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Announcements Mar 29, 2026 at 6:54 PM

Listnookors who were children/teens before the internet or cellphones existed, how did you keep yourself entertained?

Posted by FlowerMadeOfThorns

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TgoAI Mar 29, 2026 +4154
Books, TV, board games, and friends.
4154
Bjarki56 Mar 29, 2026 +2791
And lots of time outside.
2791
Obvious_wombat Mar 29, 2026 +734
Lots of hiking, Swimming, reading, movies, etc.
734
Frl_Bartchello Mar 29, 2026 +551
Climbing trees, building tree houses, playing with the dog, making rope swings
551
JulsTiger10 Mar 29, 2026 +161
Visiting my grandmother, painting, riding my horse, tromping cotton
161
Table-Playful Mar 29, 2026 +109
Visit my Aunt ,, a 35 minute walk to her home She had stacks of books ,,, gave a book a week to read
109
eac555 Mar 29, 2026 +96
Sports, fishing, exploring, making up games, riding bikes everywhere, flying kites
96
keithrc Mar 29, 2026 +181
I can't believe no one has mentioned "lighting things on fire." ...Just me?
181
imaginarySteak Mar 29, 2026 +33
we used to collect garbage and all the useless things in my house, made a small mountain in the street and lit them on fire, it was hypnotic and probably illegal... I also made lots of mud cakes.
33
Typical_Depth_8106 Mar 29, 2026 +15
Holy shit, the memories this brings back. Everything in this list, plus a lot of running away from the "black racer" snake and a lot of big scary neighborhood dogs. I can't even guess how many cigarette packs I swiped back then... It used to be so freaking simple before cameras were everywhere. Every single time my mom would take me and my sister to eat somewhere, I would scan the place and see where the waitresses were sitting, and they usually all had packs of cigarettes sitting on the table. Whenever they would get busy and the table would clear out I'd get up and go to the bathroom and as soon as I got close enough to the table I would act like I dropped something, then look down while I kept moving, and slowly scan the floor as I worked my way back the way I had just come. I would look up under the table and act like I saw it, then if everything was clear I'd walk up to the table and bend down to look under it, then I'd slide one or two of the packs off and either catch them in the air or pick them up off the floor after they fell. In my pocket they went and into the bathroom I went to situate everything before I came back out, just in case anyone asked me about it. It's crazy how detailed I had my crime committing down to by the age of 11, lmao.
15
dis690640450cc Mar 29, 2026 +26
I see your Lighting stuff on fire, and raise you, blowing stuff up with fireworks.
26
Knitsanity Mar 29, 2026 +18
We were all total pyros. It didn't help that there were regular community BBQs...no gas grills where I grew up ..so we got to watch adults light fires a lot. Luckily there were a lot of large concrete drains which contained things....mostly. we all carried pocket knives and matches. Lol. The late 70s early 80s were wild.
18
idoitforthecookies Mar 29, 2026 +5
Stealing straws from fast food places. Setting them in fire and watching the plastic drip. Caring all sorts of animals out of the stream.
5
koushakandystore Mar 30, 2026 +6
I can’t believe I haven’t read about other delinquents making crank calls. That was a solid weekend addition.
6
lunchboxeo Mar 29, 2026 +10
We used to make “napalm” out of styrofoam and gas and burn shit down.
10
dlogan3344 Mar 29, 2026 +140
You forgot hooliganism
140
formerbays Mar 29, 2026 +56
Except for pot smoking we were basically good kids. We didn’t steal or vandalize as our parents would have killed us if they found out we did something like that.
56
DMvsPC Mar 29, 2026 +33
And you fkn knew every parent would let every other parent know about it as well. I swore up a storm walking back by a friend's house and was grounded the next day as his dad was in the driveway :/
33
squashYoDick Mar 29, 2026 +58
Setting things on fire
58
Apprehensive-Flow276 Mar 29, 2026 +21
And hucking rocks
21
makemynubwiggle Mar 29, 2026 +10
yup - we used to burn shit in a coffee can just to see what it looks like burrning
10
GozerDGozerian Mar 29, 2026 +16
Haha the coffee can was the experimental beaker of children of that bygone era. The older bad kid used to walk up the alleyway to my backyard and say, “Go in your dad’s shed and find something that says Danger Flammable and bring it down to the woods.” 😂
16
AMJET8 Mar 29, 2026 +27
Ding dong ditch
27
FreyasCloak Mar 29, 2026 +9
And loitering.
9
phaedrusTHEghost Mar 29, 2026 +242
It started out as a non-choice. We weren't allowed to play indoors. I can still hear my mom yelling, "Not in the house!! Take it out side!!! ...And don't comeback unless someone's bleeding!!... a lot". Good times 🤣
242
kikazztknmz Mar 29, 2026 +70
"And don't come back unless someone's bleeding!"---so relatable 😂
70
Similar-Opinion8750 Mar 29, 2026 +54
The same parents that said if you fall out of that tree and break both of your legs don't come running to me
54
GozerDGozerian Mar 29, 2026 +35
I spent a significant portion of my childhood *waaay* too high up in some tree or another.
