What was life like for you before the Internet?

[Rick Deckard]

Same question as OP. I was born in 1990, so outside of fond memories of video stories and corded phones, I don't really have any real memories of the pre-Internet era. We got our first computer in 1995, but I don't think I used Internet on it. But I was on by around 98 or so.

What are your memories of the pre-Internet era?

What were summers like before Iphones, Ipads, DVDs, the Internet, cell phones etc?

When did you start to feel the presence of the Internet and high technology in your daily life?

[DR DOOM]

I had to steal porno mags instead of surfing the net for live action.

But seriously, I only got a computer/internet five years ago.

[Mansin Humanity]

still haven't perfected the time machine then, huh miser?

[arnold layne]

I was like five years old when the internet became a big factor in my life. The only memories I have prior to the World Wide Web are the Adam West Batman and Christmas Specials VHS' I would watch on repeat.

That and N64 although I am fairly certain the internet was growing around that time.

[Redhead74]

It was great. Your world was your friends who were real people with real faces and you'd hang out on weekends at each others houses listening to Guns n Roses and pouring over music mags and collecting posters of skinny Axl.

After school you'd hang out in your room with the walls plastered with Slash and skinny Axl and talk to your friends using the house phone, for hours. Of course that meant that your parents' friends could never contact your mum and dad because all they got was an engaged tone for hours on end.

And I remember always having a VHS tape ready to go when I watched Video Hits and recording all the music videos that I loved. Paradise City, WTTJ and SCOM were almost in audible and unwatchable after a while from overuse and they always had those funny grey static bars in between each video or at a point where you'd rewound the tape over and over to watch one little bit (usually skinny Axl doing something really sexy ).

Edited June 6, 2014 by Redhead74

[Georgy Zhukov]

I got by okay. I hung out at video and book stores a lot. I remember they used to be everywhere.

I would steal the Victoria's Secret catalog from the mail a lot. Frederick's of Hollywood was good stuff too. My neighbor would give me that. My uncle showed off his porn stash to me one time. I think my mom found out about it because I never saw him again after that. I guess looking back it was a little weird.

[Thin White Duke]

The only stupid people you had to deal with were those who lived in a diameter of 10 square kms from your house. And the best thing is that they didn't tell you their life.

[The Real McCoy]

I've been on the net since I was 11 years old, so I didn't exactly have a lot of life experiences under my belt by the time that I was connected.

[Georgy Zhukov]

The only stupid people you had to deal with were those who lived in a diameter of 10 square kms from your house. And the best thing is that they didn't tell you their life.

Unless you run into them at the store. Then you just have to pretend you like them. I would go to another town to buy groceries and other things just to avoid bumping into them.

Oh yeah, use to hang out at the mall and the movies all the time. If I ever want to read a review I just look at the local paper.

[Apollo]

It was amazing.

You hung out with friends. When you were with your friends, you did things together. You didn't walk side by side with your ipods on and your fingers glued to texting somebody else.

We played instruments together and tried to create music, rather than playing rockband on a video game.

You had long and meaningful phone conversations with somebody, rather than 15 second text conversations with 25 people at a time.

Basically, you got together with friends and did stuff together.

And if you had time without friends, you used your brain to be creative....rather than relying on technology to be creative for you.

Oh - and people didn't need Facebook/twitter/ect to validate themselves and their feelings.

[Thin White Duke]

What about adults?

[bran]

i didnt get the internet until i was 15 or so and that was dial up my friend had a place with a huge garage and every saturday night we would get stoned, drink moonshine and have Halo LAN parties. other than that it was the usual teenager stuff.

[rock4eva]

It was amazing.

You hung out with friends. When you were with your friends, you did things together. You didn't walk side by side with your ipods on and your fingers glued to texting somebody else.

We played instruments together and tried to create music, rather than playing rockband on a video game.

You had long and meaningful phone conversations with somebody, rather than 15 second text conversations with 25 people at a time.

Basically, you got together with friends and did stuff together.

And if you had time without friends, you used your brain to be creative....rather than relying on technology to be creative for you.

Oh - and people didn't need Facebook/twitter/ect to validate themselves and their feelings.

