How many people here grew up without internet or computers?

[shortylickens]

I sorta did. Early life was computer free.

I had a fairly decent understanding of DOS by the time I was 10.

 

[stargazr]

A bit past 42. I had taken some basic courses at a local community college in 1989, but it was several years before I felt I could justify purchasing a PC in '93. I was 33 at the time. Didn't get online until 2000.

 

[sdifox]

First off, I am not sure if this question should be for the people growing up in developed Countries or not?

Would it be safe to say that anyone over 42 years old were the last generation to MOSTLY grow up without technologies such as computers, internet and cell phones that are common place today?

As for me, I NEVER owned my own personal computer until I was 24 tears old. Never bothered with a cell phone until I was over 30 years old. Never had internet until I was 24 years old.

However, I did use computers at school for home work and the odd friend who owned one between the ages of 20 and 24.

I had an apple 2 clone in 82 or 83

 

[lxskllr]

My first computer was an Atari800, then I got out of computers for awhile. I then got an IBM compat; a 486dx50. I donated that to work, and got out of computers again. First internet was Webtv around 98, and I got my daughter a computer in 02. Been into computer ever since.

Wish I paid closer attention when I had the Atari. I could have gotten in on the ground floor, and learned programming early. I wasn't very imaginative I guess. It didn't seem as useful back then. Kids today get everything handed to them. It's all a click away, and questions are easily answered. It's not as easy to be a "pro" but anyone can be a useful hobbyist.

 

[pcgeek11]

Dad bought his first IBM when I was ~5 or 6, maybe, but I never used that thing for anything other than typing papers (or, rather, he or mom typing the final drafts that I had hand-written).

At the same time, we had one of those keyboards that you plug into the TV, and the magnetic tape player with those tape games--like the cookie monster game.

It wasn't until ~94 or 95, age 16ish, that we got a 8mhz Pentium and our first "real" computer that I actually used. Still, never really activated the modem or started an account with some ISP. Outside of typing papers on that thing, I used it to play WC II and Diablo, and not much else.

I didn't get onto the internet my first year of college, in 97.

Nope.

1993 Intel releases the Pentium processor on March 22 1993. The processor is a 60 MHz processor, incorporates 3.1 million transistors and sells for $878.00.

 

[pcgeek11]

Touched my first PC in the mid 80's an 8088... when I was about 30 years old.

I did work with military computers in the Navy, but they were huge and not concidered a personal computer...

 

[sdifox]

Nope.

1993 Intel releases the Pentium processor on March 22 1993. The processor is a 60 MHz processor, incorporates 3.1 million transistors and sells for $878.00.

I paid a grand for the chip and 700 for the mb. And it had the FDIV bug.

 

[Iron Woode]

I paid a grand for the chip and 700 for the mb. And it had the FDIV bug.

LOL

my first Pentium PC was around 1996 and consisted of a Cyrix 166, a Gigabyte VX chipset MB and 16 megs of EDO ram. Also had a 1.6 gig hdd and a 2 meg ATI video card.

I remember buying a 32 meg DIMM as an upgrade. made win 95 run better.

:awe:

 

[DigDog]

no internet until 1998 (56k modem), and no broadband until 2004.

 

[IronWing]

I paid a grand for the chip and 700 for the mb. And it had the FDIV bug.

Intel replaced the CPU in my work computer because of the bug. I had one of the few use cases where the bug actually mattered (finite difference modeling).

 

[Chocu1a]

No internet or computer in my home until late 2002. I used to go to the library to use a computer, prior.

 

[TheVrolok]

If I recall correctly, my first in home computer was a 386sx with it's 33mhz of glory. Sometime around '92 I believe.

 

[IronWing]

My dad bought a KayPro CP/M machine when I was in HS. It had a modem so I could connect to a BBS. I didn't get a home computer until I was 29 and someone gave my wife an old IBM XT (10 meg drive, woot!). We found an 8-bit modem that would work with it at what seemed like the last Computerland left on earth. I could surf the web in text mode through the university's dial in system.

 

[pcgeek11]

I paid a grand for the chip and 700 for the mb. And it had the FDIV bug.

I remember the bug. I waited and bought the 75 Mhz model that followed shortly after.

 

[sdifox]

Intel replaced the CPU in my work computer because of the bug. I had one of the few use cases where the bug actually mattered (finite difference modeling).

I had mine replaced as well.

 

[Charlie98]

I was born in '65, graduated HS in '84. My first exposure to computers was my mom's BF and a Radio Shack PC of some sort, with the cassette tape storage. I did take Basic Programming in HS (on a mainframe Digital VAX/Vms the size of a Volkswagon) and was lucky to scrape by with a D... acknowledging the fact that I am not a software guy. My first exposure to the internet was AOL around '91... and I was mystified by how it worked. It was astounding, to me at least... I just couldn't fathom how it all worked.

