Living With No Hi-Tech?

[📚 Dianne 📚]

What I call Hi-Tech, is what most of you were born with, and take for granted. Cell phones, GPS, apps for everything, Kindles or book apps etc.

Those of us called 'baby boomers' (you know, us olde phartes) have lived through decades of major changes. Some of us have learned to live in this amazing world better than others.   I still have a devil of a time with my phone! LOL!

So here are some things that I wonder if you could live without IF something wierd (or magical) tookall Hi-Tech away and the world went back to the way it was in the 50's, 60's and 70's.

For cell phones - if you wanted to talk from your car you got a CB radio or found a phone booth.

No smart TV's. Simple Cable at best.

No cordless telephones, no caller ID. You would have to use phone books,and operators.

car radios instead of plugging in your phone to hear your down-loaded music.

For GPS we used paper maps.

Google (the most amazing invention)  we would use dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Grammerly -Dictionary.

No Microwave.

Kindle - paper books, libraries.

We went to the grocery store or department because most places did not deliver. No ordering anything in the world on-line!

Cars that nearly drive themselves.

WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HANDLE BEING THRUST INTO THE NON-TECH AGE?

What are some other things you can think of that tech has changed dramatically? I still wonder what I would do if Amazon decided to get rid of Kindles. I would be mourning over the terrible loss of my books! I have nightmares about that!!!  Having no more heated seats and steering wheel in my care. Ick!

Sorry Grammerly doesn't seem to work on here and my spelling and punctuation has gone downhill since I got it.  Hey, did you know that most young people can't read cursive? That amazed me. Another thing to mourn the loss  of.

[User 180565 is taking donation]

I like to see tech as age and new Borns, as we get older they get smarter and more advanced. I use to think that Vhs tv combos were high tech and now we stream movies at the press of a button. Looking at the better side of it - cable could easily be $150 not even 10 years ago for tv, internet phone etc...Now a $50 300mbps internet bill is all we need and we have the choice on what to subscribe to.

People now in their 50s got to experience home consoles, the real release of Atari and nes for example. And yes I know plenty of successful people in that age group that loves video games to this day.

With the early release of tablets it was expensive, buggy, new issues and now we can get a decent tablet with decent specs that isn't an iPad. When we had palm pilots in highschool it was awesome. Now kids in middle school get sent home with iPads.

Turn tables that have been around forever are now seen as collector items and double the price of a CD if you want to hunt vinyl.
Some would argue the steam engine really pushed the advancements in technology. I still think of the day paper will be recycled and we'll all move to paper like tablets which flexible displays are currently in beta. I do miss the days of the old, sometimes technology even annoys me it just feels like it hasn't improved much in the past 5 years besides a few numbers increasing. Figure living around it for so many years is kinda meh anymore I'm not in the mood to go out at upgrade every year anymore.

Printers are another thing, remember without how hard it was to get a message across to the other room over a phone call. Even in the 1900s had the titanic for example had smartphones how many more people do we think would actually survive the wreckage? Probably not many more but the message would have gotten out quicker.

I personally figure taking any age group and putting them in a different time era would be confusing to them. It would be like taking a doctor and expecting them to know how to be a dentist. It is sad that we feel more comfortable behind a screen these days. It's like we have smartphones but people forget they're also phones that can reach out to someone. If technology ever did fail completely it would definitely be a challenge to readjust. In some way everyone revolves around it even if you don't it would affect you somehow.

[Erik Mouse]

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

What I call Hi-Tech, is what most of you were born with, and take for granted. Cell phones, GPS, apps for everything, Kindles or book apps etc.

Those of us called 'baby boomers' (you know, us olde phartes) have lived through decades of major changes. Some of us have learned to live in this amazing world better than others.   I still have a devil of a time with my phone! LOL!

So here are some things that I wonder if you could live without IF something wierd (or magical) tookall Hi-Tech away and the world went back to the way it was in the 50's, 60's and 70's.

For cell phones - if you wanted to talk from your car you got a CB radio or found a phone booth.

No smart TV's. Simple Cable at best.

No cordless telephones, no caller ID. You would have to use phone books, and operators.

What about if you were taken back farther into the past to where it looks like you have an Old Antique Wooden Wall Box Phone which you have to crank to reach an operator and tell them who you are trying to get. The only TV you have looks like an Antique Black and White TV with an antenna to pick up TV Stations as Cable probably doesn't exist.

