How Did You Spend Your Time Before the Internet??

[FinanceDude]

I view the Internet as a "necessary evil". Sure, online shopping saves time, and sites like Wikipedia can make anyone seem like a genius, but I wonder how much time is wasted surfing aimlessly.........

What did you do before the Internet? I used to read more books and spend more time on hobbies.

Just wondering..............

 

[ERD50]

Why 'necessary'?

Why 'evil'?

necessary? The internet sure is convenient, but many people get along fine w/o it. TV, radio, phone calls can do almost everything, but often not as well.

evil? I don't see it as any more 'evil' than a kitchen knife. Can be used for good or evil.

books: Well, the internet has much more detailed and current and varied info on some subjects than I could ever find in a public library.

hobbies: much of that info is related to hobbies. My local library *might* have a couple old books on craftbrewing beer and meads at home, but there is a wealth of current information and opposing views on the web. I find it supports my hobbies, rather than detracts from them. Oh, and I can find numerous quality podcasts on just about any topic or hobby. So I essentially have 'books on tape' while I go about doing other things.

I see the internet as the world's biggest and best library (for information, not novels).

-ERD50

 

[Nords]

"How Did You Spend Your Time Before the Internet??"

I spent a lot of my time searching for, acquiring, and archiving large files of reference info. Most of it was crap but I never knew what I'd need to know.

I also spent a lot of time cursing at how much time I was spending in the library or at online databases trying to find the information I was looking for.

Let's not forget all the extra money I was spending to pay for consumer's collective ignorance at the pricing outside of our local areas and the high costs of establishing efficient logistics networks. Then there's the additional expense of bid/ask spreads due to a lack of competing exchanges and automated trading.

It wasn't even a glimmer in my eye at the time, but I'm sure I would've been sitting around kvetching "How come I'm the only guy in the world who wants to ER? There must be someone else who knows about this stuff besides Dominguez & Terhorst!!"

Yup, life sure was better in them good ol' days.

The Internet is a tool. You can create beautiful things with it or you can spend your days polishing the workbench, hanging up swimsuit calendars, and sorting the screws. Don't blame the tools if the user's time is wasted.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I read more books, listened to more music, and like Nords, spent a shitload of time trying to figure stuff out, find stuff, and solve problems.

 

[maddythebeagle]

a lot of time with "Funk and Wagnals"

 

[kcowan]

This question is kind of akin to what did you do before Cable TV? Well we watched crap from 3 networks for escape but did not watch much TV. It was chewing gum for the eyes.

Now we can get some great content in addiition to some escape material. I view the Internet the same way. The world at my findertips. I would not be as good at DIY investing without it. I would know less about many things. My knowledge is no longer shaped by the daily newspaper. My library is now used for entertainment books rather than knowledge. My leisure is more escapism.

I interact with people of much different ages and backgrounds than before. I believe I am more broadminded as a result. And I turn off the Internet at noon every day to force myself to maintain a balance.

 

[Deetso]

As a raging ball of hormones, I tried to get my hands on as many of my mom's victoria's secret catalogues as possible.


These days I can find pictures of scantily clad women whether I like it or not, without even trying.

 

[MasterBlaster]

As a raging ball of hormones, I tried to get my hands on as many of my mom's victoria's secret catalogues as possible.


These days I can find pictures of scantily clad women whether I like it or not, without even trying.

Yeah, finding good porn was so much harder in the old days

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

when i signed on at the fortune 5 my news manager showed me to my desk. the first thing i said was "where's my computer?" he went over the the front of the desk and started opening the drawers whereupon i saw paper files and files and files. 100s of them. "here's your computer," he said. i started to freak out a little but then i settled into the recent past history.

we wouldn't computerize for about another 3-5 years after i got there. i used to have to write my reports on what they called a "whisper writer" which was basically a teletype machine. this operated one step above morse code. i typed in from my remote location (on a machine that i had to share with two others) and sent each individual sentence to a machine located where what i type would print out. then the print out was retyped onto a sort of mimeograph machine which would run copies of my report.

every step was slow & tedious & we worked in the twilight zone version of modern society. finally getting computers was a big deal for us. but then we spent the next 10 years complaining about how slow the computers were too.

 

[Dawg52]

As a raging ball of hormones, I tried to get my hands on as many of my mom's victoria's secret catalogues as possible.


These days I can find pictures of scantily clad women whether I like it or not, without even trying.

The internet sure would have come in handy during our teen years.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Surf's Up

I use the Internet mainly to fill in otherwise dull moments at work when I can't read or do other personal stuff. I used to fill that time doing things like dialing up the "Surf Report" which was a very funny couple of recorded minutes put out by a surf board shop. I also sometimes copied sections of books I was reading so that I looked like I was actually working. I rarely go online away from work.

OK, here's my rant: I take on-line classes with discussion sections which I can "wow" by simply picking up a few copywrited items and writing about them. I have not yet been able to convince any students to also go to the library or bookstores or even get used books to use as reference for class. In one class I asked (since my internet skills are limited) could anyone find the answers to a list of questions about our subject on the net. No one could but several wanted to be spoon-fed the answers. Maybe I mean to say that instant access to some content can destroy intellectual curiousity. Surf's up but the water is deeper elsewhere?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

The internet sure would have come in handy during our teen years.

Yeah, swell. I wouldnt have left the house starting around age 11 and I'd have developed repetitive strain problems a lot earlier.

 

[martyb]

Plus, we'd all be blind!