I grew up without cable or video games of any sort... I always had to go to grandma's (for cable TV) and my friends house (to play Asteroids.) I'm probably one of the 3 people in the US that has never owned a gaming console. Truth being stranger than fiction, the whole reason I built my first PC was to play Modern Warfare... got it as a Christmas present and it wouldn't even start on my old Dell. I am not a gamer... but I have a PC upstairs that I fool with when I can scratch out 10 minutes to myself.

Bought my first PC (a custom built HP from Best Buy, for $1800, that lasted less than a year) in 2000 or so, after surfing on a WebTV unit for a year. Got my first cell phone around 2002.

I became a dispatcher in 1999, working on some dinosaur slow IBM bought 2nd hand (our parent company treated us like red-headed step children) in a DOS program of some sort. Only certain computers were allowed to access the internet, and they were locked down in any event. Even then I was completely computer illiterate, but managed to muck though it and learn OTJ.

 

[HeXen]

I was very rarely and briefly exposed to the Tandy TRS 80 computers at my elementary school back in the 80's. But it was a joke really because they rarely let us use them and when we did was basically either just play time for some crap black n white atari 2600 graphical games or Math games which I guess was better than math class at the time.

In Middle and HS, we had the IBM dos computers...again a joke as they rarely let us use them. Basically a couple times per semester they would take our class down to the room and let us type run dos commands to launch crap games or we'd use the word processor....they really didn't teach us crap however even if they did, it would be outdated so maybe that's why?

I got my first PC in 1998 with Win98 so I could play Unreal. I used to watch ZD TV which was a tech channel and I was floored with the graphics in games so I bought one just to play games on, then I learned deeper because the games ran like crap so I had to get online to download GPU drivers which meant AOL account, I visited a few sites and became engrossed in meeting girls from AOL chat...met and screwed quite a few on there back then, back when doing so was safer and easier. Then I learned how to optimize the PC to play games...then came overclocking, Windows tweaking, diagnosing any problems that arose....in fact that's why I first joined this site back around 2000 but people here were jerks so I left and didn't sign up again until 2009.

My first cell phone was a few years back and it's the same as today...just a Tracphone to call my wife or for emergencies. I really have no desire to use it for anything else as I don't understand how people can read on those things much less type. Most of the tech gadgets I buy in recent years I end up regretting as I don't have a real need/use for them.

*I forgot my friend back in early 90's had a Commodore 64 (old by that point) briefly and we played Shinbobi, some kind of western game with a viewpoint from behind a guy's gun holster and a strip poker game. I remember the boxes had really good graphics but the games didn't and I was confused by that...but now know they were likely showing Amiga versions, not sure why they did that, it was BS. He also had a cassette data thing and I was so curious how it worked as I thought of cassettes as music only but we never messed with that. Computers were just too clunky back then and had so many thick wires connecting everything that for a kid back then seemed a bit confusing and daunting....i'm sure console gamers today feel that way about PC gaming.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Grew up in the fifties, and sixies, so um yeah I'm on the without side.:'(

 

[Kaido]

Kind of weird that we're in the last generation of people who haven't been fully immersed in technology (at least, in first-world countries). Ours kids will have no idea what it's like to live without tablets, computers, high-speed Internet, giant thin color televisions, every aspect of their lives on social media, etc.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Kind of weird that we're in the last generation of people who haven't been fully immersed in technology (at least, in first-world countries). Ours kids will have no idea what it's like to live without tablets, computers, high-speed Internet, giant thin color televisions, every aspect of their lives on social media, etc.

Yep. Idiocracy is coming true.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I not only grew up without computers but, most people didn't own a color tv. Phones were party lines and, except for receiving calls on birthdays or other special occasions, kids weren't allowed to use phones anyways. We rode our bikes to the park unsupervised and played a pick up game of baseball every Saturday.

 

[cyclistca]

I'm in my late 40's. I bought my first computer in the early 90's but grew up with computers at home. Still remember playing Castle Wolfenstein our Apple II.

 

[KentState]

Computers, cell phones and the internet really took off in the early 90's. Before that, it was mostly in schools or the rare well off person that could afford them.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

There's an interesting sub culture proliferating that, for lack of a better description, I'll call a cyber culture. The members learn the rules of behavior and set their expectations through immersion and social media much like every other culture with the obvious lack of tradition. What sets this cyber culture apart is the almost universal denial that it exists by it's members. Interactions and protocols are deemed "natural," logical or, "to be expected" while, learning the cyber culture by anyone not born into it is anything but.

A curious byproduct is companies striving to adapt their products to these cyber culture "norms" rather than the other way around. Only time will tell if this is a better approach but, given my views of the average basement dweller, I'm betting against it.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Those born into cyber culture gave up a lot, but ignorance is bliss so its OK.