It’s so weird to know that there’s a whole generation of people becoming adults right now who never lived in a world without the internet. My own kids can’t imagine what it was like before people could rent movies right from the TV or instantly look up any information we need to know on Google. When I told one of them to use our dictionary/thesaurus instead of Wikipedia for a homework assignment, she looked at me like I’d grown horns. It started me reminiscing about what life used to be like before the internet was such a huge part of it.
- If you weren’t at home or at work, you just couldn’t be reached.
flickr/Jessica Nichols When we were out at dinner or spending time with family, you just had to leave a message and wait for a call back. And bosses? They couldn’t email you at 9 pm to stress you out about some work emergency.
- Kids actually wanted to play outside.
flickr/amanda tipton And as long as we were home by the time the streetlights went on, our parents were happy to let us run free.
- Siblings, neighbors, and pets were built-in friends.
flickr/Kelly Polizzi We couldn’t text, IM, or Facebook message our friends from school. We just played with whoever happened to be around.
- We knew - and were friends with - other people in the neighborhood.
flickr/Didriks We didn’t really correspond with high school friends who had moved across the country. Like the kids, we were friends with the people who were in close physical proximity. We even had them into our houses pretty often.
- Friendships were formed and maintained in person.
flickr/Four Doxn We’d meet people in the physical world - at work or the grocery store or a block party - and then actually spend time with them. Sure, we still have some friendships like this, but it seems like more and more of them take place purely digitally.
- We read books.
Flickr/Christopher Like, real books. With paper pages that you had to turn with your hand.
- We wrote letters.
flickr/Ryan Blanding …With pens and paper. And then we put them into another piece of paper and put a stamp on the whole thing. It was way more complicated than typing out a few words on a phone or keyboard.
- When we had to wait, we waited without staring at a phone.
flickr/Jason Parks In a waiting room, we had to make small talk, read a magazine, or - gasp! - be alone with our thoughts for a little while.
- We played board games on actual boards.
flickr/Colleen Kelly Seriously, Monopoly on your phone is nowhere near as much fun as Monopoly with the whole family on the dining room table.
- We took regular leisurely walks.
flickr/Donald Lee Pardue Outdoors seemed so much more entertaining when we didn’t have so many gadgets to distract us.
- We played on community sports teams.
flickr/Joshua Fuller Instead of bowling or playing baseball on a screen, we went out and did those things for real with friends and neighbors.
- We sat on the front porch and enjoyed visiting or just watching the world.
flickr/Sharyn Morrow Neighbors would see us out there and drop by. The whole family would gather to talk about how the day went. The front porch was such a big part of our social lives.
I know some of you are thinking “These are true for everywhere, not just Nebraska!” And you’re right – but when I think back to my internet-free Nebraska childhood, these are the simple joys I remember. Not that you should stop using the internet altogether – you do have to check Only In Nebraska every day, right? 🙂 How about you? What were the best parts of your pre-internet life in Nebraska? Leave us a comment and let us know!
flickr/Jessica Nichols
When we were out at dinner or spending time with family, you just had to leave a message and wait for a call back. And bosses? They couldn’t email you at 9 pm to stress you out about some work emergency.
flickr/amanda tipton
And as long as we were home by the time the streetlights went on, our parents were happy to let us run free.
flickr/Kelly Polizzi
We couldn’t text, IM, or Facebook message our friends from school. We just played with whoever happened to be around.
flickr/Didriks
We didn’t really correspond with high school friends who had moved across the country. Like the kids, we were friends with the people who were in close physical proximity. We even had them into our houses pretty often.
flickr/Four Doxn
We’d meet people in the physical world - at work or the grocery store or a block party - and then actually spend time with them. Sure, we still have some friendships like this, but it seems like more and more of them take place purely digitally.
Flickr/Christopher
Like, real books. With paper pages that you had to turn with your hand.
flickr/Ryan Blanding
…With pens and paper. And then we put them into another piece of paper and put a stamp on the whole thing. It was way more complicated than typing out a few words on a phone or keyboard.
flickr/Jason Parks
In a waiting room, we had to make small talk, read a magazine, or - gasp! - be alone with our thoughts for a little while.
flickr/Colleen Kelly
Seriously, Monopoly on your phone is nowhere near as much fun as Monopoly with the whole family on the dining room table.
flickr/Donald Lee Pardue
Outdoors seemed so much more entertaining when we didn’t have so many gadgets to distract us.
flickr/Joshua Fuller
Instead of bowling or playing baseball on a screen, we went out and did those things for real with friends and neighbors.
flickr/Sharyn Morrow
Neighbors would see us out there and drop by. The whole family would gather to talk about how the day went. The front porch was such a big part of our social lives.
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