12 Things People In Nebraska Did Before The Internet Took Over Our Lives
By Delana Lefevers|Published November 06, 2015
×
Delana Lefevers
Author
As a lifelong Nebraskan, Delana loves discovering the many hidden treasures of her state. She has worked as a writer and editor since 2007. Delana's work has been featured on more than a dozen websites and in Nebraska Life Magazine.
It’s so weird to know that there’s a whole generation of people becoming adults right now who never lived in a world without the internet. My own kids can’t imagine what it was like before people could rent movies right from the TV or instantly look up any information we need to know on Google. When I told one of them to use our dictionary/thesaurus instead of Wikipedia for a homework assignment, she looked at me like I’d grown horns. It started me reminiscing about what life used to be like before the internet was such a huge part of it.
1. If you weren't at home or at work, you just couldn't be reached.
When we were out at dinner or spending time with family, you just had to leave a message and wait for a call back. And bosses? They couldn't email you at 9 pm to stress you out about some work emergency.
We didn't really correspond with high school friends who had moved across the country. Like the kids, we were friends with the people who were in close physical proximity. We even had them into our houses pretty often.
5. Friendships were formed and maintained in person.
We'd meet people in the physical world - at work or the grocery store or a block party - and then actually spend time with them. Sure, we still have some friendships like this, but it seems like more and more of them take place purely digitally.
...With pens and paper. And then we put them into another piece of paper and put a stamp on the whole thing. It was way more complicated than typing out a few words on a phone or keyboard.
8. When we had to wait, we waited without staring at a phone.
Neighbors would see us out there and drop by. The whole family would gather to talk about how the day went. The front porch was such a big part of our social lives.
I know some of you are thinking “These are true for everywhere, not just Nebraska!” And you’re right – but when I think back to my internet-free Nebraska childhood, these are the simple joys I remember. Not that you should stop using the internet altogether – you do have to check Only In Nebraska every day, right? 🙂 How about you? What were the best parts of your pre-internet life in Nebraska? Leave us a comment and let us know!
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
