Would You Return to a Simpler Time?
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In the past couple of days, I’ve come across articles about people longing to return to a simpler time in our history. To bypass much of the modern technology in favor of a less technological way of living.
This shocked me, yet I found myself wanting to agree. Do you even remember when your cell phone wasn’t close by, when a day went by without you replying to a text or writing one?
I’ll go you one better. Do any of you remember rotary phones?
A reader from Canada sent me a link to an article that was in the UK’s Daily Mail. It was about people no longer wanting to live in smart houses, with “smart” assistants that automate our homes.
The article even went so far as to say some people would like to return to landline phones.
The Dumb Home is Now a Trend:
TikTok influencers and high-end designers say the ‘dumb home’ is the latest trend after years of tech-driven homes.
Another article I came across in The Washington Post focused on the benefits of needlework. In particular, cross-stitch was mentioned.
Craft activities, said a psychologist, “can yield increased parasympathetic nervous system activity, a key indicator of relaxation and stress reduction.”
I mention simpler times quite a bit because life seemed more straightforward and less taxing. Yes, we had more work to do, but maybe that was a good thing.
Perhaps we need to view the world beyond the screen of our phones. Some days, I’d like to get rid of that screen altogether.
Life Before Computers:
Life before computers wasn’t necessarily easier, but it was less complicated. The boundaries between work and home, public and private, noise and quiet were much more precise.
People looked up more—at each other, at the sky, at the moment unfolding right in front of them. There was more community and less noise that divided us.
Do you remember when mornings didn’t start with notifications, but with sunlight slipping through the curtains? When joy was found in small things—swinging your feet off the edge of a porch, chasing laughter with friends, or watching clouds drift by with no urgency pulling you away.
It’s hard to recall a time when computers weren’t woven into every part of life. The world moved at a different rhythm—slower, more tactile, and often more personal. Information lived on paper: in handwritten letters, dog-eared notebooks, and morning newspapers tossed onto porches.
Patience Was a Daily Necessity:
If you needed to find an answer, you flipped through encyclopedias instead of Googling. Patience was not just a virtue—it was a daily necessity. Things weren’t merely a keyboard stroke away.
People memorized phone numbers, and conversations happened face-to-face. Photos were taken with great care because film was limited; you wouldn’t know how they turned out until days later, when the prints were finally ready.
Work might follow you home, but only in a briefcase, not in a constant stream of emails. Even boredom had a place, and from it came creativity—doodles in margins, daydreams at windows, ideas invented on the spot.
Music Was a Small Treasure:
Music was something you held—vinyl, cassettes, and later CDs. Each album was a small treasure you listened to from beginning to end.
You sat down at night and clicked through channels until you found something interesting to watch. I’d look forward to a movie-of-the-week, back when TVs were big, heavy, and enclosed in wood. I probably watched Luke and Laura get married on General Hospital on one of those behemoths.
The news wasn’t ever-present. You had to listen to the radio or wait for the evening news to find out what was going on in the world.
You Waved to Neighbors Passing By:
And when you turned the TV off and walked away, you read a book or sat outside on the porch in a rocking chair and drank iced tea. Maybe you held a book in your hands, or waved to neighbors passing by.
Kids played outside until the streetlights flickered on, involved with their sticks, bikes, and imagination. Sometimes they put up lemonade stands to make money for a movie.
Everyone knew their neighbors’ names and helped them out when necessary. Neighborhoods felt like extended families; you knocked on doors to visit or borrow a cup of sugar.
If you got lost on the highway, you stopped at a gas station to ask for directions instead of asking Siri.
Well-Wishes Weren’t Automated:
You bought greeting cards at a store and sent them to loved ones with a stamp. Feelings and well-wishes weren’t automated.
When you traveled, you didn’t have your precious time interrupted by constant phone calls and texts. You looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery, and picked up postcards to show people where you’d been.
The reset button was pressed before your vacation ended, and things seemed less stressful upon your return home.
There were no default button clicks upon pressing “Enter.” The only buttons you dealt with were those sewn on your clothing.
Doing the Right Thing:
You fulfilled obligations and were clear about doing the right thing. There wasn’t controversy over political correctness. Politeness was mandatory because kindness was sacrosanct.
