# Gen Xers and older millennials really just want to go back in time to before the internet existed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764 "2023-06-19T05:37:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/61 "2023-06-19T19:46:22Z")
I’ve been reading a lot of older books (like mid 20th c. or earlier) with a lot of them written by UK authors. I _love_ that when I come across a term I know nothing about, I can easily look it up. I’m old enough to remember having to call up the library to have a reference librarian look something up. Couldn’t do that in the middle of the night. But the worst thing I hate is a rather small thing – I hate to text. Everyone wants you to text, but I’ve always found it physically awkward. I wasn’t able to use my thumbs for sh\*t, and using a finger caused so many typos I just wanted to give up. Then, when reading a Lawrence Block story, I came across the term Killer Thumb (aka Murderer Thumb). I couldn’t tell from the description what that was exactly, so when I looked it up (on the internet, natch) I was a bit nonplused. _I_ have a Killer Thumb (well, thumbs)! So, I have a bit of a deformity that prevents me from easily texting. But I think if you took these folks’ internet away they’d cry like babies. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/62 "2023-06-19T19:53:32Z")
I’m an older Millennial and no way would I ever want to go back to the pre-Internet era. The Internet was/is one of the greatest things I’ve ever enjoyed in life. When growing up without the Internet, I didn’t even find out that my favorite team won the Super Bowl until several years later. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/63 "2023-06-19T21:26:29Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > But the worst thing I hate is a rather small thing – I hate to text. I sort of hate it as well. But it’s useful. Mostly between my wife and myself “I’m going to the store, do you need anything type stuff” What is also very nice is that when I have to be away to take care of ailing family members, my Wife and I can still play chess online. It’s a connection we have. And makes for great banter. Beats the hell out of watching some TV show or movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/64 "2023-06-20T02:35:35Z")
I’m old enough to remember life before the Internet yet grew up with computers and the first available modems. There have been some remarkable gains in efficiency and general availability of things like education, entertainment, material goods and research. This has seemingly come with costs, both known and unknown, that might (or might not) include civility, mental health and addiction, loss of privacy, publicity of less mainstream views, poorer physical health and populist presidencies. It is what it is. Since one cannot return to a future lacking the Internet this is a useless exercise in wishful thought. Many things in life are a mixed bag and this is no exception even if the poll is accurate, which might be reasonably questioned since subtle changes in wording often yield very different results sometimes depending on what the sponsor might want to hear. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/65 "2023-06-20T02:53:49Z")
I don’t know that I’d say I think we should unplug, or that I pine for pre-Internet times, because I don’t. But I will admit that I do miss the internet before it became so relentlessly commercial and… shitty. Like the way that nearly every commercial search function (Google, Amazon, etc…) are all engineered to point you at specific products/ads/paid sites, not actually you know, give you accurate results for your search. Or the way that so many things are going subscription-model, or free-with-ads that’s so onerous that you basically can’t use it. Another thing I do miss is the more intelligent nature pre-smartphones. Used to be, that you had to have a PC and know how to do a few things to use the internet. There were still some dumbasses, but they were fewer and further between. Once smartphones came into the picture, _ **every** _ barely literate cretin out there had a direct line into the internet, and everything kind of went to shit. I mean who the hell wants to watch a 3 minute video reviewing something that could have been done in a 100 word paragraph? Or all the clickbait that’s everywhere? Or all the celebrity nonsense that’s everywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/66 "2023-06-20T03:14:48Z")
I agree with the commercialization of the internet but I think 75% of the overall modern problem would be relieved if everyone just had to go back to shitty c.2006 flip phones instead of being able to (or feeling obligated to) interact online via social media apps and have every moment recorded on high quality video. Yeah, it means you can’t Wiki shit while sitting at Applebees but them’s the breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/67 "2023-06-20T03:18:34Z")
Maybe boredom has more virtues than it is given credit for. > **[Let Kids Get Bored. It’s Good for Them.](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/19/well/family/kids-summer-boredom.html)** > > A reminder to parents soldiering through the summer: Boredom has its virtues. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/68 "2023-06-20T03:21:52Z")
I’m a Gen Xer, and while I don’t want to go back to pre-internet days, there are some pretty serious social problems that have been exacerbated by social media. We’re still trying to figure it all out. Despite the conveniences, I’m glad the internet wasn’t woven into the fabric of my life growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/69 "2023-06-20T04:42:52Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > have every moment recorded on high quality video Counterpoint: the ability to expose widespread police misconduct in near-real-time is a huge, huge benefit of this technology. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/70 "2023-06-20T04:50:18Z")
