Back then, personal communication was limited to phone calls and letters. The long-distance calls were expensive. Thus, people often wrote letters to their loved ones to stay in touch. However, it took weeks or even months to receive a response. If you needed information or wanted to learn something new, you had to visit a library or bookstore or rely on your outdated encyclopedias.
Google and Wikipedia weren’t around, so obtaining the knowledge required physical effort. You had to search through books and hope they had the information you needed. Music lovers would build their collections by buying records, eight-track tapes, cassettes, and CDs. Going to the record store was half the fun; you would listen to your favorite albums on a stereo or tape deck.
If you wanted to hear a song on the radio, fast-forwarding through a tape was a much faster option. Before streaming services and online gaming, people rented movies on VHS or watched them on TV when they aired. Video games were often played at the arcade if you didn’t have an expensive home gaming system. TV shows and movies were much more limited back then, so you would rely on a programming schedule or a particular night of the week to watch your favorite shows.
If you missed an episode, taping it on a VCR was the only way to watch it later. Shopping meant going to brick-and-mortar stores, as there were no online websites to shop from, and home deliveries were rare except for pizza. It was time-consuming because people had to compare prices and products manually. Planning travel required physical maps, and typing in your destination for directions wasn’t an option.
Entertainment before the internet involved game nights with board games, cards, and tabletop games. These games required face-to-face interaction, which encouraged communication and teamwork. Watching new movies meant going to the theater, and cooking often required relying on cookbooks and handwritten recipes.
News was a completely different experience. People relied on the nightly news, newspapers, and magazines for updates. If you wanted to capture memories, you had to use a Polaroid or film camera and buy film to develop them. Waiting days or even weeks to see your pictures was just part of the process.
Despite the limitations, life before the internet was fun and adventurous. People made the most of what they had. It’s incredible to know how much the world has changed with the introduction of the internet. However, it is essential to appreciate the simpler times and memories made without it.
