I grew up during this time. You know what I remember? Being bored…a lot. We didn’t text or Google the Internet, instead we played cards, poked at leaf fires, ran around, but we also read ingredient labels, shampoo bottles, captured and then mutilated bugs, and we watched the same episode of Fred Rogers for the 42nd time. And we just sat there on the porch, sometimes in silence.
Fortunately my Dad was a yarn spinner and could keep us occupied with jokes or little quarter magic tricks or talk about literally nothing for hours. But even he would get exhausted of talking from time to time, and so we would sit there, bobbing our legs about, itchy or tired. Or we’d go be mischievous in mildly mischievous ways…and other times not so mildly.
And then the driving, good gravy so much driving. Some conversations could be held over the phone, but real business had to be done in person, especially since credit cards were an oddity and not considered as safe as cash. Bills were mailed, but more often than not paid on the very last due date in person through the teller window. We drove half the days away sitting there inhaling second and third hand cigarette smoke with the car windows shut or cracked ever so slightly.
So, maybe it was different for the wealthy kids who could shop at the mall food court for hours or the big city kids who could bloviate with film producers downtown, but for us growing up in the Styx life was fucking boring before the Internet. And I wasn’t even that far in the Styx.
And don’t get me started if your weird ass didn’t match up to the rest of your communities opinions. The Internet literally gave these people community.
I agree with the sentiment.
Especially in the case of video rental stores… Entering a space blasting concord dawn & massive attack after Pi was released. Having to discuss, sometimes literally for hours, movies I 've watched with an actual filmmaker that was working the shop like they owned it. Witnessing an absolutely androgynous person pushing back through art in a place where bigotry was unquestionably the norm being respected by everyone entering the space. Trading music (in the form of CDs or even worse cassette tapes). Even arguing about the worth of certain filmmakers, which sometimes even resulted in the obligatory (free) viewing of a film in much cared for private space built just for this purpose. Let alone actually making friends through this process. Actually having a person knowing my taste and instead of browsing endlessly I would just have to say a few words about my mood and I would get a new movie to watch (actually in VHS). I mean who wouldn’t hate all that. Thankfully digitalization and broadband first, then Netflix and the like, came along and rescued me and many other inefficient people from all this drudgery. Fortunately we are not going back.
Also, thankfully, younger people won’t have to go through such shit. The get a more efficient social life, without a doubt.
The television went from being a babysitter to a mistress
Technology made it easy for us to stay in touch while keeping a distance
Til we just stayed distant and never touched
Now all we do is text too much
I’m just slightly too young to have lived the video store junkie lifestyle and I really wish I could have. Even as a teen when I’d get the chance to visit the local rental place I’d spend so much time just talking with random people about movies, it was amazing, there’s really no equivalent space to it anymore. Same with videogame stores etc.
Somebody needs to read Momo.
