What was life like before the Internet?

04 Jul What was life like before the Internet?

“What? Internet down again? Geez… what ah go dooo?” That is usually the reaction I have, whenever enormous Internet bandwidth is not available over any period of time. But honestly, why are we so attached to the Internet? 

The Internet has never been this needed when I was growing up (I’m still growing by the way… just in width). However, nowadays, the Internet is a vital part of our lives. Even our basic, human interaction has been greatly affected by the information super highway. Here are a few life changers the Internet has bestowed on us:

Enabling shy people to communicate 

I’m a shy guy, but on the Internet, hidden behind a firewall, an IP address and my Batman pic, I can come across on BBM (Blackberry Messenger), MSN Live and Facebook as a striking sex symbol for all females (lol). Gotta love these thought-pushing means of communication that allow people to show their hidden selves or even have alter egos. This, however, can be dangerous, in the wrong hands, and seeing that the Internet is free, many freaks abuse the ability to be a chameleon online.

“Sooo hun… wha’s yuh BB pin?”

Long ago, guys used to ask for ladies’ phone number. Now, we ask for BB pins. Why? Because it’s cheaper. Now I could say it also makes mathematical, logical sense because… duh… less money is spent on initial courting. But while this is true, it’s simply because everyone and their sister has a bb. A BB has become a must have for communication in Trinidad and Tobago, and even around the world, though RIM is getting some stuff competition these days. I think some people actually forget that they have the ability to actually call someone.

Gaming

Ok guys and gals, we all know we love to put on the PS3 to destroy someone online in FIFA or COD (Call of Duty for the noobs). For the lighter gamer, we have so many online games on FB, such as Farmville, Mafia Wars, and even online Poker. Whatever your flavour, our goal is the same, to be better than the next guy. Long gone are the days of multi-player games where some participation needs to come from someone sitting next to you.  

Remember Planet Groove, Rap City and TRL?

Not too long ago, when I was a teenager, we would sit for hours behind a TV screen to watch the latest and greatest videos from our favourite, international artistes. However long gone are the days of MTV’s “TRL” and BET’s “Planet Groove”. Sure we still have programmes such as “106 and Park” and “The Hook Up”, but the majority of times we watch music videos on YouTube. We can even watch older videos whenever we feel to reminisce about past, music classics. People can even upload their own videos, so we can see new, talented youngsters from around the world, and feel extra cool because we know indie or underground music. 

MovieTowne and Cinema 8 al la “Home”

The Internet has enabled me to no longer spend money going to the cinema. I actually rent movies online or check one or two streaming movie sites (yes the latter is highly illegal, but we all do it I’m sure). The perks outweigh the cons in my case, because I can rewind my movies and really focus on the storyline and not have to worry about paying high prices for food or missing parts of the movie due to a fully functional liver. Yes missing the “big screen” and 3D are negatives of doing this, but my 42-inch, flat screen with surround sound makes up a bit for it, and I am not a fan of 3D anyways.

Music galore

The Internet has enabled mostly everyone to have a vast, music collection. Mp3s can be easily “found” or bought for mere cents. No longer do we have to buy an entire CD to have a few songs we love to hear on a daily basis. 

The Internet has revolutionized the way we operate to the point that we are totally dependent on this service. This article has only touched a few things the Internet can do for us; there are still services such as Internet phones (VOIP), remote administration, website hosting, and even a few “biology” videos and pictures that has made T&T the highest ranked in the world to access such content (and no… I’m not talking the theoretical “biology” that you learnt in school). So now you can understand why countries have riots for not being able to access the full potential of the Internet. So we should feel privileged that we have full access to this phenomenon called the Internet. So tell me, have you ever had Internet withdrawal symptoms? Can you imagine life without the Internet, or even remember what it was like?

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