What did Thais do before smart phones?

[Iamfalang]

all about age....

 

Smart phones happened when I was in my 30's.  I don't remember any boredom back then.

 

Television was key.

Land line phone calls, key.

Hanging out at a friend's house, probably watching TV.  

 

In Thailand, there were Internet Cafes for 10 baht an hour......that killed some time.

 

Internet and no smartphone is fine with me.....  I was in my 20's.......  

 

took WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to long for those nice pictures to load....... lol.  one line at a time.

 

AOL messenger.....

 

before the internet I was basically a kid and had a car...

 

Everyone's going to be slightly different......here, just more time with family.  well, more time talking to one's family I mean

 

 

[brianthainess]

22 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

If I wasn't staring at my smart phone, I would never have found this topic to read in the first place. 

 

And I would have to make conversation with my grandson who would completely ignore me because he is too busy staring at his smart phone.

 

And my wife would ignore me because she is currently in deep conversation with her son via her smart phone.

 

So I'm now going to put down my phone and go and talk to the dog who doesn't own a smart phone.....yet!

 

I was working on the car talking to the dog asking his opinion, then relized I was talking to myself, dog was long gone 100mt away he steals the nabghors kids toys and brings them to me. LOL

[Grusa]

7 hours ago, hmhthai said:

How incredibly true!

[SGD]

On 10/2/2022 at 12:11 PM, pomchop said:

well for one the bar girls sure seemed to spend a lot more time talking with you, some trying to learn English and more because they were bored and sometimes a farang could be funny..

 

..i used to just pull out a piece of paper with a few dozen thai words i was trying to learn and very quickly the gals would get curious to see what i was looking at and once they saw it often they would want to practice their English on me while i practiced my thai on them...good fun that i miss as now everyone is too busy putting up pics of what they ate for lunch.

Yeah, I miss those simpler times too.

 

I had identical twin sisters teach me Thai numbers, 1-10 but I could never remember which one was which.

[Adumbration]

They mostly sat around picking lice out of each other's hair.  At least until someone showed up with som tam.

[cheapcanuck]

What everyone in this world did. Stare straight ahead and not make eye contact with people.

[it is what it is]

 

tbh you could ask this question of the youth, and not so young, in most countries.

[geisha]

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But not in Thailand.

I am pretty sure mobile phones arrived here before Starbugs.

Probably, I can’t remember ! My first mobile that was any good was a Nokia that I bought in Phuket when the tsunami hit !  My family and friends were all freaking out about not knowing if I was alive, hurt or what. I went straight to DTAC which was miraculously open and took out  a proper package. 
i did have a fixed phone in my place as I was renting from an American/ Thai journalist, I also had a fax machine , tv and cassette player , was I posh ! But nothing was working due to the lines being down hence  the Nokia. I still get the shivers when I hear the typical Nokia ring !! 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, Speedhump said:

You obviously haven't been home many times in recent decades.... 

As few times as possible since early 90s.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 hours ago, Grusa said:

How incredibly true!

Brilliant and incredibly sad.

Many have sold their souls for technology, and got nothing worthwhile in return. This is surely the age of plastic people.

 

The great irony of course is that I'm communicating this by technology to people I've never met and never will meet, and by tomorrow my words will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

I try to balance my use of technology by having an actual life, but the dark side of the force is strong and I'm a weak mortal.

[SunsetT]

Thais are/were famous for what they call 'sanook' which I think means having a bit of banter; a laugh and a joke in all social interactions when working or whenever. The Irish call it 'the crack'. I think there is a lot less of that now that smart phones have arrived.. I love to sit and eat and drink in a Thai night market just watching the interactions between stallholders and with customers while their kids run around and play or sit behind doing their homework. Most come there everyday to sell and there there seems to be a real community spirit there.

[Paradise Pete]

Many generations have had questions like this. 

What did people do before smart phones?

What did people do before the internet?

What did people do before TV?

What did people do before radio?

