I wish technology had remained where it was back in those early to mid 90s years. No TikTok, no Facebook, no YouTube, no streaming movies and TV shows, no Amazon, no “smartphones”. People still bought CDs. Bookstores were popular, as were malls. Food quality was better. Lots of fun, diverse, unique websites. Search engines which didn’t have a bunch of nonsense corporate website results to filter out to find what you were looking for. Chatrooms were new and exciting.
Why was is better? Why was it more fun?
Well, first of all, not having immediate access to virtually all of the complied knowledge of mankind meant that, if one wished to master a subject, they’d need to read books. This required a lot more patience. A lot more attention to many, many small details. The ability to think critically and compare what was written on page 75 to page 455; to compare what was written in one work to what was written in another. To, as a result of having read these multiple sources, be able to judge the veracity of an author’s assertions based upon experience. Brief synopses and Wikipedia articles don’t permit this. And those are what the majority of people seem to rely upon to satisfy their intellectual needs.
Secondly, if you can easily buy anything online at any time, what’s so special about finding that formerly “needle in a haystack” rare book, coat, coin, comic book, etc? Where’s that adrenaline rush that comes after those long searches at flea markets and antique shops and garage sales? Where’s that feeling of joy, knowing that you’re the only kid in the neighborhood with a certain toy?
Those “Blockbuster nights” may not have been as exciting as going to the movie theater but they were still a good time. They at least still involved leaving home for awhile to browse VHS tapes on dozens of shelves. And, unlike today, people generally didn’t come home from work, sit in a chair, and then stare at a screen until bedtime. They watched a hell of a lot of TV back then as well. But less than today, with commercial-free shows which can be viewed entire seasons at a time. “Binging” is commonplace now.
Malls were the place to be. Always busy. Always bringing in new stores. They were clean. They had fountains, waterfalls, gardens, pianos…good sales…
The internet was just a fun novelty for those who didn’t use it for work. You couldn’t use the phone while you had dial-up access and most people spent only a small amount of time online. Load times for websites could be several minutes and downloading large files could take hours. This helped prevent addiction.