If you grew up before the time of smartphones, you know the world was a totally different place. You spent your days outside, had to wait by a landline for a call, and social media was far from being what it is now. I recently stumbled across this Reddit thread where people 30 and over discussed what they missed most before the smartphone era. Here’s what they had to say:
1.
“There’s no video evidence of all the stupid stuff we did as teenagers. That was a bonus.”
2.
“House parties with no phones were so much better than being within the lens of a dozen cameras.”
3.
“Hear me out: I miss being bored. I feel like future generations will never truly experience boredom. You had to figure out ways to entertain yourself. Or, read a book.”
4.
“I miss not being required to reply right away. Nowadays, people just expect me to be on my phone all the time.”
5.
“What I miss is the days before our lives revolved around social media.”
6.
“I’m very tech-forward, and I absolutely appreciate the convenience of a connected life, but life before smartphones was just waaaay better on a human-to-human level. The difference in presence and enjoyment of where you are and who you were with was just 1000 times better.”
7.
“I miss it more than I can ever express. I hate this world we are living in now. It’s not the phone. It’s everyone being in them all the time. Life has become devoid of meaning.”
8.
“Mostly, I miss being able to drive down the road without thinking I’m gonna die because everyone around me is staring at their phones.”
9.
“Honestly, yeah, people being present instead of performing for invisible audiences was so much better. Everything doesn’t need to be content.”
10.
“While it’s great for personal safety, I don’t always want to be reachable. I want to be truly unreachable again. The wide adoption of having phones in our pockets created a new need for boundaries that weren’t necessary before. On a plane, at a movie, on a quiet walk — your boss can’t expect you to answer the phone all the time. It also forced people to do more of their own intellectual work when information wasn’t immediately available, whenever and wherever. That said, having an elderly parent be able to reach me when they are having an emergency is worth it all.”
11.
“The days before smartphones had such a different vibe; hanging out with friends and just talking felt more genuine back then.”
13.
“I miss it because damn, I read SOOOO MUCH before.”
14.
“I miss people not feeling entitled to my attention just because they have accessibility. I will straight up leave my phone at home on purpose to get some peace while grocery shopping, just like the good ol’ days.”
15.
“Besides the obvious, everything is instantly on social media now. It also forced people to be less flaky. Not everyone had a cellphone before smartphones, so if you made plans, you showed up. No last-minute cancellations because ‘something better came along.'”
16.
“People have lost the importance of physically being present for each other! Definitely miss those days.”
17.
“One could go to a concert and not have to view a live performance through someone else’s phone!”
19.
“Life moved at a slower pace. A weekend felt like it lasted forever.”
What’s something you miss from the time before smartphones? Share your thoughts in the comments! Or if you’d rather share anonymously, you can fill out the form below.
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