WordClerks

Do you still remember the pre sms days?



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Do you still remember the pre sms days?

SMS or Short Messaging Service was developed in the mid 80's as a way to send short messages over vast distances using handheld devices which was then limited to voice calls.  In the mid 90's SMS was already a part of our lives.  It's an easy, fast and cheap way of communicating over a distance.  

But remembering the old days in the 80's up to mid 90's when sms wasn't available yet in my country and mobile phones weren't that mainstream yet.  Pagers or Beepers along with public phone booths are the most used technology during those days.  Bu not until '93 before that there was only private phone lines, public phone booths, and well the Telegram which takes ages for your message to get delivered. 

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Martinsx1
Seriously, I can't ever forget when technology was in its crude form in the world because I really had a fair share of my own difficulty in trying to pass messages across to my father.

I stopped living with my father at the age of 10 years and it was only through the postal service that I send letters to him which takes more than 2 weeks before it gets to him. It was horrible back then, I'm really happy for technology advancement in the world today.



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Chinet23
How can I forget those times? I still have the letters with me from 20 years ago. I bet that a number of stationery companies shut down because we rarely send letters now.

I can remember how awkward if felt when I left messages to a beeper before through an operator. And yes how long it took for us to receive letters. Telegrams were the faster option but it was costly then and for limited letters or characters. There was also some instances of letters getting lost in the post.



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Martinsx1
Technology advancement comes with its price and it's what stationery companies suffered in the process. Yes, the stationery companies helped to pass information for us but the better system came around and we have to switch to the more finesse option.

You are absolutely correct with that assertion on some letters getting lost in the process of getting it delivered. I have had more than 3 letters that got lost and I have no option but to write and post again.



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RhealaineS
Definitely! There are times when I really miss those good old times. When the world is less technology-dependent and people are happy living a simple life. Innovations made our life convenient but it also add complications in our life.



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Kakashi2020
True, I also miss being tech free. In those days people communicate by talking to each other and not by texting. Also people talk to each other longer and more often in the past unlike nowadays.



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fishbate
I have heard about beepers but unfortunately i never had one of those. SMS was the hype of technology back then because it was so advance on those days and communication was turning into digital. I remember when i got my first phone, i was so amazed with the technology. I also thought it was the birth of mobile gaming (the snake thing on Nokia phones)



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ballyhara
Oh this gave me flashbacks... indeed! I was really into the snake game in Nokia phones, I even tried to get newer models of them, so I could have the newer version of the game hahaha. And I totally feel you, because my first cell phone was like the best thing from the future to me, I even was a hero due to be the first one in my classroom with a cell phone, our bus got stuck in the middle of a road on a school trip, and I could text road services, emergency, and my parents... that was like... you saved us! hahahahaha.



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mark8625
I used to play snake game in my 5110 nokia way back before. It was nice game. I havent realized that snake game became updated now. I saw snake games now and it is upgraded into different and more exciting game. Still fun to play it.



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superlicca
I also played the snake game and even bantumi. There was also another fighting game in Nokia that I forgot the name. But these three games were great! They were simple but fun to play. When I compare these games with the games today, I can say that it really changed a lot. I really miss the old days.



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mark8625
So do I, I miss the old games. Things today has really improved. It became more hi-tech and very high quality features. The games itself became very addicted to the young generations. I wish there are some restrictions about playing games. This is for those students that became very addicted playing it so that they will concentrate in their studies.



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lei08pineda
Your comment reminded me of the day when I got my first phone too. Like you, I was so amazed and I can never stop browsing the phone even if we can do only fewer things unlike with our mobile phones nowadays. The snake game really got me addicted too.



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mark8625
That is right. Snake game was so addicted to play way back before. I used my 5110 Nokia when I was in high school and funny thing only few people in the school has a mobile phone. My classmates were borrowing my phone because they wanted to experience how it works.



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Martinsx1
Exactly the same experience with me. I actually saw someone up close who used a pager. The men was some sort of old school back then I attended one national conference and it was where I was fortunate to meet the man. I have seen a lot of movies where pagers were used and it looks funny but it's a good tech.



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NesMarcos
Who will ever forget the Telegrams, beepers, Motorola big phones, and even stationeries as means of communication when SMS wasn't available and mobile phones were not innovative yet?

I still remember my teenage years when I was writing for someone special in my heart using stationaries with its mild scent. It took me a week before I finished my letter because I wanted my penmanship to look good so whenever I have a mistake in spelling, I needed to start over and over again. When my dad gave me my first ever beeper, I was so happy. However, it felt really awkward when someone beeps me because the beep tone was so loud! As time passed by, the innovation of gadgets and communication have changed drastically and I can say that it has too many pros and cons to humankind.



