Re:What Did People Do Before Smartphones?
by musicale on Saturday July 08, 2023 @12:33AM
(#36641374)
> We did nothing, and it was horrible.
Actually having time to think about things and to observe and experience your environment isn't so bad. Books, magazines, newspapers, comics and graphic novels, paper notebooks/journals, and sketchbooks aren't bad either.
On the video game side, portable game systems have existed for decades. Game Boy and Game Boy Advance had some of the same great game series (Zelda, Mario, Pokémon, Final Fantasy) that we enjoy today on Switch. The games weren't cheap, but they also weren't tainted by obnoxious "f2p" monetization schemes. Video games also used to come with printed manuals that were fun to read. On Sega's Game Gear you could even watch TV.
Portable music players have also been a thing for decades, from the cassette walkman to the minidisc to the iPod. Not to mention portable radios.
Pre-iPhone I had single-purpose devices like a terrific compact digital camera and an iPod.
If all of those media and technology options fail(ed), you could even consider striking up a conversation with someone.
Actually having time to think about things and to observe and experience your environment isn't so bad. Books, magazines, newspapers, comics and graphic novels, paper notebooks/journals, and sketchbooks aren't bad either.
On the video game side, portable game systems have existed for decades. Game Boy and Game Boy Advance had some of the same great game series (Zelda, Mario, Pokémon, Final Fantasy) that we enjoy today on Switch. The games weren't cheap, but they also weren't tainted by obnoxious "f2p" monetization schemes. Video games also used to come with printed manuals that were fun to read. On Sega's Game Gear you could even watch TV.
Portable music players have also been a thing for decades, from the cassette walkman to the minidisc to the iPod. Not to mention portable radios.
Pre-iPhone I had single-purpose devices like a terrific compact digital camera and an iPod.
If all of those media and technology options fail(ed), you could even consider striking up a conversation with someone.