How would you handle going back to the pre-Internet, pre-television days of radio?

[RetiredSlave]

Itd be difficult at first but Ive dreamt of a monastic rather than a high roller life for quite some time. So yeah a hard but welcome transition. Im more addicted to tech than I am of enjoying it or truly needing it. Good riddance frankly.

 

[Guestx]

I think technology is a great thing but it gets dumbed down because most companies just use it to make money - ie turning everyone into smart phone zombies.

Growing up, I was all about technology. I loved movies and video games and when I experienced the Internet for the first time I became obsessed with it.

But I never realized how utterly dominant technology would become modern life. If I had known that, I would not have been nearly as enamored with it.

 

[Guestx]

A heavier reliance on community lasted a helluva lot longer than just the first half of the 20th century. Radio and television didn't provide any real demarcation from the way people were leading their lives. You have to remember that for the longest time there was no cable television. You had, if you were lucky, channels 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, and possibly some UHF like 27, 33, and 39. Meaning, there wasn't shit on television. I don't even remember my family even having basic cable until at least 1983-85ish. So what I'm saying is, you don't have to go all the way back to radio, the world was essentially the same even after the advent of television.

Everything changed in society when computers and specifically cell phones began its march towards becoming ubiquitous. Even in the 1980's a common week would be work, go out, work, go out all week then on the weekends go to the local lake and drink beer with a group of people or something similar, but always out and always with groups of friends or family. I can't ever remember being home in the 1980's man. There was no reason to be home unless you were going to sleep or eat. Everything really began to change from 1990 to present, so it happened quickly, in about 25 years. I would say at least 90% of the 20th century was an entirely different reality than what we are experiencing now. Only the last 10 years of the century did I notice any difference in what people did as far as interaction and being around people all the time.

I said first half of the 20th century because we are talking here about the days of radio.

However, while I get what you're saying I think you're not accurately accounting for TV's influence. I've seen things from as far back as the 50s and 60s decrying the way that TV was already turning the nation into zombies who just sit and watch television all night.

As for the lifestyle you're describing, I think a lot of people still do that. The people who want to live the social lifestyle still live it. In fact, I had a girl just recently describe to me a routine much as you did, where basically she just sleeps and sometimes eats at home, and other than that she's never there.

But I think that modern technology has allowed people who are naturally anti-social to fully embrace, and be comfortable in, their anti-social behavior. Whereas in the past it was hard to be antisocial because you'd just get so damned bored after a while of sitting at home, now things are much more accommodating for such a person. I think this really began with television --> cable television and VCRs --> computers and the Internet.

Obviously computers and the Internet were a HUGE bump and changed things more than TV ever did.

 

[dc007]

I love what technology allows me to do and grew up in a much simpler time having been born in the 70s but i think I would enjoy a simpler time. Maybe not if you transported me back right now but if I had no memory of sending this post on my phone while OJ confesses on FOX while steaming through my Apple TV, I think I’d be fine

 

[MoparOrNoCar]

Growing up, I was all about technology. I loved movies and video games and when I experienced the Internet for the first time I became obsessed with it.

But I never realized how utterly dominant technology would become modern life. If I had known that, I would not have been nearly as enamored with it.

Same here. As a kid I got my first Windows computer and explored the hell out of every menu and every setting on that thing.

Flash forward to now and I'm glad I did that because I can pick up on computer stuff really easily but I couldn't care less about learning a bunch of new technology going forward because it's invasive to our privacy and it's turning people into obsessive zombies that can't stop using their phones for mini dopamine hits all day.

 

[Ken Fresno]

IT'S TIME FOR DOOOOOOOOODGER BASEBALL!!!

 

[ProBoxingInsidr]

shit, 99.9% of the people would die without a cellphone

 

[bubbleboyjones]

Even in the 1980's a common week would be work, go out, work, go out all week then on the weekends go to the local lake and drink beer with a group of people or something similar, but always out and always with groups of friends or family. I can't ever remember being home in the 1980's man

A couple things;

How old were you then and define "go out".

 

[MusterX]

A couple things;

How old were you then and define "go out".

I was born in the 1960's. By the 80's, depending on what part of the 80's you are talking about, I already had a car, a job, and was going to college.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

I was born in the 1960's. By the 80's, depending on what part of the 80's you are talking about, I already had a car, a job, and was going to college.

Ok so you were pretty young then(younger you are the more you go out). I doubt 30 and 40 year olds going out every night of the week in the 80s. I know I was going out a lot in the 00s and there was plenty of internet, video games, tv back then. Don't get me wrong... logically speaking it would only make sense for people to tend to not go out as much as time goes on just because of how much tech is progressing.

