People Old Enough To Remember Life Pre-Internet Are Sharing What They Miss The Most About That Time (30 Tweets)

I used to have pen pals all over the world. Unfortunately we lost touch 😥

I remember going to see The Who in Brighton before mobile phones and about half way through there was the use of laser, strobe lights. I remember turning and seeing the wonder on all the faces around me. Today would just be a sea of mobile phones held in the air.

Back then it was way easier to ignore people and just slide off the grid for a while. I miss that.

It was getting the Argos catalogue that I loved, circling all the things that I wanted for christmas.

Yes, had to look things up in a library with a card catalog. Now you just google it.

I remember on the weekends the radio would play the top 40 songs. The list was printed in the newspaper. So you’d sit there with the list, with the songs you wanted to record circled in pen, listening to the Top 40

Or afford family vacations..

Finding something on the 3 or 4 TV channels we had as kids. Wonder why anyone ever watched some of those old shows. Because there was nothing else on.

I really don't miss using physical maps for journeys, google maps is so useful in my job.

"Think before you speak. Read before you think." - Fran Liebwitz

And then you’d make up things to do with your friends or siblings- like build forts.

Ah, the joys of "Let's meet at Fontaine St Michel at 8". There were at least 200 people around the blasted fountain, but not the ones you were looking for.

And you could answer the phone without it being a robot or someone selling something.

People that use their phone while I am talking to them I just stop the conversation and walk away. That bugs the c**p out of me!

Looking through the saucy seaside postcards, deciding which one to send to your grandparents. Like the "No nurse, I said prick his boil"

Heh, being out of touch with people was easier, because the amount of effort to reach out and communicate was not sustainable long term, IF you ignored it long enough.

How about signing up to get 8 tracks or cassettes.

Oh... meeting THAT girl at the library for a classwork when you were 14...

Ah the joy of an independently owned local newspaper where you can read everything from the news and sports, to weather and get a recipe for dinner.

And playing them over and over in your bedroom alone.

I still watch (and buy) my dvds regularly, but I have far more than 12!

And not getting ripped off at every turn. The cereal boxes actually had cereal to the top of the box!

For me it was taking a football to the park behind the school, your either kicking the ball against a wall or got a full on football match.

Thank the 24 hour news cycle. Something that would have been local before CNN is now on all the news networks because they have to fill the time between commercials.

We still all have the ability to disconnect, it's called the off button.

Yes, the options were much fewer too. You just picked what was available and made due. But things were made better then too so you got ripped off less.

OMG! Me and my buddies would call this " A Cruise To Nowhere"! Would just set a general direction and just drive, not follow any signs, except the direction we were headed...say west. In the late 70's early 80's it was OK to drink and drive w/o worries of a DWI. So we got our beers and drove for 6-8 hours. Get tired crash there on the spot as it was late night. Check out the area we were in the next day, get a map find out where we landed then head home the following day. We always found something interesting on our travels!

I miss people using actual words instead of acronyms. I spent a lot of time looking things up now days. :)

West coast and East coast USA. Was probably one of the first in New Jersey to low rider my pickup when everyone else was adding lift kits and 3 foot tires to there trucks. I read west coast car magazines at the time (remember magazines?) I loved the west coast low rider scene, so brought it to NJ. Old pic of my work in progress...1983-84. Truck1-unf...29a6a9.jpg

Social interaction of any kind that doesn't involve a screen is a lost art among the younger generations. I've seen with my own eyes a group of kids together in the same room, noses buried in phones, not interacting with each other in any way.

And the news was delivered by true professionals who just gave you the facts with as little spin as possible. There was no "infotainment" in those days.

Wow. What an elitist and gatekeepery opinion. Why not be happy that people are able to experience the things that you love without having to have access to the shops and concerts you do? The value of your rare album isn't diminished by a poor person being able to hear a recording they could never afford to buy or devote the time to track down. Or in different countries where it may be impossible to go to "the right record store and sift[ed] through crates."

I still do this- I have a notepad and pen in my car specifically to write down the names of bands/song I don't know. Many people still listen to the radio don't they?

I miss the days before people spent every waking minute with their noses buried in a screen, but I don't miss waiting two or three weeks to receive something I ordered.

Being Scouse and moving to the prairies I was bullied relentlessly for being different. They’d wait for me outside school, the shops, even those meet up places talked about above. There was no escape. Bullying has always existed for some unlucky people.

I still remember purchasing calling cards with a set amount of time pre loaded. You would call for a few minutes to every family member that had a phone just to hear their voice and ask for life updates and give them yours. Before ending the call you would tell each other the next date and time that you would call again so both families would be waiting by the phone to receive a call and hear each other.

2 days for Pink Floyd with my best mate. My Dad brought us soup, good times. Ended up with 11th row. 😂

Biggie!

I'll give you this one. Because the artwork. i miss the artwork.

Also, they can't find you afterwards!

Go back early enough, and the manuals would include instructions on UI basics like how to use a mouse, how to navigate a menu bar, how to click a button, etc.

I would still admire you

You just described introvert hell, in any era.

I went to an expensive restaurant with a friend after the lock down ended, and there was a table of four young women (maybe 18 to 22), and they spent the entire meal on their phones. They didn''t speak to each other. They took photos of the food, and that was their only interaction. I never could have afforded that restaurant at their age--it saddened me that they didn't enjoy the ambiance or experience of the place or that they didn't interact with each other. ... It's true, I do not know their story, it just seemed, after lock down, to be a missed opportunity.

Conspiracy theories thrive like never before thanks to instant global communication.

Life was just so less stressful when you weren’t constantly bombarded with information and endless choices. There is so much pressure now that is just “there” all the time in everyday life. “Doing” and “knowing” has become the culture.