35
phaedrusTHEghost Mar 29, 2026 +9
My core friends still fins themselves climbing to the top of trees well into adulthood!
9
calipithecus Mar 29, 2026 +17
I fell out of a tree and had a compressed fracture of my C3-C5 vertebrae and we were afraid to call my mother because she would yell at us for being disturbed at work. Of course, when she came home she yelled at us for not calling an ambulance. Not that any of us would have known how to - there was no 911 in my area at that time.
17
kikazztknmz Mar 29, 2026 +10
I think we had the same parents
10
Snarky_wombat939 Mar 29, 2026 +17
And someone was always bleeding: skateboards, bikes, h******* tag…
17
kikazztknmz Mar 29, 2026 +10
Yeah, I learned to find the iodine and the bandaids by myself by the time I was 9
10
Shadow_Lass38 Mar 29, 2026 +14
Aieeeee! Not the iodine! Mercurochrome was bad enough!
14
Cesia_Barry Mar 29, 2026 +31
“Be home before the street lights come on.”
31
BrilliantAd4857 Mar 29, 2026 +16
Unless I lost a limb I wouldn't go home to mom. Her first choice for any wound , Mercurochrome. It burned.
16
velo52x12 Mar 29, 2026 +9
Heh, the alley we played in was raw unfinished asphalt. You did not want to fall down on that stuff.
9
Glad_Pass_4075 Mar 29, 2026 +8
There was some bleeding.
8
Expensive_Lettuce239 Mar 29, 2026 +6
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this exactly!!!!
6
lady_ofthenorth Mar 29, 2026 +100
We spent a lot of time building forts, out of just about anything. Whole castles with drawbridges made out of hay bales. Double decker tree fort made from old window shutters, complete with a pulley system. If we weren’t doing that, we were catching tadpoles, or trying to dig holes to get to Australia, or biting the sweet tips off of clover flowers. Kid stuff.
100
ModernToshi Mar 29, 2026 +12
There was a wash behind our house growing up, and I swear my friends and I were solely responsible for keeping the brush from becoming overgrown because we were constantly out there chopping down bushes and branches to make forts out of the dug out sides of the wash and anywhere else we could.
12
KP6fanclub Mar 29, 2026 +85
The punishment was "You cannot go outside" now the punishment is "You have to go outside".
85
Philypnodon Mar 29, 2026 +36
All this and pets. Had quite a few Aquaria and exotic critters. And then of course reading tons of books and magazines about these critters. And crafting/ painting. Sometimes just turn on the radio, look outside the window and just drift off. Mid 90s really were a great period. New tech coming up, cold war had seemingly ended, it felt like the future is going to be exciting and everything's going to be even better. .. Not everywhere of course. It was hell on earth in quite a few countries at the time. Looking back - some things came true but in many aspects, it's now a lot more depressing than back then. A lot
36
BalanceEarly Mar 29, 2026 +34
Yeah, you couldn't keep me in the house, and undoubtedly the healthiest time in my life!
34
EvilDan69 Mar 29, 2026 +25
Yeah what everyone said.. Friends, books, magazines, board games like dungeons and dragons, LOTS of outside time. I'd hop on my bike after school..come back for supper and come back around curfew time. If course I'd come in for snacks, bathroom break etc I loved beside a bigb first and spent a lot of time just binning around, playing outside games, building forts etc.
25
Efficient_Advice_380 Mar 29, 2026 +21
The old "go outside and dont come back until dinnertime". Man cold hose water was the tastiest thing in the summer. I'd usually take a book and go down to the local creek and read or fish
21
upnorthhickchick Mar 29, 2026 +16
Both- books and the outdoors
16
Fodraz Mar 29, 2026 +16
Moms would throw us outside after awhile "get some fresh air!". I was a bookworm & knew all the quiet places I could go & read without getting nagged by her LOL
16
mjm666 Mar 29, 2026 +10
I rode my bike *everywhere*, just to explore and look around at stuff.
10
exploringexplorer Mar 29, 2026 +18
Life was so much better before smart phones and the modern internet
18
DistantKarma Mar 29, 2026 +10
We tried to see how far from home we could get. The creek I used to ride bikes to with my best friend was 8 miles from home, but we never gave that a second thought, at 8 years old!
10
missanthropy09 Mar 29, 2026 +7
My mother would send us outside and we’d bring books with us to read! We’d drag out the beach chairs. Then she banned the beach chairs so we’d just sit on the rock retaining wall. When the weather was nice and the neighbor kids had also been sent out to play, we’d ride bikes, build forts in the small copse of woods that had been left behind the houses, and play kick the can through the whole neighborhood.