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

car radios instead of plugging in your phone to hear your down-loaded music.

Either perhaps you haven't heard about the horseless carriage or wagon invention yet and the mode of transportation is horse drawn carriages or wagons, or there are really old Ford style cars around for transportation.

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

For GPS we used paper maps.

Google (the most amazing invention)  we would use dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Grammarly -Dictionary.

No Microwave.

Kindle - paper books, libraries.

We went to the grocery store or department because most places did not deliver. No ordering anything in the world on-line!

Definitely the only maps you may be able to find are old paper maps. Google what?, there is no such thing as the internet back then. You would only have the dictionary to look up anything including checking for grammar mistakes. Definitely would not have a Microwave back then, and as for the Kindle, no kindle either and you will have to go to a library if you are looking for something to read.[/quote]

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

Cars that nearly drive themselves.

WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HANDLE BEING THRUST INTO THE NON-TECH AGE?

What are some other things you can think of that tech has changed dramatically? I still wonder what I would do if Amazon decided to get rid of Kindles. I would be mourning over the terrible loss of my books! I have nightmares about that!!!  Having no more heated seats and steering wheel in my care. Ick!

Sorry Grammerly doesn't seem to work on here and my spelling and punctuation has gone downhill since I got it.  Hey, did you know that most young people can't read cursive? That amazed me. Another thing to mourn the loss  of.

Uh, am I missing something with cars that nearly drive themselves?, because that definitely would not exist back then. And I do wonder if you would be able to handle this being thrust back into the past over a hundred years ago.

Also, this reminds me of a story that I have been trying to work on involving some kids who are seeing concerns with certain emerging Hi-Tech stuff, large ear shaped dishes being installed on telephone poles which are some kind of privacy evading spying devices, seeing trees that appear to be withering and dying, possibly the threat of many loveable species heading to extinction, etc. Since their parents and foster parents don't understand what their concerns are about, they decide they have no choice to leave and soon find a way of being sent into another world that looks like they have gone back into the past to what seems to be a better place for them, and to see if they can live without the Hi-Tech things that were being taken for granted. If you want to know more about my ideas, PM me and I may open a separate topic on them for further discussion to avoid this thread venturing off-topic.

[wildmaven]

I remember when you had to use a crank to open and close the windows in cars and there were no automatic door locks.

Our home phone shared a line with the people across the street. You would pick up the receiver and could listen to their conversations.

Milk and ice were delivered by the “milkman” and put into a metal container outside by our front door.

Working retail meant having to know how to make change. The cash register was completely manual.

If a disaster ever strikes that would render electronics useless, we old folks would become valuable assets, haha.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Jun 20, 2023 17:42:04 GMT -8 Erik Mouse said:

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

What I call Hi-Tech, is what most of you were born with, and take for granted. Cell phones, GPS, apps for everything, Kindles or book apps etc.

Those of us called 'baby boomers' (you know, us olde phartes) have lived through decades of major changes. Some of us have learned to live in this amazing world better than others.   I still have a devil of a time with my phone! LOL!

So here are some things that I wonder if you could live without IF something wierd (or magical) tookall Hi-Tech away and the world went back to the way it was in the 50's, 60's and 70's.

For cell phones - if you wanted to talk from your car you got a CB radio or found a phone booth.

No smart TV's. Simple Cable at best.

No cordless telephones, no caller ID. You would have to use phone books, and operators.

What about if you were taken back farther into the past to where it looks like you have an Old Antique Wooden Wall Box Phone which you have to crank to reach an operator and tell them who you are trying to get. The only TV you have looks like an Antique Black and White TV with an antenna to pick up TV Stations as Cable probably doesn't exist.

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

car radios instead of plugging in your phone to hear your down-loaded music.

Either perhaps you haven't heard about the horseless carriage or wagon invention yet and the mode of transportation is horse drawn carriages or wagons, or there are really old Ford style cars around for transportation.

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

For GPS we used paper maps.

Google (the most amazing invention)  we would use dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Grammarly -Dictionary.

No Microwave.

Kindle - paper books, libraries.

We went to the grocery store or department because most places did not deliver. No ordering anything in the world on-line!

Definitely the only maps you may be able to find are old paper maps. Google what?, there is no such thing as the internet back then. You would only have the dictionary to look up anything including checking for grammar mistakes. Definitely would not have a Microwave back then, and as for the Kindle, no kindle either and you will have to go to a library if you are looking for something to read.

