Here is the thing I miss most: The naivety.
I don’t want to go back permanently. I like having the sum of human knowledge in my palm. But I miss the silence. I miss the waiting. Following -1998-
I’ve been digitizing old home videos from 1997 lately. Grainy VHS footage of backyard barbecues, the static hiss of a CRT television in the background, and the sound of a rotary phone ringing. My nephew watched it over my shoulder and asked, “Why is everyone just... waiting ?” Here is the thing I miss most: The naivety
Following 1998, waiting became a glitch. Google was founded in September 1998. The iMac dropped in August of that year—translucent blue plastic promising that technology didn't have to be a beige box in a dusty office. Suddenly, answers were five seconds away. Music fit in your pocket (shout out to the original Rio PMP300). The friction of life was being sanded down. But I miss the silence
I miss when “following” just meant the next page in a book, not a metric of your worth.
What do you remember from the year before the noise? Let me know in the comments—but I’ll probably reply tomorrow. I’m still in 1997 mode.
Following 1998, irony took over. Grunge died. Nu-metal and boy bands fought for the radio, and the cynicism of the late 90s gave way to the pre-traumatic stress of 9/11. We stopped dreaming about flying cars and started worrying about the backup of our hard drives.