For every millennial who did not exist before the late 21st century, here’s what internet in the ’90s and early 2000s was really like. And just FYI, you missed out big time, bud!
1. Dial-Up internet was literally the only kind of internet modem back then. And, if you had it, then you were the kid everyone wanted to be friends with!
b’Giphy’
2. Windows 95 was the latest updated version of Windows that ran on your system. It made you feel like a boss!
b’Giphy’
3. 56kbps internet was the fastest internet speed you could get back then!
b’Giphy’
4. The most popular websites were MSN, Rediff, Indya, SantaBanta – a lame-ass jokes only website – and Way2SMS – a website that framed great messages for you to forward to people. Yes, that was a legit website. NOT. KIDDING.
b’90s MSN.com screenshot’
5. If you didn’t have a Hotmail or Yahoo email ID, were you even cool?!
b’90s YMail Screenshot’
6. Your email address was longer than the longest word in the world! It literally went on and on… and on…
Example: leftsideofmyrightbrain1992@yahoo.co.in was the coolest email ID ever!
b’YahooMail Sign In screen’
7. Your emails were just a bunch of forwards that threatened you to ‘Pass this on to 25 friends’ if you wanted to ‘avoid bad luck’… and you obeyed.
b’Giphy’
8. Pop-Up ads flooded your screens and were your worst nightmares!
b’Giphy’
9. Before pen drives and Google drives, there were Floppy disks – little black squares that you used to save your files on and then, flash it around like a business card, proudly!
b’Giphy’
10. If someone picked up the phone to answer, or make a call, the internet got disconnected. The struggle was just that real!
b’Giphy’
11. Before WhatsApp and FaceTime, there was MSN and Yahoo Messenger, with PG-13 ’emoticons’.
b’Giphy’
12. Caltiger offered ‘Free Internet’ in the dial-up age… never mind if winning the lottery seemed easier than being able to connect to ‘free internet’!
b’Caltiger Logo’
13. Downloading a file was like waiting for rain in the desert. I mean, it was supposed to get downloaded eventually. But, it just took like, a million years…
b’Giphy’
14. Before Google came along, you had options to choose your Search Engine… Yes, there was such a time!
b’AltaVista Screenshot’
15. Internet Explorer was the Real MVP! We’re not kidding.
b’Internet Explorer’
16. Before there were ‘Profile pages’ there was ‘ASL’ – your Age, Sex and Location – because that’s how people found you on the internet!
b’Whisper’
17. You discovered that suddenly music became free to download, thanks to Limewire! I still miss that shit!
b’Imgur’
18. WinAmp was your go-to Media Player for your videos, music and video games! Because Windows Media Player was just ‘too mainstream’ back then! Remember? Of course you do!
b’Giphy’
19. Having a MySpace account meant you were the next-level cool nerd!
b’Giphy’
20. And then came Hi5 – the social network of the late 90s! And you had to add only the cool people from your school… including your crush…
b’Hi5 Screenshot’
21. Orkut Testimonials, scraps and polls were the benchmark definition of ‘cool’. The more testimonials you had, the more popular you were!
b’Orkut Screenshot’
22. Your social network profile was your version of getting a cool new makeover back then!
b’Giphy’
23. You had an internet curfew set – one hour and then, your sibling gets it – and then, you’re off to bed!