You were out every night with friends, before videos you didn't get addicted to tv shows as you couldn't download them to watch every episode (didn't have time to watch them anyway), you went to the movies, you went to concerts, you only shared your feelings with your friends instead of the world (I'm guilty of that nowadays), went away for weekends & were cut off from the world camping in the middle of nowhere, weren't available 24hrs a day 7 days a week, you spoke to each other & laughed rather than type to people and write lol, rofl etc - you drove without speaking on phones or even worse, texting.

As much as I love the internet & spend so much time on it, life beforehand was much more peaceful & slower. People can't even go the movies these days without checking mobile phones and of course someone always leaves theirs on accidently & people yell at them to turn it off when it rings. I haven't got a mobile phone connected to internet thank goodness, I know I would be on it all the time.

Oh, and you didn't have to go searching for a phone to call someone at the airport as nowadays they assume everyone has a mobile. There were phones everywhere to make calls, all you needed was change or a card.

[Snake-Pit]

I first saw the internet at home in the 1990s, and chat rooms that looked a lot like DOS. Before the internet Cops was on TV and the Simpsons were well in their stride with a daring new show known as the X Files.

Times were simpler; I was a kid and my parents never threw any parties

[wasted]

I used to send long rambling letters to Kerrang about the possibilities of the next GNR album.

[DR DOOM]

I used to send long rambling letters to Kerrang about the possibilities of the next GNR album.

[Nulla Lex Ink.]

Well, the internet has always been a big part of my life that I can still remember. But until I was ten I thought the internet was just for porn. I later discovered that assumption was mostly correct, but there's some other interesting stuff between all of the sex related material. I can say that before I discovered all of the entertainment options on the net I was more productive though, haha.

[Johnny Drama]

It was really grainy.

[Nulla Lex Ink.]

It was really grainy.

Was it black and white too? I've always wanted to know that. My dad says it wasn't, but I'd like another opinion.

[sweetness]

I played outside and gave zero fucks

[rock4eva]

Well, the internet has always been a big part of my life that I can still remember. But until I was ten I thought the internet was just for porn. I later discovered that assumption was mostly correct, but there's some other interesting stuff between all of the sex related material. I can say that before I discovered all of the entertainment options on the net I was more productive though, haha.

A friend's wife got onto the internet & accidently porn ads popped up to her horror. Her husband said he thought that was supposed to be restricted to adult hours - he had no idea that only applies to tv and internet is world wide & open to anyone, anytime.

[Johnny Drama]

If porn ads are popping up, it's because he's jacking it.

[Redhead74]

And if you had time without friends, you used your brain to be creative....rather than relying on technology to be creative for you.

Exactly. I've posted this before but it's exactly what you were referring to. I made this after school back in 1988 and now what I do for a living is a direct result of making it:

[rock4eva]

If porn ads are popping up, it's because he's jacking it.

Hardly, he wouldn't have a clue what to do with a computer. They pop up all the time when I'm trying to download shows & movies - the last thing I want to see on the side are these women jiggling........... well I'll leave it to your imagination!!!

Don't know why they think everyone is interested in their porn sites, much prefer ads for chocolate come up instead. Now that would increase their business by double.

[Lio]

It was great. Your world was your friends who were real people with real faces and you'd hang out on weekends at each others houses listening to Guns n Roses and pouring over music mags and collecting posters of skinny Axl.

After school you'd hang out in your room with the walls plastered with Slash and skinny Axl and talk to your friends using the house phone, for hours. Of course that meant that your parents' friends could never contact your mum and dad because all they got was an engaged tone for hours on end.

And I remember always having a VHS tape ready to go when I watched Video Hits and recording all the music videos that I loved. Paradise City, WTTJ and SCOM were almost in audible and unwatchable after a while from overuse and they always had those funny grey static bars in between each video or at a point where you'd rewound the tape over and over to watch one little bit (usually skinny Axl doing something really sexy ).

This. It seems I've lived a parallel life, but on the other side of the globe

And when we went on holiday, we sent long letters to friends at home, and checked the mailbox each day for letters from our friends. And when you got back from your holiday, you had so much to tell your friends, of alle the things that had happened... Nowadays you don't have to tell anything anymore. They already know from Facebook.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Lio