11 Internet Habits That Would Confuse Someone From 1995

The strange and concerning ways online living has shaped modern human behaviour

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash

I’m old enough to remember what life was like when there was no Internet. For anyone who’s not, it’s hard to imagine how we’d manage without it.

The truth is, we survived because we couldn’t miss what we didn’t know. Back then, if I had a crystal ball showing me how the Internet would change our lives 30 years later, I would be truly baffled by the habits on display. Here are some examples.

1. You’re so busy capturing the moment you forget to be in it

In the age of smartphones and social media, you’re constantly on the lookout for something post-worthy. Whether you’re travelling or doing anything else for fun, the urge to document is a constant hum in the background. It diminishes the simple pleasure of being in the moment, like when you can’t watch a concert without someone taking out their phone to film some of it.

Instead of pausing to enjoy a beautiful view or a famous landmark, you get sucked into an exhausting game of content creation, spending ages trying to take the perfect photo while in your head you’re drafting an accompanying caption.

I remember the days when your camera carried film with 24 or 36 chances to get a decent picture. You didn’t care if the photos weren’t perfect or whether anyone else liked them. What mattered were the treasured memories they represented and how you could revisit them each time you opened the photo album you carefully stored them in.

2. You seek public validation on social media

You broadcast details of your life you once kept private.

The public display of the number of friends or followers on your profile is your badge of validation. The higher your score, the more popular you feel. The same applies to the number of likes and comments you get for your posts.

When you opened a Facebook account, you started by adding genuine friends before looking up people from your past with whom you’ve lost touch. You claim they’re your friends for your vanity, not because you have any intention of meeting up.

3. Your curiosity kills an experience

You read reviews before you watch a film or a play. You look up the set list for a concert you’re going to. You watch YouTube videos showing you what to expect on your holiday.

The danger of such actions is knowing too much kills the anticipation and excitement that make an experience truly memorable. It diminishes the magic and thrill of discovering the unexpected for the first time.

4. You’ve swapped thinking for yourself for a computer’s answer

You’ve slipped into a comfort zone of treating AI as a shortcut instead of a tool. Instead of using the technology to sharpen your thinking, you use it to avoid having to think at all.

You use AI instead of trusting your personal preferences. You base your choice of what to do during an overseas city break on what a generic AI summary tells you, instead of gleaning information from humans who have visited before.

5. You’re lazy with your learning

You’ve confused having answers at your fingertips with actually knowing and understanding things. You pay less attention when learning, and put less effort into retaining information from what you read, watch and listen to.

6. You have an inexplicable urge to fact-check during casual conversation

It gives you an excuse to get your phone out. You’re discussing a film you’ve just seen with someone, and they mention there was an actor who looked familiar, but they can’t think of where they’ve seen them before. Boom! Out comes the phone so you can look it up. Because you can, and because you know full well it’s so unimportant, you’re not going to remember to look it up after you get home.

7. You’re annoyed when you can’t connect to the Internet

Being offline is actually a blessing.

It takes you back to the time when doing more work after you’d logged off at the office wasn’t an option because you were unreachable. No instant access to emails, news, and social media gave you the freedom to truly disconnect, unwind and rest after work and most importantly, when you were on holiday.

8. You communicate through a screen instead of face-to-face

It’s impacting social skills and relationships. Communication and social interactions have become less personal and meaningful. You’re not present when you have company, and you don’t consider it rude to check your phone when you’re spending time with friends and family.

9. Checking your phone is an addiction

You reach for your phone in any spare moment you have.

What was once a way to pass the time while waiting in line or a means to keep an eye out for an important email you’re expecting has now become a habit many of us have adopted without thinking.

Back in the day, you’d only pick up the phone if you needed to call someone or someone was calling you. These days, your phone is a part of you. If someone were to unlock your phone, they’d get a pretty accurate snapshot of who you are, what you think about, how you spend your time and what you like.

10. You’re distracted all the time

It’s no wonder with the Internet overloading us with infinite content from websites and apps competing for our attention.

I’m also not surprised when I read about the global surge in ADHD diagnoses in adults. Anyone with a smartphone has been afflicted to a degree.

11. You go to bed to scroll on your phone

You know the blue light emitted by phone screens wrecks the quality and amount of sleep you have, but you do it anyway.

Instead of winding down with a good book, you scroll on your phone. You expose your brain to mental overstimulation: depressing news headlines, distracting content on social media, emails, and reminders of things you want or need to do.

I’m envious of the 1995 version of me, oblivious to how drastically the way we live our lives would change, and how much we’d miss the peace and tranquillity we had.

You were patient. You had more time to think. You could slack off without the guilt of being unproductive. With fewer distractions, it was easier to focus on one task at a time. With no social media, you didn’t have the fear of missing out; you spent less time comparing yourself to others, and you were happier as a result.

Written for the Big List Energy June theme: Big Internet Brain & Digital Life.

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