Do you remember life before the internet?
📞 Communication
Phone calls and face-to-face conversations were primary. People wrote letters by hand or used landline phones. Long-distance calls were expensive, so people were often brief or waited for special occasions. If you missed someone’s call, they left a message on your answering machine.
📰 Information and News
News came from newspapers, radio, and television. Research meant going to the library, flipping through encyclopedias, or asking an expert. Waiting was common—waiting for the evening news or the morning paper to know what happened.
🛍️ Shopping
Shopping meant visiting physical stores. If you needed something specific, you might call stores to ask if they had it in stock. Catalog shopping existed, but you had to mail in orders or call a number, then wait days or weeks.
📺 Entertainment
TV had limited channels; no streaming, and you had to catch shows when they aired. Video rental stores like Blockbuster were huge—you went out to rent movies. People played board games, listened to radio, or just hung out in person.
🏫 School & Learning
Homework and research required books, not Google. Students used index cards, microfiche, and card catalogs. Learning something new often meant taking a class or finding a knowledgeable person.
🗺️ Travel and Navigation
You used paper maps or asked for directions. Booking a trip meant calling travel agents or visiting offices in person.
🧑🤝🧑 Social Life
People were more present in social settings—no phones at the table. Friendships were often deeper because they required more effort to maintain. Social plans were made in advance, and you couldn’t text someone last minute.
In short: life was slower, more localized, and more tactile—with fewer distractions, more waiting, and greater effort required for even simple tasks. But for many, that also meant deeper real-world connections and mental space.
Site Title 3. TimeWise Strategies 