It is. I don’t know if it comes close to outweighing all the bullying, embarrassment and revenge porn but it’s academic since the cameras aren’t going anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/71 "2023-06-20T05:01:44Z")
I can understand this. Objectively speaking, things were better 50 years ago and the evidence isn’t close: A recent Pew Research poll shows that, “Around six-in-ten (58%) say that life for people like them is worse today than it was 50 years ago”. Cite: [Americans pessimistic about nation’s future, more positive about past | Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/americans-take-a-dim-view-of-the-nations-future-look-more-positively-at-the-past/) Similarly in 2018: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669113366806421505?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669113366806421505?s=20) As well as 2009: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669113369415270401?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669113369415270401?s=20) More anecdotal reports from 1994: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669113729785663488?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669113729785663488?s=20) And 1982: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669114370016813058?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669114370016813058?s=20) If anybody is still doubtful whether things were better 50 years ago, here’s some evidence from 1969: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669116193956073474?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669116193956073474?s=20) And 1953: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669118608411332608?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669118608411332608?s=20) Same for 1917: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669121616155140096?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669121616155140096?s=20) And 1890: [https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669124980762898432?s=20](https://twitter.com/paulisci/status/1669124980762898432?s=20) “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” - _Socrates_ ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/72 "2023-06-20T05:45:29Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Once smartphones came into the picture, _ **every** _ barely literate cretin out there had a direct line into the internet, and everything kind of went to shit. The old-timers said the same thing when AOL users got access to Usenet. > **[Eternal September](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September)** > > Eternal September or the September that never ended is Usenet slang for a period beginning around 1993 when Internet service providers began offering Usenet access to many new users. The flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms. AOL followed with their Usenet gateway service in March 1994, leading to a constant stream of new users. Hence, from the early Usenet point of view, the influx of new users in September 19 During the ... ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/73 "2023-06-20T12:44:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I miss the freedom of leaving the house and enjoying the day. No one knew where I was or could reach me until I got home. So true. ---
**Author:** ![NinthAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ninthacolyte/32/13676_2.png) [@NinthAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinthAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/74 "2023-06-20T13:40:00Z")
Millennial born 1990. I love the internet. I could do without the _smartphone,_ and the attendant always-on always-plugged-in social media culture that came with it. Like most things, the dose is the poison. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/75 "2023-06-20T17:52:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The old-timers said the same thing when AOL users got access to Usenet. I remember that on Usenet every September brought an inrush of idiots, but that was thought to be from kids going to college and getting internet access, and had nothing to do with AOL Not that AOL didn’t let the riff raff in, but it didn’t peak in September. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/76 "2023-06-20T18:02:16Z")
Saw an item today about millennials learning to budget money by using cash. They just discovered that you can’t spend more cash than you have. I also just heard that I’m really old because I grew up in the 1900s. I’m ready to be made into Soylent Green now. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/77 "2023-06-20T18:03:14Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Not that AOL didn’t let the riff raff in, but it didn’t peak in September ISTM the joke was that establishing the AOL/Usenet link caused a state of “permanent September” because now you’d have large numbers of rank “n00bs” showing up year-round, rather that upon each new class entering college. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/78 "2023-06-20T18:49:55Z")
This is exactly correct. I was one of those noobs in 1997. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/79 "2023-06-20T18:54:01Z")
Ironically, I’d have significantly less to do with internet-less time without the internet. A good majority of books in my to-read stack, for example, are relatively obscure works from non-major publishers, so they might not have been accessible to me (possibly from not ever being published in English at all) without Amazon and the internet, ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed/985764/80 "2023-06-20T19:16:22Z")
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