25 things that kept people entertained before social media
If you ever thought about how people spent their free time before the introduction of social media, this compilation will give you an idea.
Today, it seems quite difficult to imagine a life without social media. Whether it is on a train, bus, or any social gathering, we see people scroll through their phones. According to Forbes, research has revealed that an average internet user spends 6 hours and 53 minutes online every day. But have you ever thought about how people spent their free time or kept themselves entertained in the years before social media? @WantSomeFries2 asked people who are over the age of 30 in a tweet, "What use to keep you all entertained since you all didn't have social media back in the day?"
It is a complex question as people had other mediums of entertainment: magazines, radio, television and theatres. But Twitter users tried their best to answer this question and the responses bring in a mix of old memories, nostalgia and suggestions on how people can look beyond social media. Here are the 25 things people did growing up before social media entered our lives:
1. Sneak out:
We used to sneak out just to sneak out. Literally no where to go but that didn’t matter.
— Max Lederman (@Max_Lederman) July 7, 2023
2. Handwritten letters:
I read a ton of books, wrote actual letters and mailed them, watched lots of tv, went to the movies… I wasn’t much of an outdoors type but I did like young to them pool to swim in the summer. In high school I spent a lot of time in theater.
— SaraRC1 (@SaraRC1) July 8, 2023
3. The Oregon Trail:
The Oregon Trail & reading books for pizza 🍕 https://t.co/r5hnBlHnsw pic.twitter.com/4SwUvNdLyJ
— Dawn (@_dawnmontgomery) July 9, 2023
4. We could go out:
Before the toxic air quality, record breaking temperatures, and climate change…We had the outside https://t.co/coyp0RNavO
— Hi I’m Solomon (@solomonmissouri) July 9, 2023
5. The malls:
they literally ban groups of kids during summer days if there's not an adult right next to them
— endora bullshit (@collectdust) July 8, 2023
it's obscene how much freedom we've taken from them in just a couple decades
6. Sitting with friends:
Sitting on these talking with my friends about foolishness 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/AjlQj1fb9Y
— averagely handsome (@wholesomeblak) July 7, 2023
7. Actually socializing:
We’ve been on social media for 25 years? Literally our entire teen/adult lives have been the backdrop for the rise of social media. As kids we went the hell outside. Parties, clubs, kicking it with our friends, teen hangout spots. Other than that? Please go ask the boomers 😂 https://t.co/VSdMytLzpl
— Adrienne | Creative Consultant and Soap Queen 🫧 (@brownandbella) July 7, 2023
8. Jousting:
9. TV shows back then:
Most of my childhood memories are actually from TV shows, sure we played outside when our parents made us, but then we’d just hit a tennis ball against the garage or toss a ball back and forth until we could go back inside and play Super Mario Brothers
— Amber Sparks (@ambernoelle) July 9, 2023
10. Good old payphone days:
I think she is asking about bicycle and payphone days.
— PhotographicFloridian (@JackLinFLL) July 8, 2023
11. Get-togethers at coffee shops:
We had coffee shops. We still have coffee shops, but in those days people actually talked to each other and hung out instead of staring at screens, headphones in.
— Greg (@phuqker) July 8, 2023
12. Make your own website:
This will sound insane to younger millennials and zoomers, but a prerequisite for online fandom used to be making your own website, dividing it by interests, and then making each section about your hyperfixation in that interest, making pages full of images and essays and shit. https://t.co/i7oBusTMhW
— ｆｏｒ ｓａｌｅ， ｂａｂｙ ｓｈｏｅｓ， ｎｅｖｅｒ ｗｏｒｎ．．． (@PlsWatchGundam) July 8, 2023
13. Beers and music:
I sat in my ‘67 mustang with a friend drinking 40oz beers and listening to mix tapes with Zep and Fleetwood Mac on them and it was THE BEST
— Car Wash Guy (@KrissBergTweets) July 9, 2023
14. TV schedule ruled:
I think a phenomenon that’s lost in this question is how before on-demand/streaming, the prime time TV schedule dominated you and your family’s actual schedule. Life outside of school/work was more regimented. You had to maintain a non-media schedule or you missed your show.
— Hartzell Owes Me Lentil Soup (@paulnyakatura) July 7, 2023
15. There were free places:
people keep saying "went outside"
— endora bullshit (@collectdust) July 7, 2023
and not adding the other parts
we were by and large allowed to congregate outside and there were free or mostly free places we could hang out. there were arcades and 2nd run movies. 3 teens in an area didn't automatically summon the police https://t.co/44AEfqL1N3
16. Neighborhood tea parties:
Neighborhood tea parties, the party line and meeting said party line people at the galleria
— Witchdoctoralex🪬 (@witchdctralex) July 8, 2023
17. Gaming:
18. Called our buddies on landlines:
I’m still amazed we could call a buddy late at night on a landline that would pull you out of a ditch. Just past the corner you took too fast.
— mike lauterbach (@mikelauterbach2) July 8, 2023
19. Another media:
Other media. TV/movies, books, music, video games were a big one. Uh we also did things like cub/boy/girl/eagle scouts, uh I did tae kwon do. My sister did ballet. We liked to play outside, swim, ride bikes, skate. I remember I tried learning to break dance. Um we had toys,…
— Leo Aries (@philosopherleo) July 8, 2023
20. Same things:
Uhh the same thing I do now. Social media is a tool not a way of life.
— Jason (@maddb3457) July 8, 2023
21. Anything at the park:
Swimming pools. Bikes. Frisbee. Console video games at your friends house. Anything at the park
— Hakujin (@hakujinthehuman) July 8, 2023
22. Rented movies:
In the early 80s, we got HBO. Then came Blockbuster. Rented a lot of movies.
— EndTheRegistry (@endtheregistry) July 9, 2023
23. Playing spades or dominoes :
24. Legos:
25. Fishing:
Fishing. Using refrigerator boxes, tires, and gutbuckets for entertainment.
— Jennifer Schielke (@jenniferkimiko) July 8, 2023
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