Life Before We Had Internet

Do you remember life before the internet?

If you’re my age, you remember life before the internet. News traveled much slower back then and it was more of a chore to find information.

A lot of things we take for granted now were more complicated then. But, along the way, even though we are more connected than ever before in human history, we grew further apart. We’ve lost some of our intentionality.

Terri and I actually met online way before online dating was a thing. She and I met back in the days of what I affectionately refer to as “wind-up internet.” Were it not for the World Wide Web, it’s unlikely we’d have met. And I’m glad we did. My life would be significantly poorer without Terri enriching the moments of my days.

There are things that I miss from our pre-internet days. Handwritten letters and postcards, for one. It’s not that you can’t sit down and write a letter anymore. We just don’t. Why would I walk down to the river bank to fetch water if all I’ve got to do is turn on my faucet?

Imagine if we would have been able to binge watch all eleven seasons of M*A*S*H when they first aired?

We played outside more. We rode our bikes everywhere. I believe we would see more kids playing outside in our neighborhoods if it weren’t for the internet. But, these days, outside doesn’t seem nearly as safe as it did back in those days.

I think we were better at the art of conversation. We made more eye contact and we saw people more than we do these days. A lot of people are lonely and invisible in our present age.

We carried cash.

We went to the library.

It took longer to get paid and it took longer to spend money.

We were more present with one another. Nowadays you can be in the room with one group of people while interacting with another group located somewhere else completely different.

I blog fairly regularly—although the rhythm and schedule of my posts varies over time. I do try to be consistent by posting at least a couple of times a week. If there were no internet, there would be no The Devotional Guy™ blog.

While the internet revolutionized life as we once knew it, the introduction and subsequent advancement of smartphones and social media, in my opinion, have really turned our lives upside down. What say you?

Do you remember life before the internet?

Praying for us.

You are loved.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™