I grew up before cell phones and internet AMA

amother

DarkGray

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 11:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

Ask away

FYI most ppl here must’ve grown up before internet or partially grown up before..
Not such a novelty

amother

Begonia

Mon, Jan 01 2024, 11:25 pm

amother Azure wrote:

Maybe by you. You can't really generalize for an entire generation of people across the country. But car seats and seat bealts were definitely a thing, it's up to individuals whether they chose to use them. There are still people who don't bother with them.

I'm in my fifties and when I was very little seatbelts and car seats were not used that much. But by the time I was a teenager it had become much more common (the eighties vs the seventies).

amother

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 3:17 am

amother DarkGray wrote:

FYI most ppl here must’ve grown up before internet or partially grown up before..
Not such a novelty

I never said it was a novelty, just that anyone could AMA. Very Happy

amother

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 3:19 am

giftedmom wrote:

Thankfully most of our kids are not on social media

There are many modern women on here that do have children that have smart phones and internet usage.

heidi

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 5:36 am

amother Zinnia wrote:

Studies actually show that depression and suicide rates in teens and 20s have gone up in correlation with social media .

Yup, I was going to add that I had no idea when other kids were getting together or doing stuff without me- so much less social anxiety and feeling I was being rejected- I literally didn't know if I was or not!!

amother

Lightcyan

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 5:55 am

heidi wrote:

1000%

Bnei Berak 10

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 6:36 am

amother Green wrote:

an actual paper map! imagine that! LOL

We still have some road maps in our car in the unlikely case that Waze won't work. I still have the city maps with street index of many cities in Gush Dan area. The phone company don't print them anymore (who needs phone books?) and in an extreme situation they are always available.
We also have a regular landline phone (connected to our fax/printer) and it's with the old-fashioned cord Smile

GLUE

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 6:56 am

amother Milk wrote:

Some cars had bench seats in the front and a young child was allowed to sit in between 2 adults in the front seat. Seat belts and car seats existed but weren’t enforced by law like they are today, therefore, many people didn’t use them. I remember standing in the trunk of mini vans waving at drivers behind us. Also when there wasn’t enough space in a car, we sat on laps or even on the floor. This was in the 80s.

People would put the infant seat there. My mother would say how do you know your kid is ready to sit in the back? When they start playing with the steering wheel.

amother

Forsythia

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 7:04 am

amother Begonia wrote:

I'm in my fifties and when I was very little seatbelts and car seats were not used that much. But by the time I was a teenager it had become much more common (the eighties vs the seventies).

In my early 50's and I remember seatbelts hardly being used. I was in a carpool and there was this one mother that wouldn't drive until every kid was in their seatbelt. She was considered a weirdo. I specifically remember that even when I was getting older - teens and maybe even early 20s - when putting on your seatbelt was becoming more of a thing, people still wouldn't dream of putting it on if they were wearing something nice that might wrinkle, lol!

Raisin

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 7:46 am

I grew up in the 80s/90s.

I knew a few people with cellphones. Beepers were a big thing in Crown Heights specifically. Emails and the internet was just becoming a thing when I graduated from school.

No resume for shidduchim, and no photos.

I got a cell phone and dial up internet a couple of years after marriage.

I read a lot less than I used to thanks to smartphones and tablets. I am more likely to scroll through sm, read online news sites and watch stuff than read a book.

amother

Brass

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:49 am

were there credit cards back in the day ? If yes were there points ? how would you know how much you had ? When swiping a credit card would it get approved in seconds or did it take a minute or two ?

Were there ATM machines (I am asking because wondering if they work with internet) ?

Obviously online shopping didn't exist then but shipping was available... When shipping an item from USPS etc... were there tracking numbers then ? did it take longer for items to arrive those days ?

amother

DarkGreen

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 9:59 am

GLUE wrote:

People would put the infant seat there. My mother would say how do you know your kid is ready to sit in the back? When they start playing with the steering wheel.

In some countries, it's still considered normal to put car seats in the front passenger seat.

amother

DarkGreen

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:00 am

amother Brass wrote:

Oh my, the excitement of ordering over the phone from a catalog! It was a family affair.

amother

Brass

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:01 am

amother DarkGreen wrote:

Oh my, the excitement of ordering over the phone from a catalog! It was a family affair.

with credit card ?

amother

DarkGreen

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:30 am

amother Brass wrote:

with credit card ?

With a credit card. Or even with a check sent by mail, and once they received the check, they'd mail the package out. It took about 3 weeks to arrive.

amother

Forsythia

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:34 am

amother DarkGreen wrote:

With a credit card. Or even with a check sent by mail, and once they received the check, they'd mail the package out. It took about 3 weeks to arrive.

It was very common for things to be shipped C.O.D. Haven't even heard that term in forever.

amother

Violet

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:50 am

amother Brass wrote:

You didn't swipe a credit card. You gave it to the cashier with your driver's license and she compared the signatures. Then she either made a phonecall and gave the number or ran it through a machine with three layers of receipts. You got a carbon copy of the receipt.
I think ATMs were first becoming a thing in the late 80s.

keym

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:50 am

Did anyone else have a mother who would make sure to be off the phone at 11 or something so Dad can call the house to check in?

It was a thing. You made up when you were going to call someone so they could keep the line clear

It also meant 9-5 job ended at 5. What could you do at home?

amother

Violet

Tue, Jan 02 2024, 10:54 am

We made long distance calls after 11 because it was cheaper. During the day we only spoke for 3 minutes. A call from eretz yisroel was an occasion. It sounded very far away.
My Israeli relative called every motzaei shabbos and rang three times so on shabbos afternoon we knew it was him checking in.