Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Does Anyone Remember What It Was Like Before The Internet?


I remember back in the days I would actually get bored from time to time.

I happen to be just old enough to remember a time before everyone had the internet. In the early 90s, many people didn't have a home computer, and the idea of the internet was still a sci-fi dream for most of us, talked about by wide-eyed futurists. I remember often getting bored. I remember what it felt like not having anything to do, not having any interesting shows on TV to watch, or books to read, or friends available to hang out with.

All that's changed now, because of the internet. Now I have unlimited entertainment at my finger tips. I can stream movies, documentaries and TV online, and watch them whenever I want. I can find information about anything from frog sexuality to the list of popes, instantly. I can read up on the latest scientific discoveries, the latest discussions in philosophy, or read from millions of different blogs about a variety of topics. I can watch debates and lectures on subjects I find fascinating from world renowned professionals in the field. Or, I can waste hours on social networking sites. It just never ends. I'm never bored anymore. There's never enough time in my day to be able to do and see all the things I want online, even on days when I have nothing to do.

It's impossible to be bored anymore. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?



3 comments:

  1. I certainly remember the days before the Internet, as I spent a far greater proportion of my life in the pre-Internet days than the post-Internet days. I do get bored far less than I used to, but I think it is still possible to get bored. I've had periods of time where the online experience itself becomes boring for awhile and I just need to get away from it. But I do think you are right that this is a very different kind of boredom than what I remember from my youth when there would be times where it seemed like there was nothing to do.

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  2. haha yeah, as Jack said, I still get bored from time to time, but it's of a much different quality than it used to be. There used to be a lack of things to do, I'd wind up doing the same things over and over just because it's all I had (I think I've played super mario world start to finish at least a few dozen times). Now if I get bored with a thing, say a book or a video game, I can choose to be bored with it and push through hoping for an interesting part to come up, or abandon it and move onto countless other things at my disposal.

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  3. Now I am just bored while I am busy searching the internet :(

    Not really I move from hobby to hobby as the boredom sets in, and sometimes it means staying away from the internet which is good for me.

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