Slightly older nerdy folks- What did you do to socialize prior to the internet?
And what was considered nerdy back in old-timey times? Was being into CB radio nerdy? What was nerd culture like?
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The senior center. Bingo. Doctors offices. Dennys. The library.
What, exactly does “slightly older” mean?
I am 53.5….and aside from the occasional rare bird, I do what all bright and eccentric nerdy people do. Suffer through dull and uninteresting others and crack myself up when the meat bees attack my old lady neighbors sandwich and she yells into the phone at recorded telemarketers to ” get off my TV.” lol
I left it open to interpretation @Coloma on purpose. I hoped that, persons who had a hobby, and, prior to the internet, struggled to find other enthusiasts local to them, might self identify.
@Imadethisupwithnoforethought I’m feeling sardonically pissy tonight, but prior to the internet I was involved in many interesting activities from wildlife rehab to raising Japanese game cocks to studying archaic medical practices. I am quite diverse in my interests. haha
I am never at a loss for amusing myself. Like minded others or otherwise.
I use to host/attend club meetings, did volunteer work for a teen group, manned a craft booth at charity fairs and auctions and did volunteer work for various political candidates.
I never considered myself or the ways I socialized “nerdy” before 0’s and 1’ took over our culture. I was never a bar hopper, but I dated; went to parties, picnics, meetings and other social gatherings; took co-workers to lunch; invited friends to my home; talked a lot on the telephone—in short, I actually talked to people’s faces rather than via email, IM, Skype, Facebook or Twitter.
My grandmother took painting classes at community college
@Pachyderm_In_The_Room I am confused. You didn’t mention what hobby was nerdy nor how you engaged in it socially. I am not asking for people to tell me how they have normal social skills, I assume most people do.
Did you have an esoteric hobby and how did you engage in it socially?
Don’t forget my goose fetish, and I also have a fetish for light bulbs and tree frogs. lol
Sorry—missed that. I guess the closest I got to a nerdy hobby was collecting Frank Sinatra albums and tapes.
@Pachyderm_In_The_Room NP.
Did you exchange live tapes with folks? Like a proto-youtube? I am being serious, I heard people used to do this.
Sure, @Coloma, as long as it’s My Way.
On a serious note, it’s Sinatra’s ‘40s and ‘50s stuff that forms the bulk of my very large collection.
Smoke signals.
They worked great if you could get your hands on the right stuff to make the smoke.
School, the mall, the roller rink….
I remember when I first got the Internet. It was AOL dial up. It was a long distance call and the phone bill was over 500 dollars. My dad almost hit the roof.
Bowling leagues
Card parties (especially pitch / setback tournaments)
High school sports and Little League
Book clubs
Cocktail parties
Street fairs
Block parties
Church socials
Square dances
I went to parties, met friends for dinner, attended lots of baseball games and chatted-up the people around me, volunteered, participated in political activism, and took classes for fun.
Guess what. I still do all of those things!
The internet has its charms, but it can’t replace life. I’d rather spend time with one flesh-and-blood person than devote that same time to 165 virtual friends.
So, why am I at Fluther, right now and at this moment? Because it’s 11:20 pm, and I’m
reading and typing while I watch some silly TV and unwind for bed.
@SadieMartinPaul Really, you are a pre-internet nerd? You don’t strike me as old enough.
@Imadethisupwithnoforethought “You don’t strike me as old enough.”
Why, thank you so much! It just so happens that tomorrow, September 18th, is my birthday. I’ll be 57-years-old.
I work hard on nutrition and fitness, and I get some help from A+ skincare products, Botox, fillers, and laser treatments. People usually guess that I’m about 15 years younger than my reality.
I also think young. I don’t see myself as someone who’s old enough to be someone’s grandmother.
The truth is, I’ve never been a nerd. But, I loved this question because it asked about socializing pre-internet v. online social websites.
@SadieMartinPaul Pfft. I refuse to accept you are as old as you claim. Argue with me as much as like or take it as a compliment and let it go :)
@Imadethisupwithnoforethought Ok. I’ll take your words as a compliment. I think you may have given me the best birthday gift ever. :-)
I was born in Providence, RI on September 18, 1956. I graduated from high school in 1974. During the years since then, life’s been pretty good to me.
@SadieMartinPaul It’s the avatar image. Most jellies that look like that aren’t a day over 3.
And yeah, Go Red Sox!
Lynch mobs
Cross burnings
Anti-war protests
@CWOTUS You’re a real wild man…sooo, do you have square dancing church socials after the lynchings?
Well, I’m 27, and I remember being a nerd before the Internet was commonly used among the unwashed masses. I didn’t have home Internet until after high school.
I played tabletop games. Magic: The Gathering, Yu-gi-oh!, Dungeons and Dragons… we sat around with Funyons, Mountain Dew, and PlayStation. We held fancy dress dinner parties with literary themes. (Edgar Allan Poe-tato pancakes, Ezra Pound cake…) We invented the after-school Anime club, where we watched grainy 10th generation VHS copies of Bubblegum Crisis and Mobile Suit Gundam.
You know. Normal stuff. That was totally worth being not cool for.
Before the Internet there were BBS’. And arcades.
We set in rocking chairs on the front porch fanning ourselves with fans made of palm leaves from Henning’s funeral parlor. Talked about the upcoming ice cream social or the 4th of July picnic; what we thought of Pastor Henry’s sermon last Sunday; the best way to mash potatoes. What’s a nerd?
I’m 54 and oddly enough it wasn’t so much different then today. We used to go to coffee shops and hang out. We played games with each other, albeit not on-line but actually together. You can’t beat a game of ding-dong ditch it, kick the can or twister. We played cards on Saturday’s over beers. We listened to music and drove cars as show pieces. We took art classes and swimming lessons and learned how to dance real dances. It was a good time back then. But, I would certainly miss the internet if it were to be gone tomorrow.
By playing the same video games and sharing tips and tricks.
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