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lei08pineda
During my elementary days, I used to write in stanoneries too. Me and my friends exchange letters even if we get to see each other at school. And I remembered getting lots of letters in a week.

For beepers, well I don't own a beeper but my stepfather does. It realy sounds loud and messages are needed o be transmitted from cutomer service.



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NesMarcos
I still remember the feeling how cheesy it was receiving letters from your classmates though you are two seats apart. My classmates and I used to go to a stationery shop nearby the school every Friday and spend our weekly allowance savings to buy different shapes and scents of stationeries. It's really good to remember our teenage days!



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lei08pineda
Yeah, those days are good to remember. Scented and different shapes of stationeries are my collections those times too. I wanted to have a lot of them so I go to different stores to find something unique and cute. I also spend a lot of my allowance in stationeries. Hahaha



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edencaga
Me too! Since there were no cellphones yet, writing letters is what we use to deliver some message to someone. I remember I made a letter for my crush but I did not give it to him as I am very shy to do that and I was so young at that time so I just kept the letter but my bestfriend saw my letter from my bag and she even read it infront of my crush and I am totally blushed and wanted to run but no where to hide. Thank God it was almost summer and our exam were all finished and I've got the chance to transfer to the other section since I am the first honor so I got transferred to section A from section K. I was in the section K at that time because I was a transferee.



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lei08pineda
It was really nice to reminisce those days. It was fun writing letters in cute designed stationeries. I got caught once too. My mother saw one of the letters that I received, it was from my suitor. My mother teased me until I got annoyed and I even cried.hahaha. I also remembered buying "autograph book". Me and my classmates and friends from other section and other grade level exchange autograph books. We wrote something in their, and answer some questions. It was fun.



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edencaga
Yeah! When our parents used to teased us about crushes or suitors, we tend to cry. Maybe we were just too shy that they found out the truth at that time. Oh my gosh! We did that too! I am not fond of buying autograph books but there was someone who gave me a gift about that so I used it and I let my classmates and crushes signed my autograph book. They never knew that I have a crush on them since I am not that obvious when liking someone so I let them signed up and after that I got to read and knew their information about favorite food, color,etc and crushes too. Sometimes it can hurt you because you will know who their crush is. Yeah you are right! It was totally fun. My classmates and other batchmates did that too when we were in highschool. From the question " Who is your crush?" I just wrote asterisk and underscore for them not to know. Sometime I gave them weird names like for example "Mr. Milk" or "Mr. Anchor". They will never know that.



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NesMarcos
It is really fun remembering the past and most specially our teenage years. From a simple stationery where we used to write things to our friends, classmates and even special someone then we also had autograph books or some teenagers call it slambook. It was indeed fun answering the questions from the slambook in our younger years and it truly gives us a wonderful feeling of the past.



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Chinet23
Right. Those stationeries had scents and usually they came with envelopes. The good thing about writing back then is that there's a personal touch to it because it's handwritten and the words we used were well thought of.



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NesMarcos
Absolutely! In my country, there are very small balls like called 'kisses.' It has different colors and smells really great, a bit sweet and very refreshing. The scent of stationeries is like the 'kisses.' Whenever I smell my kids' kisses, it reminds me of the time pre-sms days exist and how powerful writing letters is, to express our ideas and feelings freely.



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Chinet23
Nowadays, kids will not have any idea what stationeries are. They were raised on a paper less communication. Although our means of communication back then are outdated and can actually seem funny, the kids today will not get to experience the sentimental values we had on those letters.



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NesMarcos
This is absolutely right! Most kids nowadays do not know what stationery is because they were born enjoying the benefit of electronic gadgets where communication is easier and less hassle.



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edencaga
You are right! Technology is growing so kids tend to be more techie now and they don't know our old traditional letters we used before such as scented stationeries. They maybe have an idea but they will never feel how wonderful it is to experience traditional ways of giving letters. Yeah it seems funny but the sentimental value was there that we can treasure and it gives nostalgic memories til we get old.



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edencaga
Yes!, you are certainly right. Its not only about personal touch but also it gives us memories to treasure with. It serves as their remembrance and its interesting to keep this kind of things such as letters as when you grow older, sometimes you will forgotten that there were things you kept for a long time. It's a wonderful feeling when you see those nostalgic memories thru those letters.



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NesMarcos
I would have to agree with you on this. A feeling that is truly wonderful because of remembering the past. Memories are indeed one of the best tools in remembering how wonderful our childhood was though gadgets were not that visible much.



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Chinet23
Good thing I was able to keep my old letter from 20years ago. Nothing really beats the nostalgic feeling of that trip down the memory lane. It brings so much memories from long ago.



