Blog #3 – What would happen if the internet never existed?

Hello everyone,

In this blog, I will be talking about my first subtopic which is, Habits and Daily Activities. In this subtopic, I will be researching the habits and activities of children, teens, and adults in the 20th century and of our time (with the internet and internetless). I will talk about the things people commonly did in both eras and then I will mix all of the habits to make a list of realistic habits and common activities that could occur if the internet was never a thing. Let’s dive right in!

Habits/Activities of children and teens – 20th century

What kids did in the 20th century could appear similar to what children do today, but that is not the case. In the 20th century, it was hard for the people of America as it was an industrialized country, so many people were poor and lived in poverty. However, that didn’t stop the kids from having fun. The parents had no money for toys and were too busy, but since there was little to no traffic, the nearby streets were their playgrounds. A couple of street games that the children played was: cricket, but a lamp post was the wicket, and the bat was any piece of suitable wood, “Please we’ve come to learn the trade”, basically another name for the famous knock knock jokes that we used in our childhood, hide and seek, but since it was usually on an open street with almost nothing to hide behind, kids would hide in other peoples front gardens and their privet hedges. One other game that kids played was “Knocking Down Ginger”, where they would knock on someone’s door and run away. (1) When the weather was poor outside, the boys and girls would use things around the house to amuse themselves. For girls, they would sew, weave, and knit as they are usually taught how to use a needle and thread from a very young age. For boys, they would practice their woodworking skills with small pieces of wood, as many boys receive their first pocketknife around 5 years old, and there was always wood around. (2)

Habits/Activities of adults – 20th century

The things that adults did are a bit more authentic and some don’t even exist anymore as of today. On days of leisure, vaudeville shows were an option as it was trendy and cheap to watch, with the maximum cost of the tickets being $2.00 each. Vaudeville shows were a good option to have fun as it is a comedy based on a dramatic composition or light poetry. Saloons were also popular, as people went there to enjoy themselves by drinking and gambling. But unlike normal bars, it was open in the daytime, selling food! Some saloons even sold free lunches in exchange for buying one drink, so that would be a good option to go somewhere and eat food for a cheap price. Like the kids, playing outside, adults also had activities that they attended or did that were outside as well! Outdoor activities were popular as people attended celebratory parades and county fairs, the latter featuring agricultural products, machinery, competitions, and rides. The fairs celebrated progress and featured exhibits of science and technology, foreign villages, shows, rides, and vendors. For adults with family, common family-friendly activities were hunting, fishing, music making, and dancing. (3)

Now moving on to the habits/activities of children, teens, and adults of our era. I will write my research in the same format as the ones of the 20th century, but I will also write about the habits of internetless and the internet.

Habits/Activities of children and teens – Internetless

A lot of the activities are similar to the ones in the 20th century, but it is not the same after the concept of the internet came. Common things that kids do today are: having a picnic with family and friends, as it is a form of relaxing with other people that you like and love while eating a small feast. Playing a favorite game or activity at a local park, like soccer or frisbee is good for the children to go out in the sunlight and being active. Common things that teens do today is shopping, as you can enjoy yourself by spend money on the things you like. Going to parties, is great as you can socalize with people and lower your rates of anxiety, depression and increase in self-esteem. Hanging out with friends is very common, and it can also prevent loneliness and increase your sense of belonging and purpose. Going to the beach is good as the calming ambiance drastically reduces stress & anxiety. (4)

Habits/Activities of adults – Internetless

There are also many internetless things adults can do. A couple of activities they do are: going out for a bike ride. Bike rides are good for the body as it improves strength, balance and coordination while being a low impact aerobic exercise. Meditation is good for the body as well as it can give you a sense 

of calm, peace and balance that can benefit your emotional well-being and help ease stress and anxiety. Reading books is a classic as it strengthens your brain, increasing your ability to empathize, and build your vocabulary. Reading magazines may seem old, but people still read them! It is a excellent way to keep up with changing trends with fewer words than what you would find in an article. (5)

Habits/Activities of children and teens – With the internet

You might think that all kids use the internet for is bad for them such as playing video games all day, but you are wrong. It is not the only thing they use it for, in fact there are many good ways of how children use the internet. Children of the Philipines love Facebook and YouTube, and their top online activities are learning something new, social media, watching video clips, using the internet for schoolwork, and playing online games (it is not completely bad!!) . (6)  Kids can learn almost anything using the internet, and there are websites that can give official courses of subjects such as Khan Academy. These days, teens don’t tend to reach out for professional mental support, sometimes they just want to talk to someone their age that would listen to them and provide them with a little bit of comfort. The internet is a great place for that, as you can chat with people over social media that could live on the other side of the planet. (7)

Habits/Activities of adults – With the internet

Although adults don’t play video games as much as children and teens do, the internet still plays an essential role in their life. Some of the most common reasons why adults use the internet are: text messaging, email, and using online financial services. Text messaging is common for everyone as it is an easy and fast way to communicate with other people, and many people prefer texts over phone calls. Email is important because it allows people to send information in letter format, and email can replace traditional mail options as it’s free and faster. Online financial services is common as it can help you control your financial life and also essential as you can pay bills automatically each month with easy-to-set-up auto payment. (8)

Outline of possible habits/activities for a modern internetless world

Many activities have mentioned, and of course, we will try to stick with the most modern habits, but let’s make some alternatives for the habits/activities that people do with the internet by taking inspiration from the habits/activities people did in the 20th century and without the internet.

First, we have social media like YouTube. Since people would be watching videos for entertainment or to learn something, motion pictures could be a bit similar, but it would be rare and expensive to see motion pictures because it’s animation made by taking hundreds of pictures. If you would want to learn something, magazines are a great alternative as they give you information about trends and hot news.

Second, we have people listening and comforting to you that are around your age. Therapists could work, but almost none would an age of a teenager. There could be places where they are many people that are comfortable with listening to others pain, with a variety of ages to choose from. There could be books of the peoples names, age, and their hobbies and interests in one in a couple blocks so people could go to those places and choose which people they would like to talk to.

Third, we have text messaging. Of course, nothing in the past could replicate text messaging as you would need an electronic device to text somebody, so you would properly have to stick with writing letters or calling someone with the telephone. Email is mail but online, so without the internet email is just hand written mail! There is also online financial services, but again, theres no online without the internet! The financial servies mainly help keep track of your spendings and what bills you have, so an alternative is to create a list of your spendings, keep all your recipts, and the bills all together to know how much you have spent and how much you have left.

Alright, that is all my research for this subtopic! Thank you for reading! – Po Yiu Yau

1. Children’s games as played in the streets in yesteryear (1900s.org.uk)
2. A Day in the Life of a Pioneer Child: Entertainment, Ta… (jobcarrmuseum.org)
3. America at Leisure  |  Articles and Essays  |  America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915  |  Digital Collections  |  Library of Congress (loc.gov)
4. Free time and teenagers | Raising Children Network
5. Here’s What to do Without Internet: 30 Offline Ideas | Apartment Therapy
6. How do children use the internet? We asked thousands of kids around the world (theconversation.com)
7. 10 Ways The Internet Can Actually Help Your Kids | The Apopka Voice
8. Leading U.S. internet activities 2021 | Statista