7
Holiday-Honeydew-384 Mar 29, 2026 +6
Went out after lunch. Returned before dinner.
6
djak Mar 29, 2026 +5
This right here. The only time I was ever home is if I got in trouble and was grounded. Sticking me in my room was the worst punishment ever.
5
Sattiebear Mar 29, 2026 +5
I would spend hours everyday on my Haro bike, riding all over my hometown with friends, and riding on the “coal roads”, which were private gas company roads that went out to pumping stations in the woods. My neighborhood was adjacent to a massive swath of US Steel-owned wilderness, with mines underground as well, so we had tons of wooded space and trails as well.
5
this_is_greenman Mar 29, 2026 +158
Imagination
158
DoughnutAlert2596 Mar 29, 2026 +88
And good, old fashioned boredom. Being bored was great. Kids won’t allow it these days.
88
Lady_Medusae Mar 29, 2026 +49
My imagination and daydreaming was much, much more vivid compared to now. I could lose myself in my own thoughts and be entertained.
49
SnooPickles55 Mar 29, 2026 +12
Wow, same.
12
Cognitive_Spoon Mar 29, 2026 +15
My next phone is gonna be so stupid. I want a brick. I know I'll hate it for a month, but I want my mind back.
15
d_squishy Mar 29, 2026 +20
Don't blame the kids for their parents poor parenting. So so many parents in my age bracket (I'm 36) just dumped their kid in front of a tablet, shreking their dopamine centers and not allowing their kids to be bored and in turn, creative.
20
No-Operation6159 Mar 29, 2026 +81
And basically just wandering into the woods or around the neighborhood until the street lights came on, no gps, just vibes and a bike
81
JIFFFF624 Mar 29, 2026 +27
Exactly. And bicycling around the neighborhood
27
InappropriateGirl Mar 29, 2026 +24
And talking on the phone.
24
orange2416 Mar 29, 2026 +20
Records, gabbing on the phone with friends, going to the movies
20
LetsTryAnal_ogy Mar 29, 2026 +17
Riding bikes, exploring the river bottom, fishing, camping, hiding from saber tooth tigers.
17
ofayokay Mar 29, 2026 +47
And video games.
47
Sado_Hedonist Mar 29, 2026 +31
Yeah, other people don't seem to realize an entire generation grew up with Atari and Nintendo.
31
sensiblefreespirit Mar 29, 2026 +10
Pong enters the chat.
10
preaching-to-pervert Mar 29, 2026 +16
Not before the 80s really.
16
ofayokay Mar 29, 2026 +11
Right. But still shitloads of video games & systems between 1980 & internet/cell phones
11
AdLost2097 Mar 29, 2026 +4
We had pong, lol. Not really a game that would keep you entranced for hours at a time.
4
scoolio Mar 29, 2026 +8
This + Exploring on a bicycle or just walking the woods.
8
sambodia85 Mar 29, 2026 +38
Let’s be honest TV was huge, channel surfing is literally the same as doom scrolling.
38
whakashorty Mar 29, 2026 +58
Not when you have 3 channels.
58
chaoticnormal Mar 29, 2026 +15
Remember when the 4th channel came out? Godzilla every weekend.
15
Olobnion Mar 29, 2026 +8
I've seen a clipping from a Swedish newspaper from around the time Sweden got a second TV channel. The entire article is negative, with the headline "Risk of stress when families are afflicted by two channels".
8
Fannnybaws Mar 29, 2026 +22
Not in the 70s/80s in the UK. We had 3 TV channels
22
bryan-garner Mar 29, 2026 +16
Right? All of these other things, too, but most GenXers have seen EVERY MASH, Laverne and Shirley, 3s Company, and several others multiple times. And cycling through MTV for hours. Definitely used imagination, went outside, rode bikes, etc., but there are a lot of people who romanticize those days and make themselves out to be wild frontiersmen who had to kill their own dinner.
16
MaleficentOlive9865 Mar 29, 2026 +1767
Rode bikes until the street lights came on, then you had about 5 minutes to get home or you were dead 😂 Also just knocking on friends' doors and hoping they were in. No planning, no texting ahead, just vibes.
1767
Khadaji2020 Mar 29, 2026 +401
So much this, plus tramping through the woods and reading for hours on end.
401
8Bells Mar 29, 2026 +292
Friday night blockbuster for a weekend movie.  Nintendo 64.  Saturday morning cartoons. 
292
Hyperbeam4dayz Mar 29, 2026 +50
The N64 was absolutely goated for friend group play. I remember everyone would meet at someone's house and bring their own controller, and usually we each had a different game we'd bring with us as well. Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Mario Party, etc for hours. Throw in a 50pc nugget bucket from McDonald's and it was an amazing day.
