It’s no secret that the world has changed in many ways since the days before social media. Our lives, our work, and our relationships have been transformed by digital technology and the rise of social media platforms.
We’re More Connected Than Ever, but Also More Disconnected
While some people are happy with this new way of living, others miss the days when we had less access to information about everything around us. So what did we do before social media?
Life Before Social Media Was Different
Life before social media was different. You’d have to go out and meet people face to face. You couldn’t just type their name into social media and connect with them; you’d call them at the office or at their home and hope they picked up!
If you wanted news about celebrity gossip or your favorite politician, you had to read the paper – and then wait until next week for the next one!
If you can’t imagine doing that today, it’s because we live in an age where we can find information instantly on our phones. But if you feel like having a social media account has left us more isolated than connected – or if you’re just curious about what life was like before social networks took off in 2004 – you might be surprised at how much things have changed since then.
The Way We Meet People Has Changed
Before social media existed, you could only meet people by being around them.
You might have met someone at school or work, in your neighborhood, or even through mutual friends.
If you had a hobby or interest that took you outside your home (such as running), chances were you met other people who shared that interest and were interested in befriending you. You can still do that on social media platforms or via a social networking site, but being an active social media user will never be the same as meeting people in real life.
Today, there are many more ways to meet new people. You can even talk to strangers in chat rooms and with instant messaging programs like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) or Yahoo Messenger, join groups on sites like Meetup, play online video games with strangers, participate in social networking sites like Facebook, use online dating services like Match.com, and even store on e-commerce sites like Amazon!
We Used to Go Out and Talked in Person
There are many positive aspects of the old days.
For example, in the past, people actually came out of their homes and talked to each other in person. Nowadays, we have the luxury of watching the news from our phones or computers without having to get into real-life situations with people who may disagree with us politically or otherwise. But we’re also caught in the loop of positivity, where we feel we should avoid comments if they might upset someone. Before social media existed, people were more likely to speak their minds.
We Had Real Conversations That Were Free of Distractions
What did we do before social media? We’d have real conversations.
If you’ve ever noticed your phone vibrating in your pocket and didn’t even know what it was until you looked at the screen, this article is for you!
Social media use has become an integral part of our lives and has changed the way we communicate with each other. These days, we’re more likely to text than actually talk or meet in person.
We’ve become accustomed to receiving information instantly through our phones or computers, and sometimes forget that there are still things that require patience and attention, like talking face-to-face with someone – or even just a few minutes in silence without distractions!
Our Phone Calls Were Actually Phone Calls
When you called someone, you had to take the time to dial their number and wait for them to pick up. This made the phone conversations more personal and meaningful because it was clear that both people had enough free time and interest to talk to each other. If the person on the other end of your call answered enthusiastically, sometimes a real meeting or a date at a coffee store or bar ensued – a scenario that’s much less likely today because we rely on text messaging and social media apps like Facebook Messenger.
And unlike most modern forms of communication (texting, email), we now find it harder to ignore unwanted calls from people we no longer want to talk to or because the time just isn’t right.
Family Traditions Involved Only Face-to-Face Social Interaction
One of the biggest changes social media has brought to our culture is the way we share and experience traditions. For example, Thanksgiving used to be all about family, but today it’s all about family and using social media on mobile devices, as many people post their Thanksgiving pictures on various social platforms and interact with those who comment on their posts. Even if you don’t use social media, I’m sure you know at least one kid who uses social platforms on their mobile phone while eating.
We Kept Our Private Life Private
Before social media, we kept our private lives private. Our emails were stored in our inboxes, not on Google Drive. Our photos were on the hard drives of our computers. We didn’t have to worry about privacy settings or hacking attempts; if you wanted my data, you’d have to ask me for it (and I’m a pretty private person).
Social media users today aren’t always aware that they’re constantly making decisions that affect their privacy – but it also had a positive impact on our mental health: various studies show that people who use social media heavily are more prone to symptoms of depression and anxiety than those who don’t use social media much or at all.
We Used to Follow the News in Newspapers and TV
You used to get all your news from newspapers and TV. So if you wanted to know what was happening in the rest of the world, you’d have to wait hours for it to show up in the news.
The stories were more serious and objective than the posts on social media today – they reported facts, not opinions or rumors. And if they reported on an opinion, it was an informed opinion that not only reflected a person’s personal opinion but also gave specific reasons why that person believed something to be true.
Articles weren’t always accurate, but most newspapers had fact-checkers who reviewed their reporters’ work before publication to make sure everything was correct! On social media, anyone can post anything about anything, which is impossible to verify with 4.62 billion social media users.
The Labor Market Was a Smaller and Less Competitive Market
The labor market was a smaller and less competitive market.
There Were Fewer Job Openings, So Competition Wasn’t as Fierce for Companies
It was also harder to hear about job openings because there were no social media platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook to tell you what was going on in your industry, and most of the people who applied were people who lived nearby, so fewer people applied.
Unless you were scouring the classifieds for a new job, your options were pretty limited – you either landed one of the coveted positions through personal connections or by chance (or good timing). And the rest of the time? You were probably unemployed or underemployed!
We Didn’t Know Much About the World Except When We Traveled or Knew Someone Who Traveled
On social media, you can follow a lot of people traveling the world, see their photos, and read their stories.
Before social media existed, you could learn about other countries by reading books and documentaries, traveling yourself, or through the few travelers you knew, if you knew any.
The fact that you can meet and interact with people from all over the world is also a way of traveling. You can ask them questions about their country and get a quick answer, or you can even talk to them on the phone via Whatsapp and see their reality.
Companies Knew Less About Consumer Behavior
Before digital marketing, companies had a big disadvantage: they knew much less about consumer behavior than consumers. In fact, they didn’t even have access to most of the information. Without social media and data scientists, there was no detailed insight into your customers’ preferences or demographics.
As a result, companies were forced to rely on more traditional forms of marketing such as television ads and print ads in magazines or newspapers. They also relied heavily on focus groups, which helped determine what kind of message would resonate best with customers by asking for their reactions to specific products or services (e.g., “Do you think this new product will make you feel better?”).
Social Media Marketing Has Changed the Way We Do Business, and Not Just Because It’s a Way to Get Your Name Out There. But Also Because Social Media Has Changed Our Consumer Behavior
The algorithm knows exactly what a target audience is interested in and how to increase the engagement rate. Businesses can use personal information to create targeted ads that convert their target audience better than ever before.
Our Personal Information Was Harder to Find
Before the Internet, we didn’t have a social media platform to build our social network on one social media site. We didn’t have phones with cameras. We didn’t even have digital cameras – we’d film, and if you wanted to see a photo from the last time you saw friends, you’d have to look for it in your album or dig through the family library of old Polaroids.
We Didn’t Compare Ourselves to Others
We’ve been hearing a lot about privacy lately, especially after the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. But it’s important to remember that we’ve always been vulnerable.
When I was growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, our personal data was harder to find. There were no social channels to track our interests, no social media apps to follow us around the internet, and no facial recognition software to identify us in photos.
The biggest fear in terms of privacy for most people is if our data falls into the wrong hands. But even in the old days, there were people who wanted to find people and crimes too. Social media has also made crime-solving easier in some ways.
In Some Ways, Social Media Has Made the World a Better Place Because We’re Now Connected Through Digital Technology and the World Is More Aware of Our Diversity
On the other hand, they’ve created a different way of interacting, with stress, and anxiety. Like anything else, you can get a lot of positives out of it by limiting your use of social media!