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

Cars that nearly drive themselves.

WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HANDLE BEING THRUST INTO THE NON-TECH AGE?

What are some other things you can think of that tech has changed dramatically? I still wonder what I would do if Amazon decided to get rid of Kindles. I would be mourning over the terrible loss of my books! I have nightmares about that!!!  Having no more heated seats and steering wheel in my care. Ick!

Sorry Grammerly doesn't seem to work on here and my spelling and punctuation has gone downhill since I got it.  Hey, did you know that most young people can't read cursive? That amazed me. Another thing to mourn the loss  of.

Uh, am I missing something with cars that nearly drive themselves?, because that definitely would not exist back then. And I do wonder if you would be able to handle this being thrust back into the past over a hundred years ago.

Also, this reminds me of a story that I have been trying to work on involving some kids who are seeing concerns with certain emerging Hi-Tech stuff, large ear shaped dishes being installed on telephone poles which are some kind of privacy evading spying devices, seeing trees that appear to be withering and dying, possibly the threat of many loveable species heading to extinction, etc. Since their parents and foster parents don't understand what their concerns are about, they decide they have no choice to leave and soon find a way of being sent into another world that looks like they have gone back into the past to what seems to be a better place for them, and to see if they can live without the Hi-Tech things that were being taken for granted. If you want to know more about my ideas, PM me and I may open a separate topic on them for further discussion to avoid this thread venturing off-topic.
[/quote]




Maybe I wasn't clear or I just don't understand you-I'm asking if you think you could live then knowing what you know now. I was giving examples of what we would lose comapred to what we had back then.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Jun 21, 2023 2:17:23 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

I remember when you had to use a crank to open and close the windows in cars and there were no automatic door locks.

Our home phone shared a line with the people across the street. You would pick up the receiver and could listen to their conversations.

Milk and ice were delivered by the “milkman” and put into a metal container outside by our front door.

Working retail meant having to know how to make change. The cash register was completely manual.

If a disaster ever strikes that would render electronics useless, we old folks would become valuable assets, haha.

You are going to laugh, but I based this question on a book series I am reading. In it magic and tech lived together until tech took over. Now Magic has lashed back, and we've lost almost everything tech that we used to have.

 I forgot all about the making change bit. Nobody knows how to do that anymore! As a matter of fact,  since most people don't even use cash anymore I guess it makes sense.


 

[wildmaven]

Jun 21, 2023 3:17:58 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

Jun 21, 2023 2:17:23 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

I remember when you had to use a crank to open and close the windows in cars and there were no automatic door locks.

Our home phone shared a line with the people across the street. You would pick up the receiver and could listen to their conversations.

Milk and ice were delivered by the “milkman” and put into a metal container outside by our front door.

Working retail meant having to know how to make change. The cash register was completely manual.

If a disaster ever strikes that would render electronics useless, we old folks would become valuable assets, haha.

You are going to laugh, but I based this question on a book series I am reading. In it magic and tech lived together until tech took over. Now Magic has lashed back, and we've lost almost everything tech that we used to have.

 I forgot all about the making change bit. Nobody knows how to do that anymore! As a matter of fact,  since most people don't even use cash anymore I guess it makes sense.


 

That sounds like a fun book, actually.

Jim works retail and often teenagers (and some adults) will just plop down all their change and he has to count out what he needs. They don't even know how to give the correct amount.

[Zetacon]

Jun 20, 2023 16:01:15 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

What I call Hi-Tech, is what most of you were born with, and take for granted. Cell phones, GPS, apps for everything, Kindles or book apps etc.

Those of us called 'baby boomers' (you know, us olde phartes) have lived through decades of major changes. Some of us have learned to live in this amazing world better than others.   I still have a devil of a time with my phone! LOL!

So here are some things that I wonder if you could live without IF something wierd (or magical) tookall Hi-Tech away and the world went back to the way it was in the 50's, 60's and 70's.

For cell phones - if you wanted to talk from your car you got a CB radio or found a phone booth.

No smart TV's. Simple Cable at best.

No cordless telephones, no caller ID. You would have to use phone books,and operators.

car radios instead of plugging in your phone to hear your down-loaded music.

For GPS we used paper maps.