50
Dj1HitEclipse Mar 30, 2026 +25
007 golden eye
25
watanabelover69 Mar 29, 2026 +39
The good old days
39
shaggellis Mar 29, 2026 +29
I had a tornado funnel pop up above me and my brother walking back from a convenience store. We lived on a military base and they rented N64 games. When we were walking back my brother had to hold onto the front of my shirt and drag me forward because the wind kept knocking me down LoL. We were laughing and looking for drainage tunnels to hop in if the tunnel started to touch down. We made it home and played "Shadows of the Empire". It was worth it! haha
29
8Bells Mar 29, 2026 +5
Now thats a memory.  I bet your mom did not get how it was cool when you told her. Haha.
5
M4GN3T1CM0N0P0L3 Mar 29, 2026 +36
>tramping through the woods Every now and then you'd find some woods p*** in a black trash bag.
36
colaman-112 Mar 29, 2026 +8
Yeah. I don't think any of the kids today will know the nearby woods as well as our crew did back in the day.
8
username_taken93 Mar 29, 2026 +64
Knocking is formal, we used to stand outside and shout their name until someone from their house came out.
64
mugwump867 Mar 29, 2026 +16
In an annoying sing-song voice as well. No wonder adults hated us kids back in the day.
16
beachblanketparty Mar 29, 2026 +12
Haha, we lived in a neighborhood of open doors, so we would just appear at the door and a parent would be like "hey! Sam's in the back digging his hole again" and we would just appear in their backyard lol
12
vagaris Mar 29, 2026 +10
I once rode my bike to my friend’s house, knocked, no one came to the door… but the house was unlocked. So I opened the door and yelled inside. Still nothing. So I moved on and thought it was odd the house was unlocked with nobody home.
10
HillBillyMadman Mar 29, 2026 +7
Or, if you're me, you just walk in the house.
7
ShreddedKyloRen Mar 29, 2026 +31
Sometimes the parents used to let us stay out later to play Ghosts in the Graveyard or, our favorite, Kick the Can in the dark. A few parents had different whistles to tell the kids it was time to come in. My sister and I just had to go in when everyone else went in.
31
Madkids23 Mar 29, 2026 +15
Ugh kick the can in the dark is such a vibe. Absolutely timeless fun.
15
WiseStupidMan Mar 29, 2026 +30
The dreadfull call to a friend's house praying their parents didnt answer and you could avoid that awkward convo until your friend got to the phone 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
30
SnooPickles55 Mar 29, 2026 +10
"How's school, Tommy?" 🤣
10
KebNes Mar 30, 2026 +8
“Don’t use that over familiar tone with me, Sandra!”
8
LesMiserableCat54 Mar 29, 2026 +22
I remember one summer the guy I had a crush on would bike to my house everyday and we would just bike around and talk. He was the popular guy and I was a weird kid but that summer was magical. When school started he basically just went back to ignoring me which I expected but it was nice knowing that popular people had flaws and insecurities too and I didn't blame him for it. He also got his best friend to stop bullying me so that was an added bonus.
22
punkminkis Mar 29, 2026 +14
One of my friends, I knew which street he lived on, because that's where he got off the bus. But I didn't know the exact house. So I knocked on every single door and asked if Josh could come and play. One lady brought her toddler to the door and said "this is Josh". Eventually I found the right house (after finding a different Josh schoolmate).
14
UpAndAdam7414 Mar 29, 2026 +13
Didn’t have that rule, in northern England it would mean going home at about 3:30 in December and 10:30 in June.
13
Z-Borst Mar 29, 2026 +9
Yeah and friends' parents were always addressed as "Mr." and "Mrs.". Today, first names are more accepted.
9
MediocreRooster4190 Mar 29, 2026 +5
And somehow I still got pollen allergies. Outside nearly all day every day in the summer and after school.
5
UsefulNorth122 Mar 29, 2026 +700
Opened the front door and went outside. The rest depended on my mood and the weather.
700
PuDLeZ Mar 29, 2026 +108
wait, you were allowed inside during the day?!
108
slokkie__S Mar 29, 2026 +70
At 15 got a key, more precious than a phone and computer combined, for the backdoor. Passage to the front you had to earn by providing offspring. Still not earned that one.
70
mallad Mar 29, 2026 +139
But how do they expect you to make offspring if you can only use the back door?
139
WeAreBatmen Mar 29, 2026 +56
It’s a Catholic thing.
56
warp99 Mar 29, 2026 +12
Never locked the back door unless we went on holiday. If the back door was locked it meant the Christmas cake was in the oven and it was to prevent kids slamming the door and making it deflate in the middle.
12
quadruple_negative87 Mar 29, 2026 +12
I remember making up an obstacle course in the front and backyard and just running it for hours. This is where I learned that you need to bend your knees when you land from jumping down from height.