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edencaga
Yeah! me too. I still have those letters from my bestfriends. it was 12 years then when I received it from them. I also had a friends from province who gave me some messages for my birthday. They put those handwritten messages in a big paper and they designed it with folded hearts where they wrote their messages for me. There were many of them who wrote it. They even put a perfume to make it as scented letters. Unfortunately I wasn't able to brought it here when we transfer here in city but still lucky as I still have those pictures from my birthday when they held the big paper with their messages. Those things are very precious.



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superlicca
I remember stationeries and I used to have a lot of them. They were one of my collections when I was a kid. Motorola was the first phone of my mom and I remember how big it was during the 90's. Before, the bigger phone that you have, the better and the more cool image that you can get. But now, slimmer phones are in.



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NesMarcos
Memories are really really coming in. I strongly agree with 'the bigger phone that you have, the better and the more cool image that you can get.' My dad's first phone was Motorola, too! It looked nice and stylish though it was plain black. Also, I still remember how expensive phone load was in the 90's. All loads were available in cards with the denomination, 250, 500 and 1000. There were no freebies and promos so you really would have to spend much.



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edencaga
I also remember that! I was still in Grade one when I discovered that my father had a phone which was a Nokia brand. It was as big as telephone and it has antennae located at the right side I think. You have to pull out the one with cylinder and found out that antennae was located there. Yes, you still have to buy cards for you to load your phone.



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NesMarcos
Haha indeed, that antenna is truly a big part of the 'big phoned.' I still remember when my sister and I bought Motorola phones and since cartoon characters were very popular among teenagers, we bought something to put on our phone's antennas. Mine was Bugs Bunny and hers was Tasmanian devil.



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edencaga
I have not remembered putting some characters in antennae at that time as my parents were using the brand new Nokia 3310. The one I saw was the old one and was already broken and maybe I was so busy playing with blare blades or the lighting yoyo at that time. What I have remember was the Jollibee's kiddy meal which was a walkie talkie. My parents bought Jollibee walkie talkie and the one with a hamburger hat man. We even had stars walkie talkie, it had also antennae ,I totally missed my childhood.



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superlicca
That is right. Loads can be purchased through cards. I think until now, some stores sell prepaid cards. I am not sure if the load has an expiration date but as far as I remember, it can last for one month.



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NesMarcos
I would have to agree with you that the load cards lasts for one month. Also, we needed to spend much before for cellphone loads unlike today. There are a lot of promos and free ies that the mobile companies give nowadays.



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mark8625
I used to write love letters when using stationery when I was in high school. Sadly that the student today did not experienced it. They are using mobile phones for communications to their crushes and puppy love. I liked before because you exerted effort in writing letters and handed it to your love once. I never tried to use beeper. I used old mobile phones when I was studying.



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Youngshark
This throwback is always a humorous one to me. I can recall those days in my country to get a message to the rural areas was very tricky.

Since there were no postal services to the reserves you had to wait until a relative or friend was headed there to give them a letter so thst they can deliver to someone.



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Chinet23
That's even harder if no postal services were available in your area and that letters were hand carried. It was every inconvenient then during that time and could be troublesome I guess but I can't help but find it funny too.

The other thing I remember was the voiced tape. My father used to work abroad, aside from letters sent thru post, he also sent voiced tapes. This is a voice recording of the message in a cassette tape. I don't know if there's anyone else here who's familiar with it.



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NesMarcos
I would have to agree with you. Technology made our lives lighter, easier and better especially when it comes to communication. Communication with the help of the new technology has a lot to offer. We have the fax, call,text, chat and email.



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Steve5
Yes, I do. Honestly, I have a feeling of nostalgia for those days. While I think that technological advancement has improved our lives in many ways, I can't say the same when it comes to communication.

Yes, sending and receiving messages now is much faster and more efficient. But with it comes the lack of effort and quality when it comes to writing them. Anything instant is sure to be disappointing. What I loved about handwritten letters was their honesty and sense of love.

It's so much more valuable to know that someone took the time to write you a letter and think about their words carefully. That feeling you get when you're excited to receive someone's letter. To know that they too feel the same when they receive your replies.

But now everything's easy. Faster doesn't always mean better. We don't feel the same emotions we get from receiving letters with instant SMS and chat messages.



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fishbate
Yeah value is what makes the written messages much more fun those days. The effort of making one letter is really unforgettable specially when its for a love one or for a family. It's when you feel the words on those letters.



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Steve5
I think many of us still have that thing where we keep our beloved letters. They just bear so much authenticity and sentimental value to let go. And it's a testament to the love and friendship we shared with our friends and families.