What did people do before electricity?

etc.

One day it'll be ubiquitous augmented reality, then virtual reality, then the computers take over and keep inventing new forms of entertainment to pacify the meat-creatures.

????

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 10/5/2022 at 3:03 AM, Paradise Pete said:

Many generations have had questions like this. 

What did people do before smart phones?

What did people do before the internet?

What did people do before TV?

What did people do before radio?

What did people do before electricity?

etc.

One day it'll be ubiquitous augmented reality, then virtual reality, then the computers take over and keep inventing new forms of entertainment to pacify the meat-creatures.

????

 

Bring on the Matrix.

[kuma]

On 10/2/2022 at 5:54 PM, richard_smith237 said:

When the BTS first opened I recall people would read books...  most commonly ‘comic type’ books... 

 

Rather than the magazine type comics we are used to in the West, they are actual books... with story-board type layout. These are also very popular in Japan. 

 

 

I recall going to Au Bon Pain and reading the paper... Bangkok Post... The Nation and also BK Magazine and The BigChilli magazine (stocked in some areas). 

 

 

Exactly there was much more written material around to read, and <gasp> people actually would talk to each other as well. Struck up many an interesting conversation back in the day hiding under some roof waiting with others for the rain to pass...not so much anymore, everyone reaches for the crutch

[thaibeachlovers]

On 10/3/2022 at 5:31 PM, Walker88 said:

Real human interaction and social skills are declining due to the phone. The ability to write well and communicate is fading away due to texting. Maybe this is evolution, but the 'great connector' of phones and social media is leading to greater levels of loneliness and depression. Since leaving Oldavai Gorge humans have needed direct interaction. Giving it up to the phone has effects that are ripping lives apart. Suicides are up, depression, bipolar syndrome, OCD and other mental ailments are all on the rise. The phone likely has played a significant part in this.

True.

I used to write letters that took time and thought to compose. Now it's just a short e mail if necessary. Not only have I stopped writing letters, but I have also lost the desire to do so. Is that because of the phone/ computer or just because I'm older?

 

The first people in Thailand to embrace mobile phones IMO were bargirls. Good for business. They certainly exploited internet and that Skype ( does that still exist ) thing to keep the money coming in from their many "friends" overseas.

 

The first time I was boggled by the new devices was when I was on the airport train from Swampy and I was looking at some young bagpacker engrossed in the machine instead of looking out the window at the country he flew for hours to get to.

IMO the machines are making morons of us. Certainly I'm guilty as charged, as there are more than a few far better things I could be doing, but the dark side of the force is strong.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, kuma said:

Exactly there was much more written material around to read, and <gasp> people actually would talk to each other as well. Struck up many an interesting conversation back in the day hiding under some roof waiting with others for the rain to pass...not so much anymore, everyone reaches for the crutch

Still happens. In Chiang Mai I used to take the Central Airport free vehicle service to go see a movie. As it was a moving vehicle on bad roads no one was using their machine and I had many an interesting conversation with tourists from all over the world. Seems most people spoke English, wherever they came from.

 

Also had interesting conversations with young western bagpackers in the back of a shared red bus from the railway station.

However, never had a conversation on the skytrain, or the underground in Bkk. All looking at their machines.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The first people in Thailand to embrace mobile phones IMO were bargirls.

Really? How many managers and company directors do you see regularly and how many bar girls?

 

When I came to Thailand I went to a university to learn about Thailand. One business guy played part time teacher and he answered his mobile phone all the time. I even remember that we, the students, never heard a ring tone and we had no idea that there was something like a vibration alarm - we all didn't have mobile phones.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

7 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really? How many managers and company directors do you see regularly and how many bar girls?

 

When I came to Thailand I went to a university to learn about Thailand. One business guy played part time teacher and he answered his mobile phone all the time. I even remember that we, the students, never heard a ring tone and we had no idea that there was something like a vibration alarm - we all didn't have mobile phones.

 

 

Did you miss the "IMO"?