Pre-Internet Human Connection: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Face-to-Face Communication

Someone asked me, "What is something that was more enjoyable before the internet?"

After reading my pick, I would love to read your answers to this question.

The internet. It's the ultimate double-edged sword of human communication. On one hand, it's undeniably convenient — I mean, seriously, we can connect with anyone, anywhere, at any blasted time. But on the other, it has stripped down the rich, chaotic, and damn fun tapestry of human interaction to bland text bubbles and emoji-laden shortcuts.

You see, back in the day, getting to know someone wasn't about trawling through their meticulously curated Instagram feed or counting how many Facebook friends they had. It was about shaking hands, looking them in the eye, and gauging the firmness of their handshake. It was about sharing a table, a meal, a drink — and swapping stories, hopes, dreams, and the occasional off-color joke. You'd watch their face light up with a genuine smile or cloud over as they shared something painful. You'd catch that fleeting look of surprise, delight, confusion, or whatever else it was.

Conversations had texture and depth. The warmth in someone's voice, the twinkle in their eye, the nervous foot tap under the table — these were the real emojis. And damn, were they more expressive and nuanced than the yellow-faced emoticons we settle for today.

Getting to know someone was like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, with each conversation, each shared experience, you'd peel back a layer, revealing a bit more of the human beneath. It was an adventure, a journey of discovery that had its own pace and rhythm. Now it feels like we've traded in this adventure for a quick Google search or a shallow dive into a Facebook profile.

So yeah, meeting humans and making friends used to be a hell of a lot more fun before the internet. And not because we're a bunch of Luddites nostalgic for a time before TikTok dances and viral memes, but because there's something magical, something deeply human, about discovering another individual, not through a screen, but face to face. The pauses, the stumbles, the surprising turns in conversation — these were the things that made getting to know someone so damn enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong — I'm not advocating that we should abandon our screens and go live in a cave. But every once in a while, let's close our laptops, put away our smartphones, and engage in a real, honest-to-goodness, face-to-face conversation. Trust me — it's worth it.