10 Things You (or Your Parents) Did Before Mobile Phones Existed

Imagine if you couldn't read this text because you forgot your phone at home. What would you do? You would probably run to your nearest computer and look for it, or you would only know of these lines if a colleague commented on them at lunch.

Mobile is such an essential technology that we don't even realize it in the midst of the busy routine. It helps with work, brings information, softens temporal edges, and offers a host of other utilities that are available just an application away.

From the first call made from a cell phone in 1973, until now, technology has only added more communication opportunities. Of course, at first they weren't that portable, but with a little bit of refinement, the 90s came in and the size of gadgets that could carry, at least in a backpack or purse (but not yet in a trouser pocket).

From then on, mobile communication, which was limited to calls only, allowed you to send and receive SMS messages, and you could customize your device at least with your own ringtones. The next evolution was the color display, and what happened next was a real revolution: internet access! That's when models with cameras and MP3s started coming out, which demanded more memory in the handsets. Finally, the touchscreen closes this circuit of functionality that we can reach and not even realize.

Just because you don't notice the practicality that smartphones bring to our lives, we invite you to go back in time and remember how things have been a little more complicated.

1 - Use that thing called landline, which can only be in one place

The only way to quickly communicate with the other person was by calling her home or work and hoping she was around. That's when you didn't call your neighbor and ask him to call the person next door ...

2 - Make phone calls

This is a little used today, but you used to have to open the phonebook, wait for a line (mute phones were very common), dial digit by digit of the phone number you'd like to call, and wait for the call. When I was done, I had to hang up the phone.

3 - Reveal photos

No more seeing the photos at the time they were taken, let alone photographing everything you could find out there. Cameras needed movies, which were limited to about 36 clicks, and only after you had exhausted them could you get them out.

On the day you went back to the store to pick up the photos, you were given a simple album to keep the images, which then circulated through the hands of those who really wanted to see the result.

4 - Keep folders with text and reference images

Not to like, like, or save images and articles you liked. At least until the arrival of the internet.

It was common to archive magazine pages, newspaper clippings, and manuscripts with things that he found interesting.

5 - Search for services in the Yellow Pages

The phone book broke many branches! On the Yellow Pages were the name, address, and phone number of most city services, including taxis, hotels, and restaurants. With the internet, this task also began to be made easier (and thankfully, because those letters were hard to see).

6 - Search in books

Children in school, college students, or professionals who needed to consult support materials had to have a collection available at home or look in a library.

Even with the invention of the computer, searches could not be performed anywhere, as the internet was limited to the location of the PC.

7 - Wait for the newspaper

I mean, the paper used to arrive very early, even before people woke up. Only then would they know the news from the day before, especially the news from distant places.

8 - Schedule the meeting

It may not seem like it, but we have already been able to make an appointment and show up on time without having to confirm or postpone numerous times. And no deciding to relocate at the right time, because if the other was already out of the house, it would be very difficult to warn you of any change or cancellation (which is very inelegant).

9 - Recording Cassette Tapes or CDs

These were the only ways to put together a playlist. It was a little more complex task because, in addition to choosing the songs you wanted, you had to record track by track when it was tape or later burn the CD in a computer program.

10 - Chat more

It was not only because they did not have a device in their hands that people talked more, but also because this was a way of informing themselves and meeting people.

Just saw how it improved?

And you complaining about when the phone hangs! The activities we do today are pretty much the same, but our relationship with the smartphone lets the way we do them be totally different. This simplification helps us live in a less stressful way as long as technology doesn't become addictive and inhibits us from solving issues offline.

Now, if the list has longed for the old days, or if you're one of those who think you could live well without your phone or just like a challenge, why not spend a day away from your smartphone?

Via advisory