World Internet Day: A comparison of the pre-digital world vs today
The internet is everyone’s best friend now. People spend an average of 145 minutes daily on social media. But the internet is not all social media. The internet gives you access to an endless amount of information, work opportunities, platforms to get artistic, endless communication, and much, much more. It’s made life better, and definitely easier. To celebrate World Internet Day, let’s take a walk down memory lane to remember a world internet-free.
Love stories began differently
Online dating is a thing now. People meet online, approach each other through direct messages, and date each other. That’s just in the new age. Back in the day, people met by chance, they used to send love letters, meet outside and face the anxiety of trying to know the other person. Now it’s much easier but definitely less intimate.
Phone calls were a thing
If you wanted to get in touch with someone, you had to give them a call, or physically meet them. It wasn’t as fast and easy as sending a text message. People had to keep a phonebook of numbers and dial the number each time to get a hold of someone. That’s how school students used to contact each other to check if their friends are coming the next day to school. It was definitely a simpler time.
You had to read news on a paper
Keeping up with the world had to be paid for. You had to buy newspapers just to know what’s going on in the world. Now, at the touch of a button (or a slide of a screen) you can literally know everything that’s going on while you’re laying in bed.
People went shopping. Outdoors.
Anyone reading this has probably gotten a taste of what it’s like to shop online on impulse. It’s right in front of you, and you can literally pamper yourself or others at any time of the day. It’s easily more addictive, unlike in the past, where people had to get dressed, go to the store or shopping mall, and actually pay to take their new items home.
We socialized with our neighbors
If you ever felt lonely in the past, you went out and met with your family, friends, and they weren’t available, we went across the hall to talk to our neighbors.
People watched TV
When TV first became available, only a few channels were accessible, you knew the schedule of the channels for TV shows, movies and the news. Logging into Netflix and binge-watching wasn’t an option, watching was a commitment. You had to clear your schedule, get your tea ready to watch, and wait through the horrific ads.
Finding a job wasn’t really easy
You had to have a hard copy of your resume and hand it out to offices and people. There was no such thing as applying for jobs online and having job offers emailed to you. Even making a resume wasn’t easy, you couldn’t list technological skills such as Excel, Microsoft Office, etc.
You couldn’t self-diagnose
In the modern age, when one feels any kind of inconvenience, they google their symptoms and Google tells them what they may have. A normal headache can be a brain tumor, causing unnecessary worry when googled. In the past, people may have just popped a Tylenol for relieving symptoms.