12
Read_The_Fing_Manual Mar 29, 2026 +614
By many things that we thank the stars for not being recorded
614
ihatewinter204 Mar 29, 2026 +107
I did so many stupid things that thankfully only exist as a memory.
107
Kalandorno Mar 29, 2026 +35
I relate to this so hard
35
assortedgnomes Mar 29, 2026 +13
For every stupid thing I did that I remember there are probably 5 more that I don't.
13
miladyDW Mar 29, 2026 +12
I have some bad photos, and my friends too. But we are all too old and wise: those pictures see the light every ten years, when we are drunk enough. No children allowed.
12
badassbiotch Mar 29, 2026 +36
And for this we are grateful
36
mrjamjams66 Mar 29, 2026 +54
Saw my first pair of t*** swimming in the creek in the woods. All the boys ripped off their shirts and jumped in, and the one girl said "f*** it" and did the same. That was truly a magical day
54
bloobityblu Mar 29, 2026 +5
>pair of t*** swimming in the creek They were just swimming in the creek, all by themselves? XD
5
witchthorn79 Mar 29, 2026 +7
And no one can prove anything
7
STEM_Educator Mar 30, 2026 +4
I was reminiscing about the stuff my siblings and I did when playing that my parents had NO IDEA we were doing. If my grandchildren did those things today, I'd have a heart attack and ground them until adulthood. Playing with fire, shooting bb guns, jumping out of barn windows, climbing so high in a tree that the branches broke, teasing the neighbor's bull, having a rock fight.... We all lived and are in our late 60s, early 70s. Crazy times.
4
Ok-Square-8652 Mar 29, 2026 +208
A big magical thing called outside
208
SeaNature4646 Mar 29, 2026 +35
If someone’s mom was going shopping we used to wander the malls just talking, window shopping, trying clothes on we couldn’t afford, scoping out where we wanted to work when we were old enough, thinking we were flirting, thinking we were any level of cool! Lol!
35
monkeypunch87 Mar 29, 2026 +225
I had a bike. I played in the forest and neighborhood. Swimming. Football in the garden. A little later videogames on my GameBoy and SNES.
225
InternationalPlan121 Mar 29, 2026 +52
I’d spend hours under a lamp since gameboys didn’t have back lights back then
52
Regalia776 Mar 29, 2026 +25
Also wild how we just went to the store, looked at a box with nice art and 3-4 screenshots and decided "Yeah, this looks fun, I'll buy it!" Spoiler: It was not fun. Well, at least not always.
25
Last-View1666 Mar 29, 2026 +12
One of my core memories is waiting to drive past a street light so I could see my screen
12
Dr_Identity Mar 29, 2026 +8
Trying to play it in the back seat on a road trip as the sun was going down was hard mode.
8
Bailzzararco Mar 29, 2026 +109
I was really into art and reading. I was either drawing, reading, or just hanging out with my friends.
109
MayorOfSlotham Mar 29, 2026 +218
A few of the kids in the neighborhood and I built a bike track in the woods; there was an abandoned station wagon, an old refrigerator, and a washer. We moved a few things around, added some dirt We got from a giant hole we created in the middle of the clearing. We would spend hours jumping all these objects. That was where we all smoked our first cigarettes, where our boy Josh vomited after trying chew for the first time. I was back home recently and saw that the track was still there and in need of restoration, but the memories were all there.
218
BonesCrosby Mar 29, 2026 +20
Outstanding.
20
_Kyokushin_ Mar 29, 2026 +6
I second this.
6
Congregator Mar 30, 2026 +6
I’ve wanted to go back into the woods back home to see if our old jumps are there, but it’s a totally different vibe walking around the woods in your 40’s as opposed to when you’re 13, so I try avoid being the “weirdo walking around in the woods behind everyone’s houses”
6
dorje_makes Mar 29, 2026 +99
I used to walk so much. When I was younger I lived in central London and I'd walk the mile or so to the British Museum most weekends. Then when I lived in the countryside as a teen I'd sometimes walk like 20 miles in a day to go to a beach and look at my favourite rockpools
99
Kayakchica Mar 29, 2026 +21
Both of those sound amazing.
21
dorje_makes Mar 29, 2026 +12
Yeah, looking back that shit kept me sane-ish
12
TheTokist Mar 29, 2026 +77
Played sports with other neighborhood kids. Hung out at each others houses. Went to malls.
77
dogthatbrokethezebra Mar 29, 2026 +48
We did a lot of things that required medical attention
48
Comfortable-Farm7731 Mar 29, 2026 +15
Even us girls needed trips to the ER once in a while...newspaper tag could knock you over if you got hit in the head by a rolled up newspaper. Getting hit with a wet rolled up newspaper could knock you out. And I no longer recommend opening an umbrella, holding it over your head and jumping off the garage roof.