Google (the most amazing invention)  we would use dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Grammerly -Dictionary.

No Microwave.

Kindle - paper books, libraries.

We went to the grocery store or department because most places did not deliver. No ordering anything in the world on-line!

Cars that nearly drive themselves.

WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HANDLE BEING THRUST INTO THE NON-TECH AGE?

What are some other things you can think of that tech has changed dramatically? I still wonder what I would do if Amazon decided to get rid of Kindles. I would be mourning over the terrible loss of my books! I have nightmares about that!!!  Having no more heated seats and steering wheel in my care. Ick!

Sorry Grammerly doesn't seem to work on here and my spelling and punctuation has gone downhill since I got it.  Hey, did you know that most young people can't read cursive? That amazed me. Another thing to mourn the loss  of.

Wow, this is an insanely good topic. I've only lived a few decades and honestly, a lot of stuff listed here I only began to experience in my early to mid-teens, as these high tech items were becoming popular.

1. [ For cell phones - If you wanted to talk from your car you got a CB radio or found a phone booth. ] - I really don't like talking on the phone in my car too much. I've used phone booths before 


2. [ No smart TV's. Simple Cable at best. ] - I don't watch a ton of TV nowadays (and I have a Netflix subscription). So, having a CRT TV with a pair of rabbit ear antenna wouldn't bug me.


3. [ No cordless telephones, no caller ID. You would have to use phone books and operators. ] - I can definitely use a rotary phone. I've been without caller ID, so I would screen my calls via an answering machine. I've used phone books and oddly enough, I still have some old phone books (about a couple years old or so).


4. [ car radios instead of plugging in your phone to hear your down-loaded music. ] - I still listen to the radio, so no big deal there!


5. [ For GPS we used paper maps. ] - I'm absolutely atrocious with paper maps. If I was traveling, I would definitely get lost.


6. [ Google (the most amazing invention) we would use dictionaries and encyclopedias. ] - I had a somewhat weird obsession with dictionaries when I was younger. There was something about searching for that word you don't know in this thick book that made learning a little more fun. I think now with Google and having a cell phone in my pocket, it's more difficult to retain things, due to information being easily accessible if you need it again.


7. [ No Microwave. ] - I don't use my microwave a ton. It's sitting on its stand right now.


8. [ Kindle - paper books, libraries. ]


9. [ We went to the grocery store or department because most places did not deliver. No ordering anything in the world on-line! ] - I think I would be annoyed by this. I could order via catalogs, though.


10. [ Cars that nearly drive themselves. ] - I don't need my car to drive for me. Hard pass.


11. [ Having no more heated seats and steering wheel in my car. Ick! ] - Hard pass on this for me, too. These just feel weird to me.


12. [ Hey, did you know that most young people can't read cursive? ] - I'm not sure what you define as young, but I can't read cursive worth crapola.

I think after analyzing the list a bit, I would be able to be thrust infor a non-tech age fairly well.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Jun 21, 2023 8:15:06 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

Jun 21, 2023 3:17:58 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

You are going to laugh, but I based this question on a book series I am reading. In it magic and tech lived together until tech took over. Now Magic has lashed back, and we've lost almost everything tech that we used to have.

 I forgot all about the making change bit. Nobody knows how to do that anymore! As a matter of fact,  since most people don't even use cash anymore I guess it makes sense.


 

That sounds like a fun book, actually.

Jim works retail and often teenagers (and some adults) will just plop down all their change and he has to count out what he needs. They don't even know how to give the correct amount.

www.amazon.com/dp/B0771PVYYG?binding=kindle_edition&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1687431672&sr=8-1

[Syko Nachoman]

The only one of those things I couldn't live without is the microwave. I need to be able to reheat my leftovers! No one wants to eat cold lasagna 😭

"Simple cable at best" made me laugh because I've never even had cable, just basic broadcast TV. If I wanted to watch certain cartoons when I was a kid, I'd have to go over to my friends' houses, because my house didn't even have Nickelodeon.

Same with "no caller ID" -- never had it. I have a smartphone, but I basically only need it for logging into stuff for my job that requires 2FA authentication. But phones in general aren't a big need for me, anyway. I'm not exactly what they call a people person. A simple landline is more than enough.

No Google would be a bigger adjustment, but without the internet in general, I probably wouldn't find myself curious about looking up so many things, anyway.