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mark8625
I dont know such thing as pre sms. I know telegram and beepers. But anyway since many people knew thing thing I believe that this was popular way back 80s and very useful I supposed. Beepers was like a text messaging device that could able to connect you from your family and friends. I never had beepers. I saw some people actually celebrity used that device. Funny thing that during that time there had a mobile phones also but no texting services only voice calls. When beeper became popular,new mobile phones were launched and this has voice and call services.



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Kakashi2020
I remember my grade school days, we had a phone booth in school it's called a Triphone and I used to call home using it during my break time and I'll insert some coins for a call of 3 minutes. There's really no way to instantly communicate then, unlike today everyone has smartphones.



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amelia88
Gosh, I was a teenager when SMS was just coming out, so it's crazy to think of the time before they existed. I do think there was something nice in a way about those days though - these days you can be contacted at any minute of any day, and back then it was a lot easier to just chill out and disconnect from stress, I think.



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Steve5
You have a nice point. I like connecting with people. I'm sure we all do. But there comes a time when we need some "me" time. That part of the day where you get to recollect and reflect on stuff that's happened.

Latest gadgets prevents us from doing so. And so we end up feeling stressed, as you said.



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amelia88
Yup! So many of us end up checking our phones the very minute we wake up and right before we go to sleep as well - so it’s something that rules many of our lives!



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Steve5
I feel like it's people who make or break inventions. We usually end up ruining the creator's original intended use. It's really up to us on how to use them properly. Too much of anything is bad for us. So let's just disconnect every now and then.

It's really that simple. But what's not simple is our instant addiction to their algorithms. App creators actually have psychology experts devise ways on how to keep us hooked and dependent on our devices. Realizing that is the first step towards freedom.



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amelia88
Reminds me of this post I've seen on the internet quite a bit...

Do you still remember the pre sms days?



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Steve5
Wow! That's a sharp point. Even Einstein himself predicted the very nature of what once was a possible future. Now it's our reality. To think that he said that.

I wonder if people would agree to being called "idiots" knowing it came from the man himself. They probably would.



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amelia88
It's just so sad when you see people out at restaurants and they're not even paying attention to the people around them, they're all just on their phones. It's like a zombie apocalypse, but the zombies are actually humans that are too obsessed with their phones!



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Steve5
It reminds me of a show like "Black Mirror." There's actually a dark side to technology. It doesn't have to be shocking for it to be really bad.

The truth about how we live our lives today is in front of us. Our own creations made us slaves to this form of "innovation."



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amelia88
I've actually tried to be more intentional with my device usage. I block off periods of time where I just don't have my phone with me, and first it was really hard to do - it's like an addiction! Eventually it gets easier though. I think everyone should try and create some space between themselves and their device from time to time.



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Steve5
I agree. It's nice to know that you're actively monitoring your device usage. We shouldn't get lost in the apps and internet of our mobile phones.

This is why I feel nostalgic about the Nokia days. While they seem prehistoric in terms of technology, I believe that they had the perfect balance between functionality and simplicity.

They allowed us to connect with each other in essential ways like calling and texting.

But they're no where near as distracting and obsessive as smartphones.



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amelia88
Oh yes, I loved my Nokia (a Nokia was my first phone, actually). They were so resilient, the batteries lasted for days and days, and the most distracting thing on there was a game of Snake! Nothing too time consuming/obsessive!



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Steve5
I know, right? It's very simple. Just the necessary capabilities for long distance communication without all the apps. Also, they were extremely sturdy. I remember how these phones would survive multiple drops and not have a scratch on them.

And even if you threw it on the wall, it will only disassemble. But after you put it back together, it will still work. How awesome is that?



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mark8625
That is perfectly true. Even at home people almost not talking. They are both busy doing something in their mobile phones. That is the disadvantage of having a hi-tech world.



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amelia88
That really is sad! I have heard of families who put a rule in place of no phones at the dinner table and I think that's so important! It's sad when families are together for a short period of time in the day (with work, school and other commitments interrupting that) and then they are still just using their phones!



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fishbate
You got a point there, i have experienced someone calling me late at night just because they are asking about a report i did at work. I think this is one of the disadvantage of the technology, it's being used by people who take advantage of the situation.



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amelia88
It can be both a blessing and a curse to be so easily accessible. For some things, it's really handy, but for other things it just feels like your personal life is being invaded - especially when it's work related calls/emails at any hour of the day!



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Steve5
I know what you mean. I think we prefer receiving stuff that's pertinent to our social life. We're not looking forward to any business related stuff after working hours.



