie stores, video game stores and music stores was fun and discovering new items was exciting ( even if some were classics, even in their day). Going to the movies was definitely a fun family outing and the movie theater smells (buttered popcorn) enhanced those experiences. Waiting for your shows to come on t.v. was exciting and created a bit of anxiety while waiting (sometimes impatiently). Planning for vacations was fun especially when planning was in the reading process (reading books on different travel destinations). Taking pictures via cameras (later disposable cameras) was fun and waiting for them to be processed via a photolab was half of the excitement. Yes, life may have seemed more difficult to our latest generation (having grown up with technology) but life before the internet seems, now when I look back, to have been more enjoyable. Friends and family was talked to face to face (not via text) and neighbors knew each other (were also friends) and looked out for each other. Kids actually used to play outside (climbing trees and playing games) or read a book (not Facebook or internet stories and games). Learning channels was actually learning channels (history Channel was about history, discovery Channel was about science and travel Channel was about learning about different travel destinations around the world) not reality t.v. about stores, bumping around in the dark scaring each other, and auto dealerships. The news was actually the news (not the gossip column). Man, I miss the good old days😢

[@sa3270]

I would love to go back to the 60s and live the rest of my life from then. Things are getting too dystopian now.

[@InFltSvc]

I remember it all and frankly want to go back. We are living in a country that I do not recognize! Yes the bell bottoms and giant hair were horrible but we were still human and not like the robots of this new world consumed by sticking faces into screens none stop …we waited for everything! Even popcorn! We ate together and actually talked. Oh yes and I remember so very well going to a place called Liberty Travel at the mall to make airline reservations and I was just fine with that. Movies were the best experience you can have in that time. Thank you for this great channel that is our Time Machine!

[@aandc2005]

Me too!! I miss all the simple good times back then and not mention everybody was alive then.. like grandparents, uncle's, and friends... I always thought back then those times would never go away but they did...

[@upperkeeldrum]

We were advanced enough at that time for the time, easier and more on a personal level than now, I think they were the best of times.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Bell bottoms and giant hair had character. I'll gladly take those back! Just get me out of this depressing Biden era!

[@InFltSvc]

@@aandc2005 Amen brother!

[@InFltSvc]

@@upperkeeldrum Absolutely! We lived during last best decades of America

[@stpetie7686]

I am so freaking lucky I can barely believe it. I was born in 1958 and got to grow up without all the societal pressures kids have on them these days. I could venture away from my house and have experiences that todays kids can barely conceive of. Now, at 65 and medically homebound, I can bring the world to me What a fortunate generation to be part of.

[@teribeers5447]

Born in 59. There were many things that were better and more enriching.

[@scottcupp8129]

I agree with you 100%

[@vincentlussier8264]

Same boat here ,born in "59 and I would go back to the 1970's right now if I could!

[@da_mask]

Agreed! I was born in 1950 and remember growing up with no internet, e-mail, texting and such. I Remember playing outside in the early years all day long. Just seemed to be better times.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@@da_mask I mean...Kids still do that bud. I did that and I was born in 1991. I know kids born in 2003 who did the same shit growing up.

[@erracht]

As a 43-year-old, I had to smile at your title "...You had to do WHAT!" It was perfectly possible to live a full, rich, interesting, and reasonably convenient life before the Internet (I'm thinking of the 1980s and early 1990s). I was almost 18 before I first accessed the Internet (I browsed it for the first time at a free computer in a shopping mall; I would likely have done my first search on Yahoo) and I didn't start to use the Internet regularly until over a year later (when I got to university where there were Internet commons at the network of libraries there; prior to that, I periodically used it at the city library). While I think the Internet has brought more good things than bad and would not go back, life definitely wasn't bad before it and I'm glad I experienced what it was like not to have the Internet. Yes, research was harder, but as someone who's always been curious and interested in factual knowledge, I was a regular at various libraries. Two minor corrections: while it is true that there was nothing like Amazon, there were shops that would do home delivery within a limited range, not just pizza parlors. As I recall, as a miniumum some drugstores did, and I think some grocery stores / supermarkets did too. Also, something like 24-hour news reporting did exist, as far as I can recall, some time before the Internet became common. Circa 1991 (at the time of the Gulf War), I remember watching a Canadian news channel that had an hourly news report.

[@user-ow7ez3vb1w]

The cameras with film is making a comeback, as my 20 something Adult kids told me about a year before the Pandemic. Even the Vinyl records have started to make a comeback as I got surprised by my siblings who have started collecting them and bought a player for them. My guess is that some items come back from the past because, they always had value and people realize they are still very useful not to be allowed to be obsolete. My Professional musician friends have also told me that vinyl sounds better when played. Who knows, maybe the old phone booths can be repurposed as Emergency phones to call 911, since they don’ need to be charged all the time.

