The idea is very different than the reality. The freedom of information, communication, and variety are so much better now.
Need a job, get a newspaper for classified ads and take whatever you can get, or start calling friends and networking when you’re lucky to get a voicemail.
Want to unwind and watch something? You can spend all evening flipping through channel after channel of garbage.
Need to learn something, prepare to spend days going to different public libraries to find anything useful. Most people don’t learn anything. Most people’s only adult social connection is though religion. It is a small dumb world where I grew up.
One thing I would not take for granted is the massive amount of information out there for repairing/ fixing things in your home. If you have an issue with your lawn mower, I guarantee that someone recorded a video of how to fix it step by step. It is absolutely mind boggling what we have at our finger tips.
I called my grandfather when I wanted to learn something. The library was the backup if he didn’t know. He was a well educated engineer, and my grandmother also had a university education and an excellent knowledge of literature.
I wouldn’t mind killing off social media, but I have offline copies of Wikipedia for a reason. That shit is important.
I used to send emails to libraries for information on a certain topic and got back lots of information
Imagine going on a road trip and getting stuck somewhere 3 hours from home with no cell phone
Ah, the good old romantization of the things you don’t know.
If they’re so eager about it, they can try taking their hands off the phone, for change.
Edit: typo
Doesn’t change expectations of others for you to respond to work emails or other shit at all hours. Doesn’t bring back the days of concert going paying attention instead of 800 phones being held up to record some shitty angle that will never be watched again, or people being rude while checking out, or distracted driving.
Doesn’t change expectations of others for you to respond to work emails or other shit at all hours.
That was still a thing before the internet/cellphones. My dad would receive phone calls at home at all hours back in the 90s and he was just a low level manager. He just pretended to not be home. When work gave him a cell phone, he would just turn it off when he left work and pretend his phone died.
I was just thinking this earlier today. Life just seemed more simple.
most definitely. no expectation of being available 24/7.
Yeah that’s on you mate, you’ve made yourself available for 24/7.
Turn your phone off or put it on a restricted mode
so only approved people can contact you and don’t open work emails after hours.
Yeah, it was. But only because it was in the 80s and I was in my early teens back then. I don’t think the world was much simpler though. I was just looking at it through oblivious eyes of youth…
Cold War was in its heyday. Russia was at war, just like today. Ronald Regan came to power. There were bloody and terrible terrorist attacks. Chernobyl blew up etc etc.
It was a shitshow.
The late 80s and 90s weren’t so bad. I think a lot of what they call “internet” is really reflecting the algorithmic, intentionally addictive social media (vs the old forums, that were sort of niche even then), and “cell phones” likely smart phones that are a prime avenue for accessing that social media. I’d probably give up my smart phone convenience for a phone-less Spotify streamer and a standalone GPS.
AT THE TONE THE TIME WILL BE 12:49 AND 50 SECONDS. BEEP!
No thanks. I like my internet time sync and GPS navigation.
I, for one, don’t miss waiting 2 hours to try and meet up with people who might have forgotten when or where we decided to meet up at, three weeks ago.
No way, maps and GPS are far too useful.
Cellphones are amazing, actually. I would hate to not be able to contact the authorities or really any kind of help with as much ease as cellphones provide. There are a lot of times having a cellphone potentially saved my life.
I have to wonder if the real discussion here is between ‘pre-internet’ or ‘not the internet where you’re the product being sold and sold to’, because I strongly suspect it’s the latter that’s the issue here.
I’m just barely old enough to recall how things worked before the internet and I don’t think people would ever really want to go back to not being able to watch anything they want, any time they want, or not having turn-by-turn directions or even things like ordering a pizza by having to call someone on the phone.
What a stupid poll. I don’t see what the article wants me to think, but it was probably a couched question, considering the article explicitly links the Internet to pedophiles, criminals, and people who advocate abolishing democracy.
No mention of the good things that the ability to instantly communicate around the world means. Or a reminder of how stupid things were before the Internet. Like vacuum tubes at Lowe’s.
Even a 54 year old, the top age polled, has no idea what a world without Internet means, as they would have been in their early twenties as America Online was rolling out.
They probably expect it to be just a world where “Do Not Disturb” mode is enabled on their phones all the time while still having access to Netflix and credit card instant transactions and not balancing a checkbook.