15
Adventurous-Tea-876 Mar 29, 2026 +211
By enjoying life a million times more than I have since the internet and smartphones came along.
211
tadxb Mar 29, 2026 +61
We have entertainment now. We used to have enjoyment earlier.
61
Adventurous-Tea-876 Mar 29, 2026 +11
Well put.
11
Previous_Meeting_340 Mar 29, 2026 +17
We were bored differently. It was a boredom that went somewhere.
17
BFS8515 Mar 29, 2026 +18
That is where creativity came from. I think today some people are just naturally creative, but in those days some people were forced into it out of boredom.
18
Tight_Ad_6802 Mar 29, 2026 +227
We had imaginations.
227
SlowGoat79 Mar 29, 2026 +90
This is a huge generalisation, but I like to think that our generation’s “boredom” gave us the underlying curiosity and creative chops to build Web 1.0 and 2.0. I’m not sure what today’s youth is developing and what they will build or do with it. This isn’t just me yelling at clouds—I teach and there are some real shifts that have occurred over the past few years. It’s concerning.
90
Tight_Ad_6802 Mar 29, 2026 +43
I teach too. Something that really jumped out at me is over the 13 years i’ve taught 8th grade when I look through my camera roll I can see the decline in imagination. I have a video on my phone from 2015 of every single kid in my class doing the cha-cha slide. That’s how they chose to spent their free-time that I gave them. Then I have a picture of my class during free-time last year and they’re all sitting at their desks looking at their laps. My board games go untouched. Between the Covid interuptions and every kid having an iphone and ipad and apple watch… they’re just not the same.
43
Dr_Identity Mar 29, 2026 +10
Social media platforms want to get them hooked as early as possible
10
724maeve Mar 29, 2026 +67
This is the big thing. We used our imaginations to create wild scenarios while we stomped through the creek. We created new games or changed the rules to make our own neighborhood version of every outdoor game. If no one was around to play, I'd flip upside down on the furniture and imagine we lived on the ceiling and tried to figure out how to get from one area to the next and how we would do everything up there with the different slopes and elevations.
67
plusFour-minusSeven Mar 29, 2026 +11
The old upside-down house game! Man I remember that. Also the tradition of picking up my younger siblings so they could walk on the ceiling. Ah, what times...
11
Efficient_Advice_380 Mar 29, 2026 +5
Imaginations, where the woods became a battlefield, and sticks became swords or guns depending on the theme that day. Pinecones became grenades, and the small lean-to that you made from sticks became a grand castle
5
CaffeineNicotine88 Mar 29, 2026 +17
As an only child I remember creating epic battles between my Transformers and GI Joe characters in my living room as I multi-tasked between homework and afternoon cartoons. I think very fondly upon those days of latchkey childhood.
17
weareeverywhereee Mar 29, 2026 +136
Oh my god what a question…literally lived life.
136
MrLavenderValentino Mar 29, 2026 +19
Apparently everyone else did lmao. I played outside, sure... but I spent a lot of time watching TV and playing video games
19
StopThePoint1Percent Mar 29, 2026 +31
Making ramps for bicycle jumps, building dens in woodland or with straw bales in barns, playing kerbie with a football, stealing Corona bottles from the pub and cashing in for the deposits in the village shop to buy sweets, someone would take their dads p*** mags and we’d huddle together looking at that while speeding on sugar snacks, maybe a group bike ride to go fishing, communally owned HondaC90 that we simply couldnt kill! Life was never dull cos we had imagination and a zest for life.
31
Sharkytrs Mar 29, 2026 +5
Honda c90 eh? ours was a Kawasaki KX that refused to die, it'd been dipped in the local canal at least 4 times too
5
bennwk93 Mar 29, 2026 +58
Lived outdoors. Sports, games, riding bikes. Hour or two a day watching tv. I don’t remember being bored ever.
58
Ryans4427 Mar 29, 2026 +18
I definitely remember getting bored but usually only if I was somewhere that I didn't have any books or toys.
18
bennwk93 Mar 29, 2026 +17
There were tons of kids in our neighborhood. I was up at dawn and back home around sunset. Oddly I don’t remember eating lol! Random parents tossing us a pbj or something. We didn’t worry about being abducted or much danger at all until Adam was kidnapped and murdered in 81. Even after things were chill. I appreciate technology and don’t want to regress but… this stupid phone I’m typing on is 2nd in waking attention only to my wife. It’s a problem for me. I long for human only contact that doesn’t require planning and withdrawal symptoms. Like eat an apple not stare at it all day. Walden Pond here I come lol
17
dramafreak Mar 29, 2026 +9
But you didn't DARE complain about being bored! Mom would hand you a list of chores to keep you busy.