[@EliahHoliday]

It's important to note that pre-internet life was generally slower, we understood things took time and were not nearly so much as in a rush as we are nowadays. It is also why we treasured finally reaching the arcade and meeting up with our friends, or the excitement of receiving a letter from family, friends our a love letter from a girlfriend/boyfriend in the mail or the joy of entering into a movie theatre and finding seats after waiting in line for an hour, etc.

[@johnran6015]

Yeah I was thinking there really isn't any sense of anticipation with anything anymore

[@synthoelectro]

I was 14 back in 92, I truly miss that era.

[@briandavid3637]

​@@synthoelectro I was 14 also, and miss those times, have a good day you old fuck,🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@BytesizedL]

is this ChatGPT generated respond? XD

[@briandavid3637]

@@BytesizedL say what?

[@jango1970]

I'm nearly 60 and treat my cellphone as a landline. When I call a friend, I'm sitting on the couch and fully present. I get annoyed when the other person (often my age or older) is driving, washing dishes, walking, or doing anything else but just sitting and participating soley in the conversation. Before cellphones and answering machines, I don't remember calling someone and no one answered. No one lived alone; the family/roommates shared a landline. Someone answered the phone and usually had a conversation with whoever called. I think we all more isolated now.

[@luke125]

I’m in my early 50’s and a widower. I’m definitely more isolated now than I’ve ever been.

[@redeyejedi3700]

I was born 1981 and literally the last generation that grew up playing outside,bike rides, knowing we were safe, phone calls on land lines. Climbing trees, falling and hurting myself and my parents would only react if I actually hurt myself other wise just pick ya self up. Hanging out in town with friends. Be home by 6pm with out our parents actually knowing where we are just the trust that we would be safe and come home when expected and we would because we as kids got taught respect at a young age and disciplined appropriately to the mistake made. It was great times and sadly there will be no other generation like us with the full sense of being a human without technology

[@betsyj59]

It's incredible what has happened since the the later part of the 1980s until now. A mere 35 years is all it took to permanently destroy the quality of life for everyone, poor, middle, and rich.

[@redeyejedi3700]

@@betsyj59 yeah it blows my mind how backwards thinking people of "education ' come from lol people literally getting dumber which is scary lol

[@GazzaBoo]

I loved my childhood in the 60's and 70's. I'd spend many hours playing with friends, hanging out with the family, watching tv, going to movies, window shopping and doing what kids did back then. I miss those days so much. Of course many things now are better than what we had then, but many are not, and people have gotten far worse overall.

[@norsepatriot]

Those were better days, and it's sad that we'll never see them again. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

[@pmafterdark]

Having been a kid and young adult in the 70's and 80's I can happily say I wouldn't trade my pre-internet days for anything, even with some of technological drawbacks at the time. I think anyone who grew up in that period knows exactly what I mean.

[@DestinyAwaits19]

Spoken like a true boomer.

[@JRHartley.]

​@@DestinyAwaits19 shut it you slag.

[@David-sc2ir]

I grew up in the 60's and remember to this day when I got my first library card. I think for many of us in that time the library card was our first exposure to having an official document! I treasured that little card with it's little metal piece with my account number embossed on it... it was like a drivers license or a credit card and made me feel so grown up LOL! I showed it to everyone with pride. I had a wallet that I kept it in and would walk into that library and select a couple of books and then headed to checkout and so proudly whipped out my wallet to remove it's only content, the library card. If I was lucky there might be a dollar bill I'd be sure that everyone saw. Great memory :)

[@Br4m76]

Listen to the radio, tape, and watching tv are my only entertainment in the 80s. We had more friends to hang put or just did some chit chat. What a beautiful days they were!! ❤

[@ricksfavs3246]

I feel sorry for the young of today who will never know how much less stressful those days were. It is so sad nowadays to see most people, earbuds, smartphones addicted, oblivious of their surroundings and the passage of real life until it is too late.

[@cherkas009]

Most of the youngsters have accumulated wealth from the previous generations

[@the6strings]

Totally agree with you👍

[@saminaneen]

@@the6strings I just miss, the REAL times, when boys, were REALLY boys, and girls were REALLY girls, and there was no confusion, or mental illness, when it came to using public bathrooms

[@miaya3898]

We were the bored generation but that made us creative. This is why us Gen-X rule the world now. 😀

[@saminaneen]

@@miaya3898 Gen-X, are the most dumbed down, snowflake, govt. bootlicker, pro corrupt govt. generation out there today, grow a brain

[@Juliana65]

I consider myself BLESSED to have grown up in the time before the internet. Of course, some things took much longer and could be more of a pain, like research, book keeping, etc. However, all in all, in today's world, where it seems like everyone wants a more organic life, life WAS more organic in the pre-internet era. We played outside, read books, played bored games, did arts and crafts, went hiking in the hills, and we only had a handful of T.V. channels to choose from. Yes, time before the internet was just fine.

