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Life Before We Had Facebook

Updated on February 7, 2012

Facebook is the new way of life.

Facebook is the new way of life.
Facebook is the new way of life. | Source

Do you remember the days before Facebook?


I am still fairly young, so I am part of this newer generation that obsesses over technology and especially social networking sites like Facebook. However, I am old enough to remember the days before we had Facebook.

Before Facebook:

-People actually used real calendars printed on actual paper to remember upcoming events and their friends birthdays. Now, you can even remember to tell your mailman's cousin “Happy Birthday” as long as you are Facebook friends with him because, you will get a convenient notification. This seems to take out the personal aspect of wishing someone a happy birthday. Remember that special feeling you used to get when someone actually remembered your birthday on their own? Back when you used to find birthday cards in your mailbox instead of a “Happy Birthday” written on your wall that took all of 5 seconds to send.

-You didn't care if your friends knew when you were doing everyday activities like taking a shower, eating dinner, going to bed or even going to the bathroom. Now the typical status update is similar to this "About to cook dinner, then taking a bath and hitting the sack. I have a busy day tomorrow" Remember those days when these sorts of things were private and, you didn't feel the urge to let all your friends know every move you’re making? I'm waiting for the day I see a series of Facebook statuses saying Mr. Blah Blah "Really has to pee"...5 minutes later "Finally sitting on the toilet and starting to pee"... "Oh it's time to wipe now!" It wouldn't surprise me these days.


-You actually wanted to meet face to face with your friends to catch up on each other’s lives. Remember the days of meeting for lunch to catch up? Now all you have to do is head to Facebook. Did your cousin just have a new baby? No need to actually go to the hospital to see the new little one. Most parents these days put pictures of the whole experience on Facebook, most of the time before they even leave the hospital! Hearing rumors that your ex is dating your arch enemy? No need to hunt down the true story, just check their relationship status on Facebook. Wonder why your aunt and uncle got a divorce? I am sure she explained it clearly on Facebook that he was a lying cheater. Oh, I remember the days when verbal gossip was the best way to find out things about people. Now, Facebook lets you know who's dating who, who got arrested, who hates who and just about every detail about someone’s life. Look hard enough on someone’s profile and I'm sure you could even find out someone’s shoe size; yea, it's getting that extreme.

-You met your dates and new friends at clubs, parties, school, etc. Now, you hear more and more boyfriends and girlfriends, even husbands and wives, who met on Facebook. Most people have around 1,000 Facebook friends, and let’s face it they probably aren’t real life friends with even half of that number. I guess it is good for your confidence though when you can claim to have 1,000 friends.


This might sound crazy, but there was also a time when poking someone was considered rude. A time when you actually had to get down and dirty if you wanted to maintain a farm, but now there’s Farmville. There was a time when a wall was something necessary to hold your house up, and to tag someone was something you did when you were chasing them around a playground. Don’t get me wrong, I love Facebook. I have had my account for about 4 years now, and I use it several times a day. It is just funny to think about how Facebook has really changed so many aspects of human life.


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