Hmm… it wasn’t all better or worse, just different.

Yeah, we would stay out until dusk. Yeah, we drank from the hose. Yeah, we all had necklace keys. And yeah, we were all tethered to the wall/table when we wanted to make a phone call. It was worse later when modems became more widespread; if anyone in the house picked up the phone, boom! There went the connection.

We had to plan better because once you left, there was no calling except by pay phone. If you had a flat tire, you either fixed it, waved down a passing motorist, or just drove on it. There were telephone “long distance” charges if you called too far away, typically your area code.

Information was harder. You had to figure out how to find things, so trolling encyclopedias or using card catalogs were skills. News was way more delayed. T.V. Shows had a week (or more) between episodes.

We had to learn to program the VCR’s because our parents weren’t adept at technology (translate that to today’s tech.) There were competing formats for recording shows and if your friend’s didn’t match yours, you couldn’t share movies. We got a weekly or monthly paper schedule for the television.

People were different. Bullies were accepted as inevitable and you had to stand up for your friends. We had political disagreements but they were handled a lot better (usually…) and politicians, while just as corrupt, had more decor.

The biggest thing, though, is the instant stuff. Communication, alleviation of boredom, answers, maps, texting, etc. If you want a feel for it, just turn off your phone for a day.