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Chinet23
Agree. Like a double-edged sword, it has advantages and disadvantages. The advent of technology made it convenient for people to get in touch at anytime. Depending on the purpose, it's not always desirable.



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Youngshark
The phone booths ha! Man those were the difficult times. You do not even want to remember the instances that the coin jammed or when you had to add more because the previous one refused to work completely.



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amelia88
Where I live there are only a handful of phone booths still in operation these days, but when I was a teenager they were still pretty prevalent. A lot has changed over the last 20 years or so.



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Youngshark
Even at my place they were few. You had to queue just to make a call. At times the line would get too long and if the message was urgent yhen you would pretty much be doomed.



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treecko142
I was born in 93, so there was already SMS when I was growing up but not everyone was using it, I remember the feeling of awe when one of my classmates brought their cellphone in class. There was still phone booths almost everywhere back then, I remember using them to call my parents when classes are suspended due to the weather.



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jaymish3
I do. Those were horrible days. I remember the days of the house phone. Where your phone would ring and you would have to pick it up. I found this an invasion of privacy. Unless you switched off the ringer or didn't pick up your phone, when someone rang you would have to pick up and talk to them. I like Sms because you don't invade people's space. They can answer you at their own time, if they want to.



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Corzhens
We had the pager in 1994 for use in our business because we had no landline yet. There's a clause in acquiring the pager that we had to buy some shares of stocks of the company. And so we did in order to have the pager. Unfortunately, the cellular phone came out after a year and texting became very popular in 1996. That's 2 years on the life of the pager which was junked in favor of the cell phone. Adding insult to injury, the value of the company's stock tumbled down to almost zero.



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DenisP
Well I definitely remember the days before modern texting at least. When I was growing up, only rich people had the first cellphones, and those were still those huge bricks that probably gave you brain tumors.

I remember the initial, primitive stages of text messaging when it comes to pagers and beepers. I never owned one myself, but you couldn’t watch a 90’s movie or television show that didn’t have one. Not to mention they had containers for gum and other candy in the shape of beepers.

I'm amazed with how quickly the technology took off though. Within a decade we went from giant brick phones to pocket sized flip phones, and in another half decade we already had the first smart phones. The mobile phone industry took off like a rocket.



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fishbate
Lol, i had my first brick phone and it was an analog phone. If i remember it right it was a nokia phone and it was huge. Back then you need to have a call card where you have to call the service center first before they can patch you to whom you want to call. It was like a beeper but with style...

It's good that improvement's where fast in fact it is too fast that phone technology is like wearing a shirt.



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aeon
There was a drop call also and it was popular in our country during that time. It's looks like an installment call, you only have a sec. to call and you need just one word and then end the call to avoid the fees. That was so funny while doing the drop call.



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Chinet23
So many people took advantage of dropped calls during those times. It's like you were tricking the system so that you will not be charged. The young ones today will find that very funny I supposed and tag it as epic. I'm not sure if that still works today but who would attempt it if they can get free calls in messenger anyway.



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aeon
Yeah, it was really funny to remember that. The load was so expensive before and during the dropped call, Cell phone was not really popular, and I think beeper was more popular during that time, and I remember whey you bought the sim card, it was placed in a hard box, metal most of the time. LOL.



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MomoStarr16
Of course. I am part of that time when SMS are the hottest and coolest mode of chatting or communicating with your crushes or love ones. Miss those days.



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edencaga
I remember the only thing I can do that time was snake and sudoku since texting sms was not my thing and I am still in elementary at that time. Sometimes I composed ringtones like twinkle twinkle and other ringtones. Those were things I remember before the modern technology strike.



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fishbate
Yeah i also remember that time when i have to sit down with my phone and try to create a ringtone. I guess everything back then was quite unique and interesting. Now its just a thing in the past, i am just lucky that i was able to experience it on its prime days.



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edencaga
Indeed! Same for me as well, to experience those things was a treasure. I will really cherish those moments, those times when there were no high technology computers and cellphones. Instead of those things the only way you can do at that time was to play outside and communicate with your friends. When its raining, kids got to play outside under the rain. I really missed my childhood days.



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Chinet23
People today especially the younger generation have it easy as compared to before but they are missing out on a lot of things that are more valuable. They are more confined to their homes because of this technology and even this is the case, it doesn't completely safeguard them from the danger from the outside world.



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edencaga
Yes you are right. In our generations, we have given a chance to be a kid. What I mean is we experience how we enjoy our life before since we were more actively playful such as playing traditional games.



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Chinet23
Many children are so hooked on online video games and communicate with the same community of gamers. They are so fast-tracked that they lose the basics which are far more valuable.