9
Damnesia13 Mar 29, 2026 +53
Lying on the floor flicking the door stopper
53
jonnyoslowe Mar 29, 2026 +10
My son did this as a toddler. 😆
10
Damnesia13 Mar 29, 2026 +10
Sometimes I think it it would be a good idea to do it as an adult and just decompress
10
GreggAlan Mar 29, 2026 +7
Go to Home Depot. Buy a small piece of project wood and a spring door stopper. Figure out the rest. Report the experience results to Listnook.
7
BlastTyrant88 Mar 29, 2026 +29
We went outside
29
HorroRose-13 Mar 29, 2026 +27
Walking, hiking. Watching wildlife. Biking. Read books and magazines. Listened to the radio/tape player. I had a pretty good VHS collection when I was younger. Miss that shit bad.
27
Ornery_Librarian9623 Mar 29, 2026 +18
everything is a toy. ball, broken stick, dirt trails, small forests,… extrapolate your imagination
18
jfk1000 Mar 29, 2026 +8
Apparently plastic toys were invented along with the internet. Before that everyone played with broken sticks, glass shards and their imagination.
8
Sportsfan4206910 Mar 29, 2026 +24
Books, tv, friends, being outside
24
Failed-Project Mar 29, 2026 +21
I was a voracious reader. Easily read two to three novels a week. I also spent a lot of time with friends, playing sports, doing martial arts, and in theater. Took road trips when I got my license, went to a bunch of punk shows, had hair dye parties, camped, chilled by the river, spent time actually talking to people. And I'm now realizing I had a much fuller life before the internet was a common thing. Whomp.
21
Minflick Mar 29, 2026 +19
I'm 70. Grew up running around my grandparents neighborhood, and then a much larger neighborhood when we moved out. Ran around with vigor and speed and glee. Climbed trees, pet any cat that would let me (I've done psspss for decades...) played 4 square and other ball games (but never baseball or softball) Played in the mud from the streams. Jump rope, rode my bike. Once I was home, I did homework, ate dinner, and then read until I had to put out the light. I heard the word 'bored' plenty, but if I said it in front of my grandmother she sent me out the door to go play. If I said it in front my my mother, she made me do chores. I learned early to not say that word.
19
yanknga Mar 29, 2026 +16
Played outside, read, played video games at home or at an arcade, movies, hung out at the pool in the summer, hung out at the mall and, beginning in 1981, watched lots of MTV.
16
StickyNoteFriend Mar 29, 2026 +17
Outside- playing, bike riding, swimming, exploring, hiking, building forts... Inside- playing/listening to music, drawing/art/crafts, board games, card games, toys, writing, TV. Lots of F2F time with friends and some landline phone convos plus sleepovers.
17
Mcgeead Mar 29, 2026 +14
Threw rocks at stuff
14
SpaceyChick22 Mar 29, 2026 +12
Well , we loved nature . We had imaginations and made up games. Communication was important & we loved to tell each other ghost stories.
12
_Bipolar_Vortex_ Mar 29, 2026 +12
I received a 25ft phone cord for my 16th birthday. I will never feel that level of autonomy and freedom again.
12
MajorGreenhorn Mar 29, 2026 +21
Growing up in Ireland, I feel it was so different today. 90’s were my teen years so ringing people on their landline phones was a must. I grew up in a suburb of Dublin. The thing was, I’d call into my friends houses early, grab one of them then go to another friends house, picking up people along the way and before you knew it there was a group. It’s amazing to hear someone ask that question because we didn’t know what we were missing if you get me. That’s the way it was so you rolled with it…it was the reality of the situation. We didn’t miss it as it wasn’t invented. We played football, smoked cigarettes and coughed our lungs up, we chased girls and generally just hung out, sitting on a patch of grass chatting. It was brilliant, no tracking and most importantly, no fear of someone taking a video of me acting like a dickhead. There was more freedom than I think I’ve ever had before a phone. Phones as internet are a wonder, don’t get me wrong but I do feel they have robbed a generation or two of being and acting like they should without fear of being seen “uncool”
21
hopefellshort43 Mar 29, 2026 +9
Card games like solitaire, war, my brother and I would play SkipBo and Uno
9
me0756 Mar 29, 2026 +8
Books, comics, toys, movies, shows, pets, friends, playing outside, getting lost in nature or my imagination. Wish there was a way back to those days 😭
8
WiselyIsAlreadyUsed Mar 29, 2026 +17
real friends.
17
Mountain-Most8186 Mar 29, 2026 +10
Playing split screen games together until 4 AM 🥹
10
Unqualifries Mar 29, 2026 +8
The internet only became popular for entertainment in my mid-teens, so a lot of my memories of childhood were of being outside, reading, crafts, talking on the landline with friends, spending time with friends in person, watching TV or movies, and playing on our Nintendo. It was honestly glorious and if I had the choice, I would not want my childhood self to have more access to the internet.
8
This-Assumption4123 Mar 29, 2026 +7
Outdoors with friends, riding bikes, playing, movies, and concerts. We actually interacted in person.
