Overview: Life Before the Internet: What We Can Learn from the Good Old Days is a fascinating look back at a slower, simpler time, when Amazon was just a river.

Verdict: There was life before Google and smartphones, but few would recognize it today. We had more free time, as we didn’t spend hours on social media. Our children roamed free and learned to fend for themselves. We enjoyed the freedom and space that came from being unreachable, and we couldn’t take work home.

We didn’t need to invent slow living; it was part of the deal! Furthermore, and as I’m sure all of us of a certain age can eagerly attest to, what this book diligently points out is that left back then was just oh-so much easier, less stressful, and built around families and not electronics.

Indeed, a few ways noted about how life was actually different before the internet begin with the obvious: that the Amazon was just a river/rain forest! If the word Amazon was mentioned in a sentence, it was only in reference to the river in South America. No one could think about the possibility of online stores.

Planning ahead is another where last-minute plans were not possible once you left your house. You’d be very careful to set up exact meeting times and locations with your friends.

Recorded music off the radio / mix tapes was a tricky, timing wise, and yet highly satisfying endeavor. For if there was a song that you loved, you would have to record it off the radio. Looking for a compilation of songs? You’d have to make that yourself too.

You also needed to leave your house to socialize! There was no online shopping or Zoom — if you wanted to buy something or see a friend, you needed to get off the couch and out of your house to socialize. You had to look up information in encyclopedias.

Before the days of Google and Wikipedia, if you wanted information on a particular topic, you would have to look it up in an encyclopedia, listing everything in alphabetical order.

Tinder in real life was a piece of paper! When there was someone you were interested in, in order to ask them out, you needed to either pluck up the courage to ask them out in person, or else pass them a piece of paper with three boxes: check yes, no, or maybe.

Oh, and web design was done by spiders! Many jobs did not exist before the internet. Those that were web designers were most likely a spider.

A couple of other examples include how wasting time in the office was more obvious. It was a lot more obvious if you wanted to look at something other than the work in front of you on the computer. Staring out the window or looking at inspiring pictures on the office walls were far more obvious than they are today.

And, of course, posts were made on real walls. If you had an event or information you wanted to share with other people, then you needed to physically print it on a piece of paper and post it on a real wall for others to see.

There are many more nostalgic flashbacks included here in Michael Gentle’s lovely new book, and so, and in conclusion, pick up this book and see how the last unconnected generation used to live. Catch the tempo of everyday life, from home and school to work and leisure - and perhaps reflect on what we might learn.

About the Author - Michael Gentle is a former IT and data-privacy professional, and the author of a number of bestselling books on business and technology. He has lived and worked in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia-Pacific, and speaks several languages. He is now retired and lives in Setúbal, Portugal.

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