What Was Done Before the Internet?
As a three-year-old veteran of the Internet, I’m pretty young by online standards. Still, it’s been long enough that I simply can’t imagine living without connectivity.
What am I Blabbing About?
As I wait for the damn restaurant staff to fix their WiFi connection—the very reason why I decided to patronize their establishment in the first place—I can’t help but try and remember what I did before I had constant access to the internets.
I do have some recollections. For instance, if I didn’t know something I had to… shudder consult a printed encyclopedia. There was no Google to help me figure out facts, figures, and most importantly for a writer like me, figures of speech.
What I Did Before Going Online?
Obviously, this question is irrelevant for people who’ve been connected practically their entire lives. So they weren’t “forced” to deal with a need to recall facts and ideas from memory.
All I remember doing before going online for real were nights full of human interaction and conversation. I had to read books and actually go out of the house, simply because I had nothing better to do. To be fair though, the availability of virtually endless information on the internet has helped me learn new things.
So What Did You do Before Going Online?
Along the way, I learned how to create my own style of doing things based on the activities of others. And as I’m increasingly able to enjoy a fully mobile online experience, I’m pretty sure the Internet will become a more important resource for yours truly.
So, what did you do before the Internet became a big part of your life? The very fact that you’re reading this blog post indicates that going online is now a must for you. Or at the very least, you’re starting to discover the wonders—and perils—of the online world.
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POSTED IN: Ramblings of a Gadget Geek
2 opinions for What Was Done Before the Internet?
adpena
Jul 21, 2008 at 9:20 am
With respect to diversion – we did have TV. Instead of sitting in front of the computer like my kids do I used to watch TV. Remember The Late Show, The Late Late Show, Chiller Theater (The claymation hand with 5 fingers and a thumb), The Midnight Special. It must be said when I was a kid my TV wasn’t hooked up to cable or a dish just the antennae on the roof.
In spite of always on internet access my kids still do play with their friends, go to the pool, go camping, play card games etc. But I definitely had it better when I was a kid. This has nothing to do with the internet but I lived on a block with a bunch of other guys my age. We used to play for endless hours outside. The neighborhood with it’s three alley ways and nearby park were our play land.
Instead of shopping the internet we used to go to the neighborhood shopping district to window shop and see all the latest toys, clothes, gadgets etc. We would spend an entire Saturday walking down one side of the street and up the other occasionally stopping into a store here and there to check something out up close before heading home. Yup, this was before malls took over but the shopping district I frequented as kid is still around and vibrant.
Like you my family was lucky enough to own an Encyclopedia Britannica for information. We even had the yearly update. When the old Britannica wasn’t adequate we took a trip to the library. I loved making things and spent a lot of time in the How to section.
You can’t beat the internet for quick up to the minute access of information but I miss the down time of yesterday. Those of us that are wired can’t relax the way we used to. We no longer know how to just quiet our minds, relax and meditate. I think we’ve lost something very important, basic and fundamental to our being. I also feel that the speed of everything today and the need to keep pace may have opened the door for quite a bit of shabbiness. But that’s another topic.
I must confess, although I make my living as a hands on Technology Manager, I’m a Luddite at heart.
Alan
Jul 31, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Can comment on a time going to the Library during college for research. While there seeing other books nearby not on the subject, but they looked interesting.
On line there isn’t this same serendipity of becoming interested in completely different things.
The Online information on any subject is superficial. A real hack job.
Information is incomplete and fragmented. No comprehensive packaging like found in a book.
Saying internet will replace the library, not yet.
Before the internet people were more physical oriented. Hands on with everything needed to be done. The spare time was spent on hobbies or recreation.
Online is seductive and too easy. Compared to before its unproductive. Grateful my formative years I didn’t have video games or computers to weasel in my play time.
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