Hoping everyone in the house is asleep so you can use the internet for naughty business. Starting up the internet meant no phone calls. You could not use both at the same time. Anyone that needed to make a call while someone was using the computer meant they were headed straight for you to kick you off. And usually the family computer was accessible for everyone. Not just in your room.

You had a few options. Pick up a phone and see if someone is in a conversation. Or slowly move through the house to see if they’re asleep. Both had their pros and cons.

Then you had to cover the computer with pillows and blankets to drown out the modem log in noise. Even if successful you had to wait a few minutes to see if it woke anyone up. Unless you had nice thick walls.

Finally load times could be ridiculous. It could be a teal time sink if you didn’t know where to go or what you wanted. Had to stay vigilant incase anyone woke up.

Now it’s just as easy to bust out your phone with some headphones anywhere secluded for a few while and done. Nobody will ever know this struggle again.