I have no use for Grammarly. I used to work as a proofreader. I could teach Grammarly a thing or two.

I've never had any use for Kindle. I don't like using screens at night because they mess up my sleep, and guess when I do most of my reading?

My hobbies would likely shift away from discovering music, watching streams and videos, playing games, and working with spreadsheets and more toward reading and watching TV/movies. Considering I have next to no interest in befriending or interacting with other people, I doubt I'd spend more time going out and talking to people. Sorry to anyone who's part of the "the younger generation needs to go outside more!!1" crowd.

I think the most disappointing thing, as far as free time and hobbies, would be the difficulty of discovering music. I'm massively into underground rock, and I own (digitally) hundreds of great albums. In a past era, I'd still be able to own these albums, just in vinyl/CD rather than digital format -- but that's not the problem. The problem is that, without the internet to guide me, I would never know that most of my favorite bands and artists even existed! I'd probably still be listening to Metallica, Soundgarden, and Led Zeppelin on endless repeat, because I wouldn't know where to discover music aside from listening to the radio. And while there's nothing wrong with radio rock, it only scratches the surface of what's out there.

Honestly, the worst thing about living in this age would be that I'd have to find an entirely different career, because my job mostly involves programming and working with complicated, very large datasets (think hundreds of millions of records) that did not exist in digital format until about 20-25 years ago. I wonder what line of work I would have gotten into, instead, if I'd been born half a century earlier. I am geared toward math-related stuff, spreadsheets, and things that require attention to detail, so maybe accounting?

[Darkmage4]

I was born in 1990. So while tech was there, but wasn’t there. No Hi-Tech would probably cripple me. It’s how I live, how I make money.

So, if let’s say the universe EMPs us, and we lose ALL electronics. I do think a good portion of my generation on down would be in fetal position. Maybe even for some boomers, and Gen Xs. My grandma, who is in her 80s doesn’t care about technology. She has a computer. But rarely gets on. She has a flip phone with no touch screen capabilities. She does watch TV only mainly the news, and reads the shopper when it comes in.

Her generation would be able to survive.

But I think if we had a reset of Hi-Tech. I do think the majority will adapt, and figure out how to get around it.

[Chani]

I was also born in 1990, but in a rural town where we "caught on" to tech a little later than cityfolk. I don't remember how old I was when we got our first computer, but we didn't have Internet until years afterward. My dad was super stingy, too, so I was the very last of my entire friend group to get a cellphone and my first car was older than me. I could survive without all the tech so long as I could find a job. I presently work online doing very tech-central stuff and the only other jobs in my area are factories that won't take me due to my arthritis. I'd probably end up on disability, which would suck because then I'd be trapped in this tiny apartment renting from the Dragon Lady for eternity. I would never achieve my dream of buying a house and filling it with dogs. Let's hope that doesn't happen!

Aside from being gainfully employed, I would miss a lot of things

I'm 100% with you on mourning the loss of e-books. My apartment was too small for my physical collection so I had to downsize to half a bookshelf (half for me, half for my daughter) and now all my books are digital. Losing them would be devastating. I'm a lifetime learner and I am pretty sure I would lose my mind without e-books or Google to sate my polymath tendencies.

I also get a monthly package of environmentally-friendly household products—shampoo/conditioner bars, toothpaste tablets, sheet detergent, etc.—via an online subscription that I would miss because I've been quite happy lowering my plastic consumption.

I would miss YouTube. I don't spend a lot of time on there but when stuff breaks around the house, I usually end up fixing it because my landlady never gets around to it. YouTube came in pretty clutch when I needed to replace all the plumbing under my bathroom and kitchen sinks last year and when I had to reseal my tub a month ago. Plus, watching videos of cute dogs and cats is my #1 avoidance maneuver when life is just downright awful.

The thing I would miss the most is interacting with people like you guys. I could live without social media and video games, but being able to talk to people from all over the world is so handy for someone like me who lives in a tiny town. I'd have to go out and make nice with a bunch of the other local moms and there is a reason that hasn't happened already. If the EMP happens, I will hand-write a letter petitioning Proboards for a party line. LOL

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Thanks to all who took the time to read this post and react to it!

[DDude]

Being born in 1990 I've effectively lived through every modern tech "era" and am compatible with all of them, really. I can dial a rotary phone, know how/where to save files, can type with a crazy WPM on real keyboards, and have decent cursive handwriting.