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Steve5
I think our nostalgia for those days is valid. We enjoyed the simplicity of good technology. In a way, it was actually balanced with practical use and living life outside of it.

But now it's prone to overuse and has even become the root cause of our stress in everyday life. That's why I'm excited to see how well Nokia battles the tech giants like Apple.



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edencaga
Yes, I agree with you. We were contented with our simple life before. Even if there was no facebook or youtube before, we managed to enjoy ourselves by playing traditional games or just watching cartoons when done playing outside. What I also like before was the sending of letters for some one you admire. It might be harder and can took long days before you receive the letter but the patience and romance was there.



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Marako0406
I still can remember how I used to write to my cousins way back when I was a kid and exchanging letters. I even had experience using a pager just to contact some family members. it's really amazing at that time that the world was able to adapt and be introduced to a technology such as cellphones with antennas like the one on Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia. I was really excited to have my first cellphone when I was in freshmen high. Now people can't stop but always hold their smartphones whenever, wherever and whatever they are doing and that sucks being anti-social just to know the latest trends and stuff that's really not important at all.



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treecko142
Yeah, I also used to write letters to my dad who was overseas, we had a new computer so I would try to write a letter and add various clipart of animals and I thought those were so cool, lol.



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mdayrit
Before the technology of SMS, me and my friends spends time writing to each other talking about everything that happened whenever we are not together. Then, me and my friends discovered using the telephone instead. We would talk for hours and would just take a break when we need to eat or do something. I did not pass the stage of owning a pager/ beeper. But since my friend has one, I enjoyed sending her messages even not so important ones. I was granted to use a mobile phone (analog) when I was starting college. I would only use it for important calls because my parents are still the one paying it and they are monitoring my calls. I would end up still using the telephone to connect with friends.



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Steve5
That sounds nice. I feel like you had a great time communicating with your friends. I also remember a time when I got to call my friends. It was a fun memory. But now everything's instant like chat messages and such.

I feel like the convenience has somehow diluted the quality of our written and spoken communication. I hope we see more meaningful conversations like the ones we had before everything got "upgraded."



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mdayrit
I agree. While I was writing my post above I suddenly realized that even though we have lots of access to technologies and ways to communicate to people right now, it seems like I do not have the same quality of conversation as well as the frequency of communicating has lessened. Then I thought, might be because we would see updates of their lives on social media that we do not ask each other anymore or maybe it's just part of growing up that we tend to get too busy to have that long conversations like what we used to have before.



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Steve5
I so feel you what you mean. I think it's more about the fact that everything's become way too convenient. It's like with food. Anything instant is likely not good for you.

Another example is Romance stories. If there's no conflict or anything standing in the way of couples getting together, then there's no excitement. No purpose at all.

The same applies for human interaction and communication. The easier it becomes, the less likely we are to find meaning in it.

Writing letters means taking the time to write something special and meaningful. It's something both the sender and receiver look forward to.

Compare letters to chat and text messages.

Not only has the meaning diminished by the medium of communication. The message quality has also deteriorated by the frequent use of emojis and shortcut spellings.



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Chinet23
I can definitely relate to this because my friends and I usually exchanged letters even though we saw each other each day. Letters are really well thought of and sincere. Long letters exchanged through posts are even more memorable because of the anticipation and excitement of receiving letters and hearing from friends and loved ones from afar. Waiting was worth it except of course it was bad news.

And I agree that since communication was made easy we put less value to it. Unlike in letters where we normally pour out our feelings.



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Steve5
It's the great mystery of life. The stuff we work hard for is worth the time and effort. The same goes with heartfelt letters.

Also, chat just bogs down our conversations. It's too unreliable and often plain awful. Unless both parties are committed to the conversation, it will feel aimless.

Like a bad joke with no punchline.

It's like with eating our favorite meals. If we have it all the time, eventually we'll get sick of it. So if you're always chatting with your friends, it makes the conversations somewhat less meaningful.

Anticipation plays a huge role in making memorable moments. If you only get a few times a year to communicate, then those rare moments always feel special.



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Chinet23
I like all the analogies that you put in there. That's really true. I wonder why more people feel alone and on the brink of depression despite of our easy access to communication. Could it be because it had become superficial and less sincere?



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Steve5
Thanks so much. And I'd have to agree. It has become superficial. But the fact that it's convenient is what ruins it.

I think humans want something they have to work hard for. It sounds kind of dumb, but that's how most people are.

Imagine how if something's free people rarely notice it unless it's expensive or something they personally want.

Now imagine if something just as insignificant but one of a kind is put in an auction. People would lose their minds and their money just fighting over it.

We value things that are rare and hard to find. And if you think about it, the previous eras have so much nostalgia because of the lack of convenience.



