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9 reasons life was a bit rubbish before the internet existed

Think of the poor trolls.
Think of the poor trolls. Think of the poor trolls.

Twitter users have been asked to think back to years gone by – a time before the internet existed.

The world wide web can often be perceived to dominate our lives at times. Thus, some have used the hashtag to think back to a supposed better time when people interacted with their fellow human through physical contact and speech.

Some will read tweets like those above and agree, chastising internet-inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee as a harbinger of the social apocalypse. Others will feel outraged at this slight against their dinner habits and roll their eyes at the irony that a tweet voicing outrage against the internet is approaching viral status. It’s this second group of people for whom this article is for.Here’s why before the internet existed – life was just a bit rubbish.1. You actually needed a puppy or baby to enjoy them.

If like most of the population you don’t relish the responsibility of cleaning faces – this sort of stuff wasn’t in your life every day.

How anyone can believe life was richer without faces like these involved is a mystery…

Funny GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY

2. Trolls were out of a job.

It’s fair to say trolling is a career path which has taken a huge upturn since the birth of the internet. If they could put their business on the stock market we’re sure they’d break Wall Street.In the past, the poor creatures looked like this.

Making a living having their hair pulled, yanked out and used as a paintbrush, life was hard for these poor creatures.

3. A lack of IMDB gave film buffs too much power.

Without the internet the world would probably be being run by power-mad tyrants harbouring the knowledge of which movies won Tom Hanks his two Oscars.It was Forrest Gump and Philadelphia in consecutive years from 1994 to 1995, but we don’t need to tell you that – you can look it up. Point proved.4. Doing any form of research was hell on earth.

Did people put books back in the right place all the time? Nope. Did they take the book out you wanted before you could use it? Yes.

Now we have search engines and online resources. Although some think Googling was still a thing…

Easy there, Kim. We’ll let your own imagination work that out.

5. Nerds were persecuted rather than stinking rich.

Before the internet, being passionate about computers was not a mainstream thing. Now though, the internet and computers are big business. So big, in fact, that Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg have a combined fortune of $164.8 billion (£134.4 billion) according to Forbes.Swag GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY

6. There were no memes – kind of.

How on earth did we make do without stuff like this in our lives?

Well, some believe they did still exist – as toilet cubicle graffiti.

In fairness, people like to look at memes on the loo to this day so they could be on to something here. Anyone who thinks life was better reading funny stuff off a toilet wall though is seriously not someone you should trust.7. You didn’t have to worry about any of this stuff.

Drinking from a hose, risking the safety of your brain on some kind of two-wheeled contraption and being outside the house? No thanks.

Imagine all the scrapes and bruises you’d end up with, it’d be a nightmare – much better to stay indoors in the safety of the internet’s virtual cotton wool.

8. You couldn’t speak to the world.

Much of the fun from talking out on the internet comes from the little buzz of feeling appreciated and noticed as your comment receives likes and responses. On a serious note though, it’s all about being heard. Without the internet the public’s voice was muted to chats down the pub, placards on a street and two-minute segments on the evening news – now it’s everywhere.You may not agree with all the views put forward or the way social media is sometimes used, but it can send good messages, spread the causes of charities and allow people to voice their awe and appreciation directly to their celebrity heroes.Okay, seriousness aside…9. Ceefax.

You read what he said. Now go forth and enjoy more of this wonderful platform!

Internet GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY