Reading. I was such a bookworm before YouTube became accessible on phones.

I would always have two books going at a time. Reading was part of my bedtime routine. Now I just fall asleep watching YouTube stuff that I’d be no worse off if I didn’t watch. Except ma girl Moriah, she’s influenced a lot of my art and craft projects.

My nephews and nieces were raised on YouTube and mobile games. They literally do not know how to play imagination games, they need so much coaching and direction. As kids, we were always acting out our own scenes from TV shows or just our own imaginations. We’d play at lost explorers, under the sea adventures, Captain Planet, etc. It’s sad that the kids in my family just have everything fed to them by YouTube, they don’t know how to imagine games like this.

Heck, we used to dig up bits of broken crockery and be so proud of this bit of random teacup we found. It’s definitely an antique and not just a cup someone broke a few years ago.

The quiet

Being unreachable without it feeling weird—peace was built into the day.

Socializing in a spontaneous way.

You showed up, no idea who was gonna be there. Genuine unplanned interactions and meet new people.

I miss the higher level of engagement and interactions with another person or group when socializing.

Now that everyone has a computer in their pocket, they have an alternative (and sometimes primary) source to engage with during social interactions and events. Now instead of using social skills to change, deepen, or otherwise adjust conversation and engagement on an individual or group level, many people opt out and zone out on their phones instead.

It started with texting. I noticed that at parties or small group interactions, people would oscillate between interacting with the group and texting others either in attendance or not, whichever entertained/engaged them the most. Suddenly instead of parties being full of people who were there to be there and interact with others there, they became full of people who were there until the next exciting thing flashed on their screens and they would just leave without even really being there anyway.

What I’m saying is that people used to be engaged and dedicated in a more wholistic way when socializing, and I miss that. I hate that texting others while you have someone right in front of you that you agreed to spend time with is normal. I hate that I can’t trust anyone to value my time as much as I do theirs, and that apparently I’m taking it too seriously if I do.

My son is about to be 13, doesnt have his own phone, hardly plays video games, and often doesnt watch Tv instead chooses to play outside.

He finally found a kid in the neighborhood who also isnt screen addicted and its so nice to see them play. Shortly after school hours, you see either my son or the other kid start circling on their bike waiting for the other kid to come out. Then they play outdoors for hours. They come home from their neighborhood adventures sometimes covered in mud, with new scrapes and out of breath from running and playing. I love it! I love to hear them laughing and enjoying their time, I love that they are learning social skills, figuring out who they are, while not comparing themselves to what they see on the internet. It’s fantastic.

Recently a teacher was taken aback when said he didnt have a phone (he uses mine to text friends) and I scoffed a bit inside with pride. My kid has healthy self esteeme and makes friends everywhere he goes. It brings me a lot of joy to see him thrive in this way, hes begining to learn independence and idk, I love it for him.

Wasn’t much different for me. I usually walked around reading a mass market paperback book instead of a cell phone just took up more pocket space. I grew up in the 90’s so I still had portable gaming like the Gameboy advance too. Thr one I had before that, the nomad was… let’s just say NOT as portable. Oh. And my Walkman CD player. Nowadays I just have it all on one device… my legion go. I use my cell phone exclusively for social media which I had ro go to my computer for, use slow as he’ll 56k dial up internet, and browse all message boards and chat rooms for that online social aspect.

Not linked directly to the tech, but generally the thing I miss the most was the optimism. In the 90s people were excited for the future. Crime was trending down, the economy was doing well, the government was paying down the debt, the internet was new and full of wonder. In general there was a push for you to be whatever you wanted to be no matter who you were. The beginning of a lot of breaking down and removing stereotypes and gender norms.

Some of this seems to have reversed, most of it ended on 9/11/2001. That attack killed a lot of the optimism and things line the PATRIOT ACT really put us on the dystopian track we find ourselves on now. Also a lot of the economic boom were from the deregulation that would cause massive problems later…

So, yeah generally I miss the optimism we had.

Lack of expectation that wherever I am and whatever I do anyone can just call me to get instant answer.

Also - less societal control. Kids nowadays can’t go anywhere in public without their parents. They either get kicked out, have police sicced at them, or spaces where anyone can hang out for free are regularly erased. Case in point - even online spaces are now slowly closed from non-adults. In my youth one could go to any of the public spaces and hang out there for free with nobody troubling you.

World now feels like it’s strongly geared towards raising slaves - always available, always under control, even rest seems to be paywalled.

Hanging out with my friends in deep parts of forest near the small town we all grew up in

We would bike out past the highway with backpacks, and make little shelters and a fire …and just be lads…throw stuff, sometimes at each other, see who could lift the biggest rock, or jump the widest part of the stream, fish, make a lean-to…we made a neat little spot over a few years

we experienced being totally and completely lost once then, which was a very humbling and powerful experience I can still remember the realization of total silence and total loss of sense of direction…but, we didnt panic, stayed together found our way home

We also played a ton of baseball w tennis balls during the summer in a park that was kinda in between everyone’s homes - tennis balls were fun cause they didnt hurt you if you got beaned , or break peoples wnidows around the park, and also dont travel very far, so make for some fun pop-up fly balls

good times

Everything. The world had so much before we started spending our present in phones. I had time for art and hobbies and writing. I did so much exploration and sports and socializing. Road trips, and events, and helping others. Things were memorable.

Now is more like an addiction. The time goes but I’m never sure where it went. I barely have time to sleep, much less any other activities

Climbing trees

my mum. definitely my mum

Spending time with my brain and coming up with creative ways to stimulate it. Didn’t have a little device to do it with. Books, writing, daydreaming, drawing, bugging my old sister but also those nice bonding moments.

Hell, I used to write essays for fun 😂

Conversations where people didn’t pull out their phone to Google something neither of you could recall and the conversation just went on until hours went by and you were “ah, it was Daniel Radcliffe in that movie!” “Oh yeah!” and then you get to circle back around to it. Idk, just letting the brain naturally rejig it’s own memory!

Being inaccessible was a hidden pleasure. Just be where you are