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stbrians
You remind me of those long time days when booths used to swallow coins without connecting you. A call took long to connect. Telegrams took too lo long to deliver. We also wrote letters which took ages to reach their destiny.



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TheArticulate
I barely remember pre-SMS days. I didn't have a cell phone until high school, and texting was just becoming a regular thing around that time. By the time I was a sophomore or junior in high school, it was a regular form of communication as was Facebook. Really interesting times! It's crazy to think back on it and remember how quickly technology changed along with forms of communication.



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trixari
SMS was already available when I was born but I remember those days when I'd phone my friends just to ask what they're eating for dinner or what channel they're watching. I spent my childhood writing friendly letters to my friends and even to my neighbors. Especially on Christmas season I loved writing letters to people I loved. I remember writing more than 10 letters in just one night. I would compare my handwriting in the first letter to the last letter to see if it changed and guess what? It did! I felt sorry for the last person I wrote letter to that night. I remember one of our neighbors went to our house and gave us some pizza because I wrote to her and told her my mom wouldn't let me eat pizza haha! Oh how I miss those days!



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jennyfermanuel
I was born in 90's. So I don't have any idea how Beepers and Pages work actually. But it is nice to know people who were able to have those kind of devices, and them witnessing how technology improves day by day. I am familiar with telegram anyway, and it's kinda funny to know that it will take ages until you receive the mail. I remember my mother explained to me how it works. She said yes it will take time to receive it, and funny is that the sender needs to be aware of how many words are allowed for you to use. So just imagine you reading a sentence that lacks some words and you just have to think clearly and use your common sense to understand what the sender needs you to know Do you still remember the pre sms days?



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graciemary
Wow those were the days when finding a textmate is so fun. I remember when I got my first phone and i was so excited to use it. If you don't have cellphone before, that means you're not in. I have a crush on college years and he became my textmate. Everyday i'm holding my phone as if i can't live without it because of waiting for the text messages. Even the ringtones and games of the 3315 Nokia is fun to use. Right now, most people use Android phone but there are still some cellphone models that consist of embossed keypad and it's safer to use and bring anywhere because no one will snatch it.



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coolavender
Long distance relationships were harder to manage back in those pre-SMS days. Communication was more expensive and landlines were not that common specially in the countryside. Most people relied on snail mails and telegrams to send their message across. I stayed with my grannies when I was younger and we were separated from my parents and siblings by approximately 8 hours of land travel. We hardly communicated with each other for most of the school year and we only got together during summer vacations. Freedom? Some find SMS and social media to be too intrusive but in general, technology has impacted the way we manage relationships for the better. On the lighter side, I used to binge watch Korean sageuk dramas and I'm often amused at scenes in which a single SMS, if that was available then, would have reversed the result of a war or battle and changed the course of history!



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superlicca
I will never forget the pre sms days. I am one of the 90's kids that is why pagers or beepers had been part of my life. I did not own these devices but my parents used to. Although I never had one, my mom gave the knowledge of how these devices work. Communication before was very simple yet so effective. And it is really amazing how our communication evolves in different ways.



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Zelmontero
I'm not very very familiar with this medium of communication but I find them interesting. Truly, technology is growing so fast. The most updated gadget right now maybe not the latest gadget tomorrow. We are changing phones every year and many phone may not be available in the market after one year.



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rlpzbeermoney
I didn't get to experience the pre SMS days. I was also behind the actual SMS days as I didn't get a phone until recently. Nowadays, people don't really use SMS. It's more internet messaging now. Good to know that technology is evolving.



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Kakashi2020
The 80's was pretty slow paced compared to the present. Communication was only made through landlines and if you want to send messages then you have to send a letter and it takes 24 hours for the recipient to receive it. All meetings are set days and even weeks ahead of schedule.



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Kakashi2020
I still remember the pre sms days when there's no mobile phones and pagers yet to interrupt conversations. I and my friends would spend time physically chatting with each other unlike now, everyone has a phone



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jeffreyjose48
Yes! Life is not easy during that time. Today its easier because of smartphones. Before writing and sending mails takes time. Communication is very hard. Thanks to new technology. Now its so easy to communicate to your friends and loved ones through the use of smartphones.



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Kakashi2020
One thing that I remember during the pre sms days was movies and TV series. Back then there where no devices to access movies and you have to either watch it in the big screen or wait until it was shown on TV or rent a VHS tape. Nowadays all you need is a handheld device to watch what you want.



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mitan143
Unfortuntely, I was born in the generation that mobile phones was already a tool that time in delivering a message to somebody. Though we also had tackled about the old devices like beepers in school back then. But the version of the mobile phone that time isn't t the touch screen yet so it is still hard to text somebody and you can't even send them long messages in one delivery.



