Science & Tech

17 things kids these days take for granted about the internet

Gather round everyone, and let me tell you a tale of a time before superfast broadband...

Here are 17 things that anyone born after the 1980s might not appreciate about the early days of the internet.

1. Everything looking lovely

You can now play Pac-Man on your street via Google, but we remember a time when it used to look like this:

Lovely...

2. Streamlined search options

Of course, Google wasn't the only option available to you when it came to finding stuff online.

RIP...

3. Ease of access

Even the mere act of going online meant having to listen to dolphins mate for 30 seconds.


Do you kids even know what dial-up was? Hello?4. Being able to make calls while online

5. No time limitsTwo hours!.
The Social Network6. Everything looking lovely (part 2)

7. Everything looking lovely (part 3)

8. Reliable analytics9. HD displays

For the uninitiated, Geocities was a free web-hosting service with a personal allotment of 15 MB. Yes, 15 whole megabytes.10. Being able to listen to your own music, uninterrupted11. High quality online political journalismfor the 1997 election

12. Wealth of browser options

13. A multitude of ways to talk to your friends
14. Subtle notifications

15. The world being your oyster when you're online

In order to make new friends you had to venture into things called chatrooms, Usually! On! Yahoo!

Does anyone even remember what a/s/l stood for? Hello?

16. The amazing quality of some viral videos

On a more serious note, we use the internet today to shop, bank, work and even topple governments. But only 20 years ago it was mainly for videos of dancing hamsters. Maybe not a whole lot has changed...

17. Seriously, viral videos have come a long way

Finally, we leave you with this, once the best thing on the internet.


Although we think it holds up pretty well.

Thankfully these relics of the internet have all been consigned to the past. Another thing you won't need to worry about is video content constantly buffering; Virgin Media is the UK's best widely available broadband for streaming.

Virgin Media: cabled areas only. Further legal stuff applies. Best for streaming: Up to 152Mb faster speeds compared to major UK ISPs plus low packet loss and latency (Ofcom 2014 and Farncombe tests 2014) www.virginmedia.com/bestforstreaming. Further legal stuff applies virginmedia.com.

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