Right was right, and wrong was wrong, and the lines were clearly demarcated.
There were no bullies spouting rhetoric on TV or militarized police running around grabbing people off the street. People weren’t afraid to go outside.
It seems impossible that there was actually a time when there wasn’t so much frenzied rage. People didn’t seem so divided over whether it was necessary to feed the hungry and care for the frail and needy.
It makes me sad to wake up every day and wonder what horrific thing might have happened overnight. To brace myself before I’ve even had a bowl of cereal, because life seems so filled with uncertainty.
Would You Return to that Place in Time?
Would you want to go back in time and retrieve all that? Could you put your phone away, even for a day, to simply gaze out the window? Get out your sewing box (remember those?) and thread a needle instead of scrolling social media.
Would you be able to part with modern technology and return to a time before messages were sent at the speed of sound?
Could your iPhone or iPad be prised out of the hand that’s clutching it?
Longing for simpler days isn’t just about nostalgia alone. It’s a desire to reclaim peace and balance in a complicated world. To remember who you were before life sped up.
It’s a yearning to reconnect with a time when the world felt slower and simpler.
It’s about giving up multitasking for moments. To let go of the endless lists, the constant worries, and the pressure to have everything right now.
Would you like to slow down, take stock, and go back to what truly matters?
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I just read this article. Yes, simple times were less stressful…But I could not give up my iphone, laptop or anything. I love to multi-task, and I’m old 75. I remember one phone in our home, in the kitchen. When I was a teenager, I had an extension phone in my bedroom a pink princess. My Dad worked for Pacific Bell so we got a discount. I still have a landline, because the reception is sometimes better. No, I like the future but enjoy reminiscing.
I don’t own a smart phone, still have my old landline phone (a “Princess style”) from my first apartment in 1969 after I graduated from high school. I’ve gone through several laptops since computers became di rigueur but I use mine primarily for emailing (my main form of communicating other than face to face), research and keeping up with independent news and foreign news (which gives a very different perspective than various American “main stream media.”) During the holiday season I enjoy seeing what other people do to decorate their homes and oooh and aaaah over how creative people can be. No “smart home” for this old fashioned old lady. I don’t even have one of those spy doorbells, never been broken into even when I left my keys dangling in the locks on the outside or while gone for weeks when I used to travel a lot on long vacations. Outside of employment, you may choose how much technology to allow into your life and home.
You are right. I write this blog on my laptop. I don’t want every new technological gadget.
Land lines. How about this? I have a very clear memory of my mother hanging clothes on the line – and my just younger sister and I talking to the telephone operator who said to us, “Number please.” Of course the operator got my mother on the phone pretty quickly after she had hung the clothes on the line and told Mother what my sister and I had been doing. We both got a spanking for that! Pretty soon after that, we had a “party line” installed. Then we finally got dial phones. All a long time ago!
I sort of remember some memory like that, but it’s very vague. So I might have imagined it. Or seen it on TV.
I yearn for these days again! So beautifully written. I love this post.
There are a few things I appreciate having. But every time I turn around, there’s some new gadget that’s a mystery to me!
I would love to go back to the 70’s! I was a pre-teen – teenager in that decade. I miss all the things you mentioned in this post. We rarely watch TV but when we do, sometimes it’s so frustrating on a Smart TV that I say, “Why can’t we just pull the knob and turn the dial to see what’s on? It was so much easier!” I don’t miss having a land line because I hated not knowing who was on the other end when the phone rang. When answering machines came out, that was perfect: the person could say who was calling and I could pick up if I wanted. Or not! 😉
I think the only thing I would miss about a smartphone is using GPS.
I don’t go far enough to need GPS. When I do usually Rhonda is driving
Those days weren’t as rose-colored as you portray – at least, not to me. I would never go back.
I see pros and cons.
Hello everyone, yes it was another time. I think we have (relatively) a choice of how to use these technologies. I’m not on the network, I never order on Amazon, I don’t use GPS, I don’t allow notifications. But we are also forced from to have 1 smartphone, 1 computer because the administrative procedures are done from + to + online…. The positive side? We can communicate here with each other without ever having seen each other and share our experiences, our memories, our ideas. That’s great!!! By the way, Brenda, Laurence is a girl’s name in France 🙂
Oh, well, hello Lawrence (a girl’s name in France)! You’re absolutely right.
