Oh boy, I bet this list could be 100 items if we had the time…
I’m talking about what ordinary people think was ruined by the invention of the internet, and these folks at AskReddit were nice enough to let us know what they think about it.
Let’s take a look!
“Privacy.
This is the creepy part.
Not only are algorithms detecting children, but social spaces like Twitter have teenagers listing their age, beliefs, political stances on any topic, and sometimes traumatic triggers.
“Secret matter.
Before the internet, you really had to learn about some things in the world. A beautiful campsite that only a few people know about, some hidden rules at Disneyland, etc.
When people post about it, things change and nothing is special anymore.”
“Listening parties. I was a teenager in the late 1970s.
My buds and I would get together on Sunday afternoons and we’d each bring three albums. Then we would listen to music until dark and listen to things that were not in our collections. During these listening parties, I heard for the first time many things that people call classics today.
I was a big fan of Yes and ELP. David was in Rush, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. Joey was in Black Sabbath, Van Halen and The Doors. Joey’s older brother had Camal, Can, and some stuff I don’t remember except that it was pretty.
I don’t think we ever had a name for it. We should all listen to each other’s favorite music and hang out. It was so much fun and I miss it. I can’t imagine such a thing surviving the Internet age, but something beautiful has been lost.
This afternoon, I dug into the old vinyl and listened to some Alan Parsons and Jimi Hendrix. Just the thing for a rainy Sunday afternoon.”
“Conspiracy theories.
It used to be something interesting to hear or ask. You will rarely or infrequently meet a conspiracy theorist or see him in a movie.
Now everyone’s got an aunt, uncle or friend who’s just gone off the deep end and it’s just sad.”
“Magazines.
I love getting magazines in the mail.
I was looking forward to Monday when Time and Newsweek came.”
“Pawn shops / thrift stores.
You used to be able to get some cool finds with some stores specializing in one thing or another.
Now they just take the item and go on ebay and price it the same.”
“Attention stretches.
This. I can’t seem to ask about things anymore, I have to ask for it.
I never thought endless streams of information would be my downfall, but here we are.”
“I once had a pen pal.
Then we both got the internet and the novelty was gone.”
“Little nights in bars.
People who cheat the trivial night in bars are careless people.”
“Romantic relationships.
People on social media spread toxicity and make you overthink every little thing, it’s crazy.”
“More tourism in places that are pleasant, beautiful and clean.
They’re not after someone’s post goes viral or an influencer goes there.”