[@rufust.firefly4890]

TV would go off the air after theTonight show.

[@billmalec]

I remember planning local ski trips or golf trips for the weekend, when people would actually tell you they were going or not instead of reading a text and never replying... 🙄

[@jamesphillips7656]

I was raised on the cusp of the web and gaming consoles while simultaneously still doing out door stuff and other activities with friends. Strange times now. Even stranger how things change so quickly.

[@benk3999]

I miss the 80's. Best decade ever

[@tracyanderson3715]

Sooooooo agree!! Loved the 80s. Best decade of the 20th Century in my opinion as well!!

[@DonnyNoMarie]

It's so weird, I grew up in the 80s. My mother, who is considerably older, also refers to the 80s as the "good old days." She was born in the 40s. I thought she would have picked a different era.

[@fightingtosurvive6527]

One thing that the internet destroyed is having a close community.

[@betsyj59]

Or anything that could be seriously called community at all!

[@Mattnova_116]

As a 90's kid/teen I was apart of the last era to remember what it was like to NOT have the internet. So I can relate to these things.

[@keithbrown7685]

At that time, it was common to ask "are you online". It wasn't a given, then.

[@lanagorgeous9485]

I grew up in the 70's and loved it. Oh yeah no mass murdered at elementary or high schools, I used to walk everywhere without fear. Life was an adventure, in the summer you'd leave home in the morning and not be back till dinner, playing outside with friends all the while. Where I live din northeast PA it was just such a fun time. A simpler time and a great time to be a kid 😄😄

[@nyneeveanya8861]

Before the internet there was also large catalogs that came out every three months from stores like Sears and Macy’s. You could order over the phone or use the enclosed order form. Rural places received these a lot as they were not close to stores. The Sears Christmas Wishbook was my favorite. All the new clothes, toys, were there, tools for dad, appliances, perfume for mom, jewelry, furniture, and everything else you might need. After the season was over you could use the catalog pages and books to make other things.

[@andaimhineach4131]

I remember as a young kid memorizing the toy section of the JC Penny's holiday catalogue.

[@molonlabe9602]

J. C. Whitney

[@57Jimmy]

Teenager…Sears Christmas Wish Book…never made it to the toys section!😉😉😂

[@clarencegreen3071]

And an old catalog provided the paper necessities for the outhouse!

[@solracer66]

Do you remember Sears catalog stores in small towns where you could order catalog items delivered?

[@mrtunapie6653]

I was born in 53, watching this makes me want to cry. I try not to think too much about how everything has changed.

[@calvinjackson8110]

Yeah, back then when you asked your school mates what they got for Christmas, you got answers like: a wagon, a doll or a tea set or a BB gun or train set or a gun and holster set. NOT TODAY!!!!!

[@chiefamylee]

@@calvinjackson8110 OMG, yes, a tea set!!!😁😍

[@jimpuff8409]

Boy , I totally agree with you !

[@TheColognican51213]

Life as it takes place today sucks so much in my opinion. Having smartphones and instant internet 24/ 7 is really exhausting, which is also why I decided to break down all my social media access to the least possible. I returned to phone calls, deactivated all my notifications on my mobile device, which I use as jukebox only now besides the telephone. The problem is, you risk to fall into oblivion, but I'm willing to bear this risk only to see who I can ACTUALLY rely on within my friends. Back from convenience to LIFE..

[@ianstuart5660]

Good on you. Excellent idea, wish more folks would do that. Just say no to constant surveillance!

[@Name-ps9fx]

One big advantage to getting actual real mail (which we often called "snail mail") was the excitement of getting something other than bills and junk mail. I still have some letters from decades ago, and every time I look through them, I get the memory of not only getting them, but also the feelings from what was written. Back then, people didn't share what yo ate or wore every single day, and often what news they did write about was something Important, like someone was "expecting", going in the Service, getting out of the hospital, etc. Nowadays I have 10,000 emails, and I occasionally go through some of those...but never have gotten the same feelings as with an envelope and stamp. I miss much of the old days...not all, but most.

[@paulborst4724]

Yup, good times. Everybody knew everybody. Game night, Saturday morning cartoons, cooking breakfast, reading books, walking everywhere ... it was a different time and place that no longer exists. So glad I got to experience it.

[@StreamHottieSuperSimp]

The feeling of melancholy is upsetting my stomach, watching this... And yes, the internet makes a lot great things possible, I'd give both my pinkies to return to the days it was never even heard of...

[@MothGirl007]

Totally agree.

[@robwinemiller9712]

wish some things were still like these. much more family togetherness. today everyone is on there phones and devices. such a different time.

[@ScottRandolph-dd7dr]

😂 greetings from coastal Mississippi. Wonderful research. I had rotary phone until the 90's. Didn't get colour tv until the 80's . Didn't get Internet until 2019. What a time to live....🎉