Oddly Specific Things People Miss From Pre-Internet Era

From Redditor u/aubor:

Writing letters and getting them. Collecting special stationery for family members. Getting cards by snail mail for holidays, sometimes with photos of loved ones. I loved getting letters!

From Redditor u/FormerLurker3:

Do others find old, unlabeled film rolls that never developed? When you develop them, you find vacation pictures from a year and a half ago or something random. I miss that.

From Redditor u/CatapultemHabeo:

The Sears catalog showed me all the cool new toys.cool new toys.

From Redditor u/AioliApprehensive433:

People forget things you did that were not smart.

From Redditor u/lilbeewin:

Before cell phones, we used landlines. I remembered everyone's phone numbers by heart. Now, with my smartphone, I only remember three numbers.

From Redditor u/Drumwife91:

News only ran at 6 pm. That stopped. Now, local news runs six hours and cable news runs twenty-four hours. You do not get bombarded all day with "news." Seeing "Breaking News" on screen meant serious trouble happened.

From Redditor u/zazzlekdazzle:

Reading newspapers and magazines was one of my favorite things.

Cluttering the house with paper seems pointless now. I can access everything online, but I don't. I pick a few articles; I do not browse like before, and I see fewer new or enlightening things.

Getting the Sunday New York TimesGoing out for brunch and reading it with friends or dates was a treat.

From Redditor u/2rio2:

I miss spacing out. You could sit on a bench or ride a bus and clear your mind, letting your thoughts wander. Phones and tech make that much harder.

From Redditor u/SergeantChic:

Scholastic Book Club. You marked books in the catalog, and they arrived in your locker. Reading a set number of books monthly earned you free Pizza Hut.

From Redditor u/good-witch-:

I have good memories of going to Mr. Movie with my dad, renting a sci-fi film, and getting candy at checkout. Streaming is fine, but I miss video rental stores, mainly for nostalgia.

From Redditor u/SuperNobody-MWO:

The instant win bottle cap or candy wrappers let you turn them back in for a free item. Now, you need codes to register on their site to give them your info. I do not bother anymore.

From Redditor u/mattcruise:

Not being overwhelmed by choice.

Having nearly every media format downloadable is great. Back then, I rented a video game and played it until I could. Now, I can try one of 20,000 games in two seconds.

From Redditor u/LewisEFurr:

When you bought new music, you just hoped it was good. The single might be popular, but without it, you bought it and hoped for the best.

From Redditor u/HarleyWeaver:

All reading material had correct spelling and grammar. The closest social media was the "Letters to the Editor" section in papers and magazines, which editors fixed for grammar and spelling.

Reading felt like driving on a smooth road. Today, reading involves potholes and rubble.

From Redditor u/jrhawk42:

Bailing on plans was harder. You had to call the person at home and tell them, or leave a message if you wanted to risk it. Usually, if you bailed, you gave at least 24 hours notice. Now, people can tell you last second since you are always reachable.

From Redditor u/theWildBore:

The smell of Encyclopedia Britannicas.

From Redditor u/c0nduit:

You could be the cool guy who remembered details. You knew who was in which movie or the themes of TV shows. Now, IMDb assigns that guy, and it is not special. There are many small things like that.

From Redditor u/HachikoLu:

Getting home, I found the blinking light on the answering machine.

Somebody called me! Was it Amber? No, she was with me. Was it Kelly? We have not talked in ages. Maybe it was that cute guy I met at the mall. If you were avoiding someone, pretending you never got the message was easier.

Now people just text me, and they know if I have read it.

From Redditor u/SmilinObserver111:

Today, urban legends get debunked fast, taking away the fun of the mystery.

From Redditor u/TheRealOcsiban:

You had to call someone's home phone number and talk to their parents before you could talk to your friend.

From u/BJBrowntown69:

People just stopped by your house. You would sit there drinking beer or scratching your butt, and then someone showed up at the door.

From Redditor u/KickpuncherJ:

This sounds dumb, but getting lost. It was bad often, but sometimes not knowing your direction led to unexpected and great results.

From Redditor u/PopeStizem:

Having the music channels on at house parties.

From Redditor u/jimbowolf:

I miss my video game magazines. I liked getting one in the mail—often several because I had different subscriptions—to read about new releases, game strategies, and fun articles about related stuff.