For ex, my first encounter with the internet was when I was 8. I didn't personally get to use the internet but an educator showed us how it could be used, to get us info on a Texas history competition. For this, we had to look up answers to a written test & submit it.
It was 1996, I was in the 3rd grade, and I had no personal access to the internet. I had to look up the answers in the library with actual books as best as I could, and then I submitted the exam. I ended up with a high score and winning a rodeo belt buckle. Can't imagine this thing still exists now
I had to do similar exercises with the internet in high school and college, just to practice how to access and search for information (in college it was to practice using their digital library and databases)
I was just young enough to skip physical searches 🥲 But old enough to be taught well
Yeah, we had to do index cards in the library in high school...
I feel very lucky with the way I grew up, bc my dad was an IT guy and very geeky about it, and we always had tons of new hardware around. So I got my first own PC when I was 5! I got to experience a lot of new/modern tech developments really young, before it all became so locked up and standardized
Mar 26, 2025 02:17One thing I notice a lot is how it's given me this odd sense of being a millennial when technically I'm too young to be one, because I grew up with millennials on the internet and was doing the same stuff they were doing and engaging in the same culture, except I was tiny 😭
But bc my dad was always the 1st to try new stuff—never had VHS and dial up, we went straight for DVDs (I dont think we knew anyone else at the time), never knew dial up internet (broadband was nationally introduced year I was born) but I knew how to 🏴☠️ and burn my own CDs & DVDs when I was like. 8 🥲
