Microblog Memes

Nowadays, if the phone rings or if someone knocks on the door, it causes fear and anxiety.

When I was a kid, if the house phone rang or there was a knock at the door, we'd rush to answer in excitement. "the cousins are coming over."

simpler times

Cycling to friend's place to see if they're home or spinning around the town checking where the people are hanging out at

It was quite simple and nice not being connected 100% of the time

The ability to disappear, just go out and come home a few hours later with no one, not even my parents have any way to verify my whereabouts during this time.

Not having a camera or tracker up my ass everywhere I went.

Hair metal.

Big concerts with crazy amounts of people and you got a $20 ticket made out of paper that you could save to display in your photo album.

Two sliders in car for heat and air. One for low or fast blowing, one to slide from hot to cold. Why tf do I need a PhD for my AC when I'm trying to drive?

Going outside.

Not having parents and teachers and government bother people constantly about everything. Latch key parents didn't go to jail for neglect, kids grew up with freedom, gov wasn't watching you, and police were not at schools.

Playing video games without the need to sign in, use server, update for a goddamn hour when I only have 45 min to play, and games made for fun rather than cookie cutter eye candy.

Kids got in trouble for tobacco but didn't get criminal charges for it. We also did not get charges for fighting. We got through it. Now parents are in court rooms over stupid normal shit kids do.

People didn't kill each other at schools. Students often had gun racks in the back windows of their vehicles and nobody cared.

Play. Actual children's play. I have kids in the house, two sets, one lives with mom most of the time, others live with me. One set has screen limits, the other doesn't. One 10 year old plays with their Legos and one doesn't. Now this could be chalked up to personal differences, but it seems very correlated to me. And I see it clearly when other kids are visiting, less screen time = more creativity and play.

Things that happened at the party, mostly stayed at the party. Now you can find yourself on TikTok the next morning

The shared experience of Television and Movies.

Nearly everyone watched The Simpsons, for instance. It was more reliable than Game of Thrones ever was.

More truth and fewer media bubbles. The "WMDs in Iraq" lie was a huge understanding, and not everyone believed it, just enough. Now you can do that more easily with some social media accounts and algorithms. People just choose their own news.

Having face to face conversations with my friends after playing on the streets. Getting bored because there was nothing to do or to watch on TV. Time used to pass real slowly back then. I miss that.

I miss being able to make embarrassing mistakes without the risk of it being recorded and shared with the world. It's not even that I make a lot of them, or that anyone would care, I just hate the principle that anything could potentially be used against you. It's more that the threat itself takes the enjoyment out of being outside, like everyone has to be so guarded and fake all the time.

The first time I saw this was in the early days of YouTube and smart phones, some kids had found a video of a teacher who was peer pressured by some people into very shyly singing a popular song, which they put on YouTube. After that nobody took him seriously anymore.

Note: this is for actual small silly things only, the kind that can happen to anyone. I absolutely do not support people who try to excuse their crimes, harassment or bigotry as "it was just an embarrassing mistake when I was young haha", that sort of thing absolutely should be used against them later.

I didn't have to worry that someone would call me at a random moment and will assign me some random task.

You had to organize to meet a place and time. It wasnt just spur of the moment to moment decisions with easy communication.

It meant you actually had to plan and going places was a bit more like a quest and you had to consider other people into your plans.

Trying to find the person you wanna hang out with. I remember always riding my bike around my neighborhood trying to find one of my friends and avoiding bullys. Time together seemed so much more intimate. Because you couldn't just call them and ask where they were and instantly get connected.

Enjoying music concerts without a sea of cell phone screens blocking my view.

The concept of monoculture.

My car, refrigerator, microwave, TV, etc. not having to have updates or a subscriptions.

Not having to be asked my phone number at every single store checkout.

Subcultures. These days, it's just an aesthetic choice.

The 'treasure hunting' aspect to discovering music, art, books, and events. Information overload seems to suck the joy out of these things and to shut down enlivened exploration.

Being outside until the street lights come on. The neighborhood ice cream truck that came routinely. Aspects of life that weren't mined and extracted for shareholder profit.

The day's work turning up in the morning post and there being no chance of further work appearing afterwards. The days working in an office before email and PCs were wonderful.

The idea that I would do something useful with my life

Being able to not be reached for hours on end and it not being an immediate call the search and rescue team and releasing of the bloodhounds. Being able to disconnect was nice.

You had to make plans in advance and stick to them.