Life before Cellphones.

[simongt]

So many folk of all ages appear to be 'glued' to their cellphones in one way or other now; in the street, at work, in cafes / bars / restaurants, at home, on the bus, in a car.
I appreciate that 'social media' has a lot to answer for in this phenomenon, but it does make you wonder how we of a 'certain age' actually managed to survive through childhood, into adulthood without the 'benefit' of them.
How on earth did we fill our non school / work / leisure hours back in t'day - ?
My thoughts are that we were too busy having fun- !

 

[Sharky]

Life before.......

There is a huge list of things that we now take for granted, but didn't exist when I was a child.

Before calculators. Went through the whole of school days using log tables and slide rulers. Neither of which I can use now.

Before TV. It wasn't until I was 6, that we got a tv and that was a black and white set, with only bbc 1.

Before motorways. Remember the first one being opened in 1959 and feeling angry that cyclists would not be allowed on it. Little did I know then.

 

[Drago]

I'd love to live in the 1950s. Brylcreem, Elvis, English Electric Lightning. Times were good.

 

[postman]

My phone now i have these bluetooth nhs hearing aids,is my main source of music.The phone is a phone always.Only when i spend a couple of days in Lancashire do i use it to Facebook or CycleChat.

 

[further]

'd love to live in the 1950s. Brylcreem, Elvis, English Electric Lightning. Times were good.

imeasles, rubella and mumps, whilst skin boils (abscesses) and impetigo were still common i

 

[mistyoptic]

Aah, those Halcyon days!

we used to “play out” with marbles or bikes or toy cars. We would climb trees and go off to the park, with no worries from our parents. In summer much fun could be had soaking one another with the garden hose or a water pistol. Didn’t have a TV for years. Had no idea who was outraged about minor trivia and wouldn’t have cared anyway. There was a call box down the street to phone one’s girlfriend and we wrote letters or sent holiday postcards to communicate.

 

[Oldhippy]

I liked it when you'd arrange to meet the following week at the pub and unless someone came around to change things it would be so. Now if you don't reply to a text in ten minutes they think the worst.

 

[figbat]

I can recall roaming quite some distance from home at age 8-9, climbing trees and cycling everywhere. My kids barely leave their rooms at 12 and 15.

 

[Paulus]

As a person of a certain age, I remember very well going out at weekends and school holidays in the morning and returning home around teatime. We had no phone at home so couldn't call if I wanted to.
My mates and I learned how to communicate with all sorts of people, mostly nice ones, some not so, so we learnt how to deal with things life presented us with.
We didn't get a TV until 1966 or 7, our evening entertainment was the radio, books or board games.
Yes, I now have a smart phone, but the only social media I use is Cycle chat and WhatsApp. My life is not dictated to by the phone, but they do come in handy at times.

 

[Gunk]

I'd love to live in the 1950s. Brylcreem, Elvis, English Electric Lightning. Times were good.

In 70 years time these will be the good old days.

We can’t live our life through the rear view mirror, we have to try enjoy the here and now, complete with all its challenges.

 

[Chris S]

When I was a child we didn't even have a landline. We would wait outside a phonebox at a pre-arranged time for people to phone us. We couldn't phone them because they didn't have one either!

 

[Beebo]

I started working in late 90s.
On the train most people either read a book, newspaper or listened to a Walkman.
It’s really no different now, it’s just that the phone does all of this.

Calling a girl and hoping her dad didn’t answer the phone was very nerve wracking. And everyone could hear your conversation. Awful.

 

[colly]

Life before mobile phones meant that once you were out, you were OUT. Especially in relation to the office.
When I first went self employed I actually looked at getting a licence for a radio system for the van so mrs Colly could speak to me if any potential customers had called and I might be in the area. Finding a phone box that wasn't vandalised or full of pish was impossible.

Edit: But younger still as a teen we did learn very useful skills such as 'tapping' out the number to get a free call.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

A lot of people on here wearing rose tinted glasses, I was brought up in the 1950's, Polio was common, my mate had a gammy leg due to it, and he wasn't the only one, the childhood illnesses were common, whooping cough, chicken pox, measles, mumps etc, no central heating for most of us, a coal fire in one room was not uncommon, as were outside toilets and no bathrooms, and overcrowded living conditions were common. No for all our faults and problems I wouldn't want to go back.

 

[MontyVeda]

I'm pretty much still living the life before... my mobile seldom leaves my home.