Do you remember life before the internet?

Do I Remember Life Before the Internet? Oh Honey…YES I Do!

Do I remember life before the internet? Oh yes…YES I do!

And honestly? I miss it sometimes.

We played outside until the streetlights came on. We rode our bikes EVERYWHERE like we owned the roads. No helmets, no GPS tracking, no “Find My Friends” app. Our parents had one rule:
“Be home before dark.”

And somehow…we survived.

We played video games like Pac-Man, Frogger, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Bros. Back then, blowing into the Nintendo cartridge was considered advanced technical support.

We went roller skating, bowling, and cruised around town with our friends. And if you wanted to talk to somebody? You used a wall phone with a cord so long it could stretch into another ZIP code. You’d drag that twirly cord all the way into another room so your mama wouldn’t hear your business.

Privacy was fighting that cord while whispering, “Hang up! No, YOU hang up first!”

And hanging out with friends? That took real effort.

We didn’t text:
“Where y’all at?”

Nope. We had to DRIVE AROUND and check all the local hangout spots to see where everybody was. You’d pull into one parking lot, nobody’s there, then head to the next place. It was basically a scavenger hunt fueled by gas station snacks and bad decisions.

And yes…we went to libraries. Actual libraries.

We read books for fun and took them on trips to read in the car or at the beach. Imagine that — sitting by the ocean without taking 47 selfies first.

There were no cell phones, WiFi, or internet. We couldn’t Google restaurants while traveling. We had to ask local people where the good food was.

And maps? Lord help us.

We used those giant folded paper maps that somehow could NEVER be folded back correctly. One person drove while the other held the map upside down saying:
“I THINK we’re close.”

And if you got lost? You had to stop and ask for directions from an actual human being. Scary times.

The best part of growing up in the 70s and 80s was that nobody had a phone camera documenting every dumb thing we did. There was no social media evidence. No posting. No tagging.

Our memories were stored safely in our minds and retold years later beginning with:
“Remember when…”

Those really were the good old days.

The 70s and 80s were the BEST years to grow up in, and I’m so thankful I got to experience life before everyone stared at screens all day.

We made memories instead of content.
We lived in the moment instead of posting it.
And honestly…those were some of the best days ever.