7
Beneficial-Ad-3720 Mar 29, 2026 +7
Our imaginations , I remember in 76 all the kids in my neighbourhood organized and had our own Olympic games. Riding our bikes all over the place , shinny in winter , swimming and fishing in the summer.From grade 5 onwards we would have dances and play spin the bottle with the girls mostly in bad weather . Kick the can , hide n seek . Buck Buck. Huge neighbourhood water fights in the summer. We never lacked for things to do because every family had 3 or more kids because back then you could afford to have that many even if you didn't have lots of money.
7
Crass_Cameron Mar 29, 2026 +7
#I am Native American dude who's thirty eight and a who was raised in New Mexico. We played outside in a generic sense, but made marble trails in the sand cliff at where we called the slippery slide, made water trails at the river, blocked the irrigation ditches in the cropping months and "swam" to keep cool went hunting in the winter months for jack rabbits. Cottontails, robins, etc and build fires to took them in come cans or foil. Fished at our tribal reservoir, smoked weed, drank alcohol, participated in our traditional ceremonies a such.
7
hustonville Mar 29, 2026 +7
My granddaughter asked me why I read books. I told her that I am able to imagine what happens in the story, by the authors words. She gave me a look and went back to her YouTube video.
7
MeetingRecent229 Mar 29, 2026 +5
I never kiss and tell.
5
Arkady_Chim Mar 29, 2026 +7
We often didn’t. We were bored frequently which then led to coming up with games, trying new things, seeking out friends irl, etc. The expectation that you should be constantly entertained was an internet era development that has radically fucked our brains.
7
tentacleyarn Mar 29, 2026 +8
Filthy casuals, I've got a vivid internal world, books, music, an overactive imagination, and grew up with MS paint, minesweeper, solitaire, and reversi.
8
TeenaBop Mar 29, 2026 +4
Riding bikes, playing with the neighbors, and just making games up. We were bored for sure, but we learned to entertain ourselves. Miss it
4
Nommernose Mar 29, 2026 +4
Read books, played guitar, rode my bike, watched TV, talked on the phone, went to the beach, hung out with friends, played board games, bugged my parents, and hung out at the mall.
4
YerBoiScooter Mar 29, 2026 +5
I have fantastic memories of going outside as a child with no care in the world and playing football and baseball and riding our bikes everywhere. This was early 2000s, the ps1 just came out and our computer was on dial up. I truly miss those times and wish my daughter could have a similar experience.
5
Same_Beginning8090 Mar 29, 2026 +4
As a kid we went out a played. As a teenager, went out and made trouble.
4
Foxtrot-Uniform-Too Mar 29, 2026 +4
We were bored at times. As children we would be bored together, usually somewhere outside. And from that boredom, something could come out of it. We could invent a random game. Someone threw a pebble at a tree or a hole in a fence and suddenly there was a game to see who could get the most hits. And we made up rules on the go, like "if you walk 3 steps further away, a hit is worth two points".
4
JayMoney8518 Mar 29, 2026 +3
I'm 40. I've lived life before and after cellphones and internet. We were outside a lot. Like 8-12 hours a day. We would check in at home every few hours. Spent a lot of time reading, riding bikes, walking around the neighborhood, sitting under the tree at the park, or playing NES/SNES/Sega/N64 Life moved incredibly slow. It wasn't uncommon to not see or hear from someone for days or weeks and then just pick up where you left off like nothing.
3
CaptainRhetorica Mar 29, 2026 +4
Creativity. Drawing comics. Writing songs.
4
WalleyeHunter1 Mar 29, 2026 +6
Lighting shit on fire down by the river, playing street hockey, watch movies on tape from blockbuster, D &D, playing cards, talking, memorizing phone numbers, riding bikes for 8 hours a day, going to the arcade pool hall, liste ing to music on record player or cassette tapes, playing more sports, reading.
6
gonnabeagoodgirl Mar 29, 2026 +3
Riding my dirt bike with my neighborhood friends, listening to albums in my bedroom, learning an instrument, reenacting plays with my best friend (each of us had multiple characters lol), reading a book, going through my mom's Encyclopedia Brittanicas much like we now go down Google rabbitholes, go to the park, go to a friend's house to hang out.
3
CaBBaGe_isLaND Mar 29, 2026 +6
We built forts outside, and we played a lot of hide and seek with the whole neighborhood. It was incredible.
6
i1ii1i1i Mar 29, 2026 +4
It's not just what we did, but our satisfaction in doing it. Sitting and watching TV without doom scrolling was easy because Instagram etc didn't exist. There was absolutely no part of us wanting to pick up a phone and look at memes or people's pictures or other short form/low quality c*** because we'd never done it before. It didn't exist. That's why people look back on it so fondly. Our minds were less busy, impulses less frequent, time felt longer etc.
4
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