The internet is a wonderful cyber space where we all spent way too much time. It has made all of our lives dramatically easier as we can deliver our friends a message in seconds, call a car to our exact location without using our voice, and scroll through the joy of memes. If ancient people saw how we live now, they would assume we all signed deals with the devil in exchange for dark magical powers.
Between Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Twitter--most of us don't realize how important the internet is to our everyday existence. Our bosses can be in constant communication with us, the family group chat can't be ignored, and dating is a whole lot harder. While life is a more efficient now, it's nice to look back and remember the time when you had to drive to a store if you wanted to watch a movie instead of mindlessly scrolling through the complicated web of Netflix from your couch.
That's why, when a recent Reddit user asked, "What’s something the internet killed that you miss?" people were happy to take a trip down memory lane.
1. Yes, "Shittsuperintendent."
Photo albums. My parents have all these awesome albums from when they were kids, and then when they got married and then from my childhood. I love leafing through them when I’m at their house.
My own photos are all on Facebook or Instagram and it’s not the same at all.
2. The internet made us all cranky old men, "IncognetoMagneto."
Being off the grid. Internet and cell phones ruined it. Nothing stresses me out more than a string of texts in the morning. I feel like I have to check it in case it’s work related. Email used to be fun. Now it’s just a series of people needing something from me or trying to sell me something. Maybe I’m just an old cranky man.
3. This sounds fun, "User1539."
BBS systems.
When I was a kid there were local Bulletin Board Systems. We chatted, we left messages, arranged Doom death matches and played Door games.
Then you'd see those people in real life, at school and user meetups. It was all local.
4. Throwback, "11never."
Just going over to your friends house or the park unannounced to see if they were there and hang out.
5. R.I.P., Blockbuster, "Ad4lYl."
I miss the feeling of walking into a blockbuster but still appreciate the convenience of streaming
6. Memories, "Pontarossa."
AOL chatrooms.
Around 2006-ish, the internet moved from being a way to talk to new people to a way to keep talking to people you already know. That's super useful and all, but there was a lot to be said for building friendships with total strangers who you only knew by a username, but would still chat to every night. It was part of the internet of discovery rather than the internet of familiarity.
I miss it, at times. It was nice to have it be so easy to build those connections.
7. Damn, "ButterBuddha."
Geocities, 1996
8. This was old-school Youtube, "ZanyDelaney."
User generated web content with no thought to advertising, search engine optimisation, monetising.
9. This sounds so much more complicated than Googling, "yordl."
My dad says he misses having arguments with friends which could only be resolved by phoning whoever was most knowledgeable on a subject e.g. Did you know lightning travels upwards? No it goes down! Let's phone your dad, he's a meteorologist.
10. Yard sales were the best, "danni_shadow."
Yard sales, garage sales and flea markets.
People still have them, but it's way harder to find stuff at a good price. Ebay and Amazon have ruined that, because everybody just looks up what things are selling for. And sometimes Ebay is ridiculously inflated.
I found a rare Nerf gun that we had been looking for at a flea market once, and the lady was charging $150, because that was the going rate on Ebay. People are always selling action figures in crappy condition for $20, because they don't realize that that price is mint-in-box, and all of the arms and legs are required. Like, I just wanna grab a TMNT toy for my kids. I'm not paying $20 for your broken toy.
It used to be about persistence and digging up a good deal somewhere. Now, I may as well just buy it off of Ebay. The cost is the same and my house smells better than most of the people at the flea markets...
11. It's the Tinder takeover, "StorybookNelson."
It makes me feel so weird that the way my husband and I dated back in the day doesn't even exist anymore. We're not even that old.
12. Gotta love party tricks, "c-student."
Having a mental catalog of great jokes that most people hadn't heard. It was so much fun to drop a few at parties and get some laughs.
13. So true, "deusdragon."
Book stores and music stores.
The feeling of walking into a Borders and browsing the eternally high bookshelves can't be topped.
14. Hence, the flat-Earth theory. "NaabeGetOnSkype."
If you were exceedingly dumb or had terrible ideas, your reach was really only your direct circle of friends. Now idiots can broadcast their ideas across the planet with a click
15. Bummer, "TrustWorthyJudas."
At disney land, after you had ridden on the Haunted Mansion ride, you could ask a member of staff to provide you with a special secret "death certificate" to say that you died on the ride (obviously its not legally binding) it was a secret but when i was younger and visited disney land my mother heard someone request itand after asking them about it, then we all got one.
Unfortunately with the advent of the internet the secret got out and too many people were asking for death certificate, so disney in their infinite wisdom scrapped the little easter egg, i've since lost mine and had one day hoped to get one for my child.
16. Totally, "-eDgAR-."
There is now a work culture of always being reachable by email or text for whatever happens. A lot of places expect you to be pretty much on call even when you're not at the office anymore. I worked at an ad agency where days off sometimes didn't even feel like that, because I would still be getting emails about things and was expected to be checking them. There should be some level of balance between work and personal life and I feel like that is fading because so many places are adapting this type of culture, especially start-ups.
17. Totally, "SuperKeeg."
Saturday Morning Cartoons. As I get older, I realize the ritual of a thing is just as important as the actual thing itself. It's not just about the cartoons. Watching them as an adult, many of the cartoons from the 80's and early 90's we're terrible. Rather it was the "event" of Saturday Morning Cartoons that I miss.
My daughters can watch whatever they want whenever they want to watch it. They don't know what it is like to have to wait for a week for a new episode. They usually just binge their shows whenever they want. If my kids want to spend the entire weekend watching My Little Pony, they can. And they can to it the week after, too. They don't know what it is like to miss an episode of Power Rangers because it was now scheduled at 7am instead of 6:30 and I had to leave for school.
They also don't have to watch TV together. They can just watch whatever on their phones or tablets or on the TV in the living room. NOTHING (except my wife and I) stop them from consuming the specific entertainment that they want.
18. Too real, "Semi_HadrOn."
My eyesight.
19. Wow yeah, "GaryHorning0."
Going through life without worrying about somebody taking a video of you and positing it for everybody to see.
20. What are "books? "spendor_phines."
Reading a book before bed. Now I mostly surf the web until I get tired.
21. Yes, "Ad4lYl."
I miss when concerts didn't have a sea of people filming a video from their phone
21. Yup, "BreachBangnClear."
I can’t describe the joy I felt walking into a Blockbuster on a Friday night hoping the new movie I wanted to rent wasn’t sold out. And getting overpriced movie snacks while waiting in line.