 

[FyrFytr998]

IT'S TIME FOR DOOOOOOOOODGER BASEBALL!!!

PS- I wouldn’t mind a social reset.

 

[Ken Fresno]

View attachment 354917



PS- I wouldn’t mind a social reset.

Please. Scully sleeps Sterling inside 1

 

[MusterX]

Ok so you were pretty young then(younger you are the more you go out). I doubt 30 and 40 year olds going out every night of the week in the 80s. I know I was going out a lot in the 00s and there was plenty of internet, video games, tv back then. Don't get me wrong... logically speaking it would only make sense for people to tend to not go out as much as time goes on just because of how much tech is progressing.

I can only tell you my experiences. I didn't notice people starting to really retreat from one another until 1990-present. Up until then your choices were pretty easy to make and almost none of them included sitting at home. If you were a kid before the internet era then you went outside with your friends and played until dark. If you were a teen then you went to the local lake with some guys and girls or you went to a party or even just to the library, anywhere but home. Adults were also affected by this even if it was to a lesser degree. Let me tell you something, the house gets real boring real fast with no internet and no cable T.V. It sort of forces people to seek out others more often.

So yea, its one of those situations where if you weren't there to see the definite difference then all I can offer is sort of anecdotal evidence but it certainly felt like a different time.

 

[MusterX]

I wonder this, actually. I'm not convinced that all the technology we have today is a good thing.

It seems to me that life was a lot more about "community" back in the first half of the 20th century than it is today, as our technology has made it easier and easier to just sit at home and be comfortable. Back in the day it seems like you pretty much had to go out and be social if you wanted some excitement in your life, especially if you were single.

I said first half of the 20th century because we are talking here about the days of radio.

However, while I get what you're saying I think you're not accurately accounting for TV's influence. I've seen things from as far back as the 50s and 60s decrying the way that TV was already turning the nation into zombies who just sit and watch television all night.

As for the lifestyle you're describing, I think a lot of people still do that. The people who want to live the social lifestyle still live it. In fact, I had a girl just recently describe to me a routine much as you did, where basically she just sleeps and sometimes eats at home, and other than that she's never there.

But I think that modern technology has allowed people who are naturally anti-social to fully embrace, and be comfortable in, their anti-social behavior. Whereas in the past it was hard to be antisocial because you'd just get so damned bored after a while of sitting at home, now things are much more accommodating for such a person. I think this really began with television --> cable television and VCRs --> computers and the Internet.

Obviously computers and the Internet were a HUGE bump and changed things more than TV ever did.

My post was more in reference to the red highlighted above. That sense of seeking people out and things to do carried on long after the 1950's, in fact all the way up through the 1980's. That was my experience of it. The home was a pretty boring place to be. You could read a book or watch one of about 5 channels of television, or, you could go outside with your friends. I can tell you that my neighborhood is filled with kids but none of them are outside playing, riding bikes, etc. Its a ghost town but every morning you see them all coming out of their houses to go to school. It wasn't like that until recent history. The same goes from teens and adults. Turn off your internet and your cable and get some rabbit ears so you only have about 5 T.V. channels and see how often you find an excuse to leave home.

 

[boingyman]

I wouldn't be able to tell you since Sherdog wouldn't exist. MMA would possibly never be a sport and Bruce Lee would still be the best martial artist in the world.

 

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

i would be absolutely fucking rip shit fam

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

"Life was so much better in so-and-so decade that I've never lived in and just read about."

~ Young people today

 

[ZOD66]

Because of war 1992-95 here we didn't have nothing soo we played all day outside soccer playing in woods war steeling fruits... Great time

 

[Guestx]

I can tell you that my neighborhood is filled with kids but none of them are outside playing, riding bikes, etc.

I have wondered about this actually.

When I was a kid I watched a lot of TV and played a lot of video games, but I also went out and rode bikes with my friends and went exploring in the woods and shot BB guns and all that kind of shit.

I have wondered how much of that kind of stuff the modern kid does.

Turn off your internet and your cable and get some rabbit ears so you only have about 5 T.V. channels and see how often you find an excuse to leave home.

That actually would be an interesting experiment. If I wasn't as into movies as I am, and didn't rely on the Internet to make money, then I would probably give it a shot.

 

[Guestx]

"Life was so much better in so-and-so decade that I've never lived in and just read about."

~ Young people today

Well it was also better in the 80s and 90s, which I did live in.