Asklemmy

Not having every aspect of their lives and identities stripped of meaning, repackaged, and sold back to them in ever shittier forms.

I wouldn't use "never get to experience" but i would say it's much harder to have that real sense of community that we easily found in the 90s, early 2000s, etc.

People are more connected to others but still more isolated from others. We were less connected to other people back then so people made a real effort to come up with fun activities and bond together. For kids, it's the lack of just playing outside in the neighbourhood with friends. For adults, it's the lack of third places and community/religious events.

Downloading what you think is a song off a file sharing program only to find out that it's a virus.

June 11th 1894

Guinea Worm. And that's something we should celebrate!

Carrying over heaps of computer equipment (including the mega CRTs before their demise) to your friends house for an all night LAN party that you guys had been prepping for. Then having a blast while parents look at you funny for being into computers.

Oh, and seeing a new BBS at a bus stop that you'd need to go dial into and check out.

The nightmare PS2 dirty disc screen, and mainstream multiplayer games without anticheat rootkits

Edit: mainstream

Walking in to an honest-to-god Toy Store as a small child.

R.I.P. Geoffrey

A world where 'literally' was the only adverb people know.

When bigger tech companies were cool.

Okay, something simple. Being annoyed that you forgot to rewind the video cassette the last time you watched a movie.

The card catalog at the library.

2019

how annoying it was calling your friend that had the phone number with lots of zeros in it.

Social media not being the focus of every government, advertising agency and activist organization in existence.

Dial-up internet (and I'm only in my 20s!)

Hunter-gathering

"Smoking" chewing gum cigarettes.

Exploring the internet by going through a physical "100 coolest websites for kids" book.

One of your parents handling the phone to you because someone called you..

getting lost

Calling your friends house, and asking if they were home and could talk.

Living off the grid. A world where AI and data collection wasn't so massive that even not participating in anything they will have a full profile of you. Data will become compromised until everything leaks out everywhere. When abusive powers will mathematically make future decisions for you, e. g. a. negative personality-health profile which makes a college dropout almost certain and therefore deny you the choice. People think in absolutes and not even partial success is viable. Just like now big corporations have such narrow application profiles that every human not built in a genetic factory is not worth it. I think the world becomes rapidly more hostile to neurodivergence. And all will suffer from it, because thinking diversity is key.

Working in coal mines. Well, actually, nevermind...