The internet changed everything when it came to modern life — a fact that you're likely even more aware of if you were alive before, y'know, the internet was such a huge thing.
1. "The right to be forgotten. I did dumb shit when I was a kid, and luckily, there weren't any cameras (either security cameras or phones) to capture it and publish it online for eternity to judge."
—u/RyzenRaider
2. "When everyone watched the same TV shows at the same time, and the suspense of waiting for the next episode."
3. "Listening in on someone's phone call secretly, because you have more than one phone in the house."
—u/mo8414
4. "Spending half a day playing with a dirt mound, some sticks, and a few Matchbox cars."
—u/teaching-man
5. "Saturday morning cartoons!"
6. "The experience of having a dispute on a Tuesday, knowing you are correct about something, waiting until the weekend for your parents to drive you to the library, searching through a stack of encyclopedias to get the facts that back your point, waiting eagerly to return to school to continue debating your point, and presenting your research that proves you were correct the whole time — only to have the other party shrug their shoulders and exclaim that they really didn't care anyhow."
—u/LimpGur556
7. "Lack of excessive political polarization. Sure, you might've had a far-right-wing coworker, but everybody just ignored him because we all know he's a lunatic. These days, he has a huge internet following of like-minded crazies and is turning it into a perpetual echo chamber."
8. "Spontaneity. I was about 25 the first time I heard the internet was an actual thing beyond some trope in sci-fi shows. When I was a kid, if you wanted to get together with friends, you got on the phone and set it up — or you simply went to their house and knocked on the door. My teen daughters have assured me that calling someone on the phone is now considered rude, and arriving at someone’s house unannounced is a war crime."
—u/VH5150OU812
9. "Socializing — in-person, hanging out, sleepovers, family sit-down meals, especially at restaurants — that don't involve just sitting and texting on phones. It's so sad to see parents and kids playing on their phones, when the free time could be talking or making memories."
—u/bronzemat
10. "Reading. We used to have newspapers as the most reliable information source. Online articles and newspaper articles are very differently written. Newspaper articles are long, detailed, and might be demanding. Online articles are short and to the point, but they feel shallow. Kids nowadays don't read so much (which is the older generation's fault), and the lack of reading habits will hinder their willingness to read and therefore hinder their willingness to know further. YouTube essays and, worse, TikTok and Twitter bullshit are their sources of information now."
11. "The lack of advertising."
—u/Talquin
12. "My parents told me that when they were growing up, they used to get into one person’s car and drive around town, have chats with other random groups of late teens/early 20s people who they’d never met, and make plans from there or find out that a party was happening. Seems pretty cool to me."
13. "Layaway versus credit. Seems to me that credit cards had been a very small minority of purchases, which has changed in the last few decades."
—u/Talquin
14. "Imagination. I used to have this amazing imagination. I could draw the coolest stuff, and if I needed visual references for things, I searched for it in books from the library. Once I got internet at home, I got sucked in and spent all my time on it. I can't come up with cool ideas like I used to. It's difficult to draw or create things anymore. My kids are amazing; they come up with the best drawings and the best games, and they don't have phones or internet yet to dull their mind."
15. "Getting six to eight friends together to play video games. I'm not talking about playing online, I'm talking about a group of friends all in the same room taking turns to play GoldenEye. There is something great about friends playing video games in the same room. Multiplayer is much better when played under the same roof."
16. "On snow days, I never see kids playing outside. It's so weird to me. When I was a kid, snow days meant every kid on your street (and sometimes several streets) got together and built forts, had snowball fights, made snowmen, and went sledding. Our parents kicked us out, and we weren't allowed back in 'til they called us for hot cocoa and sandwiches. If we were cold, it's because we weren't playing hard enough to stay warm."
17. "Watching a live performance (a concert, for example) without millions of phones in the air blocking your view."
—u/LaurenTFloyd
18. "The excitement of having pen pals."
19. "Being unreachable for reasonable periods of time."
And finally...
20. "Knowing how to just be idle."
Have your own? See you in the comments!
These entries were edited for length and clarity.