Before the internet...

[Cheesus333]

Well I was only born in the mid-nineties, but I can tell you what I did before 1I discovered the Internet on a personal level.

1 - Research: I was about four, so everything I needed to know was relayed to me by people three times my size with appropriately condescending tones.

2 - Communication: I could barely talk, let alone type. It wouldn't have been that useful to me.

3 - Leisure: I ran around and into things. I have since become tragically deprived of an appreciation for the entertainment potential in that.

Hope that helps!

 

[Damien Granz]

Is this really how projects are done now, really? "What happened before the Internet, before the internet existed." as if the Internet's this 400 year old thing, and only through the musty peering glass of time and archeology can anyone comprehend life without it. Guess the power never goes out there?

I kind of got the impression that this was more of a "changes in our time" thing than "Way back in the days of yore" thing. And, hey, if people put up looking into how internet affected everyday life until it becomes ancient history instead of resent history then the scenario you're describing isn't that far-fetched. Time moves awfully quick atm.

I'm sorry, there are only 4 scenarios I can think of where a teacher would want a project about how life was like before the internet, in the most inane ways. They assume their student is a time traveler, that they just came out of the technological singularity, their student is a hyper advanced alien race that for some reason has never had the ability to decipher their own history, or they assume that he's lived in a dark WiFi enabled cage.

I guess if he wants a realistic answer here it goes.

1) We had books and libraries, but they were completely the same as Google and Wikipedia, but you had to walk to get to it, and the teacher didn't roll their eyes in an elitist way when you quoted from a criminally insane author when he had have money to get his work printed.

2) We communicated in the exact same way. Phones and paper mail are basically the exact same except more expensive/slower than Skype and email. You got the same amount of junk, but it was less often from your Aunt and about cat pictures because it cost money to buy a mail stamp. The only way your teacher would want to see if you know this is if they honestly think that you've never seen a cell phone, which is the exact same thing as a land-line except with a land-line you had to pay even more ridiculous fees.

3) We did everything that we do now, except we didn't do it online. Seriously. Online games? Games split screen. Reading a webpage? Reading a book. Watching Hulu? Watching TV. iTunes? Radio. It was slower or less on demand, that was it. But really on-demand TV existed way before the internet was popular in limited capacity. You just had to pay more for it. The stuff people did offline, like partying or sex or dancing, all of it's still around. I can't think of anything that people did in my lifetime that doesn't still exist.

 

[mitchell271]

Is this really how projects are done now, really? "What happened before the Internet, before the internet existed." as if the Internet's this 400 year old thing, and only through the musty peering glass of time and archeology can anyone comprehend life without it. Guess the power never goes out there?

I kind of got the impression that this was more of a "changes in our time" thing than "Way back in the days of yore" thing. And, hey, if people put up looking into how internet affected everyday life until it becomes ancient history instead of resent history then the scenario you're describing isn't that far-fetched. Time moves awfully quick atm.

I'm sorry, there are only 4 scenarios I can think of where a teacher would want a project about how life was like before the internet, in the most inane ways. They assume their student is a time traveler, that they just came out of the technological singularity, their student is a hyper advanced alien race that for some reason has never had the ability to decipher their own history, or they assume that he's lived in a dark WiFi enabled cage.

I guess if he wants a realistic answer here it goes.

1) We had books and libraries, but they were completely the same as Google and Wikipedia, but you had to walk to get to it, and the teacher didn't roll their eyes in an elitist way when you quoted from a criminally insane author when he had have money to get his work printed.

2) We communicated in the exact same way. Phones and paper mail are basically the exact same except more expensive/slower than Skype and email. You got the same amount of junk, but it was less often from your Aunt and about cat pictures because it cost money to buy a mail stamp. The only way your teacher would want to see if you know this is if they honestly think that you've never seen a cell phone, which is the exact same thing as a land-line except with a land-line you had to pay even more ridiculous fees.

3) We did everything that we do now, except we didn't do it online. Seriously. Online games? Games split screen. Reading a webpage? Reading a book. Watching Hulu? Watching TV. iTunes? Radio. It was slower or less on demand, that was it. But really on-demand TV existed way before the internet was popular in limited capacity. You just had to pay more for it. The stuff people did offline, like partying or sex or dancing, all of it's still around. I can't think of anything that people did in my lifetime that doesn't still exist.

Thanks at least for an honest answer. I know what people did before the internet, I have a working 16-year-old brain (not really a good thing) but I had to make a formal-ish topic so I could present this "research" to my teacher next week.

 

[Damien Granz]

Thanks at least for an honest answer. I know what people did before the internet, I have a working 16-year-old brain (not really a good thing) but I had to make a formal-ish topic so I could present this "research" to my teacher next week.

Oh, I'm not badmouthing you, cause you aren't the teacher in charge of making sure the topics are sensible. My ire's with a system that thinks that asking you to prove you understand basically what you ate for breakfast is a good use of your time and their money.

Edit: And don't put yourself down. If the whole "I'm 16, which is bad" wasn't a joke (and if it was, sorry that I didn't catch the 'tone of voice), it isn't something to be ashamed of or whatever, as if you're worse than people because you didn't happen to rotate around the sun enough.

 

[Plurralbles]

I never had to do anything wihtout the internet. By the time I had middle school and high school papers to write hte internet was available or at least a large booksearch electronic system at hte library.

I think the transition from a home phone for 5 people and then going to a cell phone and non-dial up internet was the biggest change.

EDIT|: Oh and we had this: http://imgur.com/gallery/Z8WdD

 

[Eumersian]

Research: I went to the library. Simple as that.

Communication: I never really did talk much as a kid, or even now. But when I did talk, I usually just talked in person, since that's the only time when I might have had reason to say things anyway.

Leisure: Computer games, board games, etc. Mind you, I had a computer when I was a kid, but didn't start using the internet until later.

Do you still do these things? As in, do I still talk in real life and go to the library? Yes. The internet certainly makes communication easier and more common, but I still probably talk to people in person more since I've been using the internet.

Has it changed your attention span? I don't think so.[sub]shiny quarter?[/sub] I can certainly distract myself in more ways, but I am still able to concentrate.

What's the difference between your online persona and you? Here, I'm a lot more outgoing, perhaps because of the Greater Internet Fuckway Theory. Look it up if you're unsure what I mean. I'm not a troll or nothing, but I am certainly less restricted.

Has the internet made you more confident? See above answer.