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romyter013
I remembered the pager days. You are so popular if you have this from early 90's. My dad used to have this for his work and my sister got this from her boyfriend. But it never got my interest maybe because its so hassle for me to used it. What irritates me was when my sister wants to send her message and she wants me to do the calling to the operator for her messages. I have no choice or I cannot borrow her DKNY bag haha. So glad we have smart phone now!



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HappyLady
I remember getting a pager when I first started work long after my kids were at school. I don't thing we ever really managed to get our heads round using them and then I got two mobile phones on some deal and spent a lot of time paying enormous phone bills because I made the mistake of letting my teenage daughter use one. There was no anytime calling for the same price in the dark ages of phone technology. I could not do what my Father did and get a lock for the telephone!



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jaymish3
Smart phones are definitely better. They are less intrusive. The pager and house phone days were a pain. When I want to speak to someone I use SMS or WhatsApp. I find this less intrusive. I hate speaking on the phone especially when I'm busy doing something. I think with SMS you can answer when you want and don't have to intercept what you are doing to talk to someone. It is also a cheaper way of communicating to a large group of people because you can forward them one message instead of calling everyone.



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EfficientNinja
It's sad that I can't relate to this. Do you still remember the pre sms days?

When I came to this world I think there are already cell phones that are rampant. I guess it's still the early stages of cell phones back when I was in primary school and Nokia was still the king. I think it is hard to let if someone you want to contact is very far, especially overseas.



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Aeolos
We used to go to town to call my sister who work abroad during those times. Letters are also sent every month. We never had a beeper. My mother always make me ride my bike to relay messages to my aunt who lives in the other street. It was a very difficult times and a very tiring for me. I am just very thankful for these technology we use nowadays.



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jayjaydimson
Yes, I do still and I'm still using it especially when the person that I am messaging is not connected on the Internet.



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MomoStarr16
How will I ever forget those days when I was into courting lots of girls. It was so nostalgic. Imagining we are happy sending simple text messages and we already think that it was so high tech. If you compare that sending messages from what we have today it is just like a simple way of sending messages. But back at that time it looks cool.



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romyter013
I remembered my brother when he got his first cellphone and it was so huge. That even looks like an old ice scraper we used for halo halo(Filipino Dessert). The antenna that you need to pull up to get signal for your phone call was really funny. I believe the brand was Bosch Cartel. I'm actually laughing right now, I just recalled how heavy that cellphone was back then haha.



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Kakashi2020
One disadvantage of today's modern Telecoms technology is that when you've got a lot of friends and family, your mobile keeps on ringing more so if you're online and into social media.

I remember the pre sms days as a much quieter time in my life. I got to enjoy peace and quiet on a daily basis. I need to see and meet people physically to talk to them although at nights I tend to use our landline for hours but during the day time when I'm out or in school it was relatively peaceful.



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jpk0007
Yes I do remember the pre sms days very fondly. I have still preserved some of my most beautiful memories in the form of some amazing letters exchanged between me and my friends and family. Although I am not opposed to new technology I still yearn for the days when we used to exchange letters to express all our thoughts.



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HappyLady
Ha! I remember when the only phone around was a big black thing in the hall with a dial on and you wrote letters and very occassionally sent a telegram. I wrote a thesis by hand and had to pay to get it typed and bound. There was black and white T.V and eventually colour and you looked things up in a dictionary or encyclopedia and all of this was not that long ago. I watched on the black and white T.V as the first man stepped onto the moon. In fact there were few supermarkets and my dad had one of the only cars in the street. I am not that old, but can remember inkwells at school and even dip pens. The nearest we got to technology was a primitive robot and a good wrist watch.

We survived, then we discovered computers, the Internet, mobile phones and messengers and sent texts galore and filled the world with information in cyberspace and zillions and zillions orf usually pointless emails.



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sonnyisabeast
I wonder if people still use landlines as often as we did in my younger years. I used to fight a lot with my sisters because we all want to use the phone, and there's just one in the house. Features and upgrades back then were call waiting and conferencing, if your phone has those, it's like you got the new iPhone! Then we went crazy when our dad bought a cordless phone, we can talk to our friends in the bedroom, what a mindblower back then! Who knew all phones would be just like that in a few decades.



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mhingnhormz
Do you still remember the pre sms day: I did some research then I found out it started during mid's 80, which I didn't witnessed nor experience. Because I was born at the early 90's. The only communication during that time was thru the post office, sending letter. Which the receiver mau received it almost 15days. Later on, mobile phones invented that makes the communication much easier.



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