The prehistory of the IM
Most people that have been online have used an instant messenger at one time or another. But, if you think about it, the IM has been around a lot longer than that.
Go back to when you were in elementary school (people my age or older will understand this more. When you used to sit in those chairs that were bolted to the desks and the comfort level was almost as bad as sitting on broken glass. The teacher would yell at anyone that would even talk. So, what did you do? that’s right, you would right a note.
Pulling out a piece of lined paper from your spiral binder (the edges all frayed) you would start at the top and write something and fold it up and have it passed off to someone. Within a few minutes the note would come back to you folded up the same way. When you opened it up there would be a response underneath yours, sometimes in a different color, but definitely in a different writing style. Enter the instant messenger of yesteryear.
Of course, you wouldn’t get all the ‘bells and whistles’ as you would with the IM programs of today, but it did serve it’s purpose.
That brings back memories. Our teachers were very watchful for folded pieces of paper so I used to write my IMs on the back of a wooden ruler and pass it along. The recipient would wite a reply. When we ran out of room out came the pencil eraser and we cleared the ruler.
There were so many ways to pass notes in school. It’s amazing how he functioned without the use of cell phone texting back then.
Kids nowadays don’t have to think of new ways to fake the teacher out when passing notes. All they have to do is hit the send button.
Well, at least it is those times without new technology that we get the thrills and fun of outsmarting the teachers. Kids these days won’t have a chance to enjoy them.
I feel that fun is greatly changed and reduced as the technology progresses.
Technology can make the kids lazy. We knew how to sneak around and get away with murder. They can’t get away with anything. The joys of being a parent.