Thanks for explaining!
Yes, I remember rotary phones! I remember all those good ole days you mentioned. Part of me would like to go back to a simpler time and part of me likes the current conveniences. I could get lost in a paper bag, so I really love gps. That’s way better than having to stop and ask for directions. It’s funny that you write about this topic today. My internet was out all day, and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t log into Amazon, Etsy, eBay, google,YouTube, etc… nothing at all. Not even on my smart tv. Not on my desktop either. And because my house phone is through the Internet, I couldn’t use my house phone. It’s been a very frustrating day! I took a nap because I was so stressed out, lol. A simpler time wouldn’t have had any of these problems. It made me realize how addicted I’ve become. Oftentimes, I’ll be around family and friends, and everyone is on their phones. It’s sad. Simple days sound pretty good.
Yes, I hate that people gather and then sit and scroll on their phones. We are VERY dependent on technology!
I agree. let’s go back to the 1990s! I was much happier when I could afford both rent and a car payment despite not being rich by any means. The constant polarization of political and cultural strife we have now complicates everyday life. It’s awful.
I don’t know what this statement means: “militarized police running around grabbing people off the street” unless you think the federal government combatting crime in major cities that refuse to protect their own citizens from rampant lawbreaking is a bad thing.
FYI: Your website has so many popups and ads that are distracting. Just touching the screen causes a pop-up to subscribe several times. I know ads produce income but it is not a good user experience. And I’m using a browser with an ad blocker!
I’m sorry about the ads. AI has replaced half of my Google traffic. So I have less than half my usual income.
I know EXACTLY what Brenda’s statement meant and she is spot-on. Don’t sugarcoat the reality of what is happening in the US.
Absolutely! Brenda described the current situation perfectly. Her only failure was to include the SWAT assault on an apartment building in Chicago in the middle of the night. Children yanked out of bed and zip tied. No one charged to date. Just a nasty show of power and evil.
When you search for information about land line phones then you will see the wires they work on are being phased out by the end of 2025. Phones will be operated from the internet.
Things will depend on the internet soon.
I googled “Can I keep my landline?” One date mentioned for this is the 2027. Some countries are elimination them this December.
Eliminating
Does that include landlines that already use the Internet? I like keeping my landline, because my cell phone service isn’t always reliable. Of course, when my Internet goes out, then so does my house phone. But the regular house phones that are land lines never lose signal. They were reliable, even in power outages. That’s a shame to see them go.
There is a way to use your iPhone to power your land line. The change to internet has to do with no using copper wiring
The media will keep us updated
Way to complicated for me to explain.
Well, that’s just sad. Everything is dependent on the internet.
I would be the first one on the bus! Great post!
Grace & Peace,
I keep thinking maybe we could temporarily go back in time by doing one thing a month that doesn’t depend on technology, and then we could discuss it. Not sure how to do that, but I have my thinking cap on!
I’m in if you come up with anything!
Indeed YES, I would go back to a simpler time…before internet for sure. While there are helpful things (like shopping) that are easier done, it has caused untold grief among my family. Frankly, people will write things they might not say and while we can forget what we say, likely the person who heard it never forgets. And we lived in a safer time…cell phones were not needed for protection. If we lived a rational life, we were usually not in any danger. Unlike today. And my biggest question is that now we live when it has never been easier or quicker to communicate with others…yet before internet, there was way more communication with kin than now. Go figure…
I agree with everything you said, and by the way, it was well said. We managed, didn’t we? The world wasn’t as crazy then.
Oh yes!
I remember waiting for “The Sound of Music” once a year on tv and hoping my dad would let me watch on the only television in the house. I also miss the corded phone on the wall and the many times I would call a local radio station to win an album, Celine Dion concert tickets, or tickets to some event. I miss the calm and peaceful moments. Nature not Technology.
I like that! Nature, not technology.
Amen to nature instead!
Yes, in a heartbeat! My husband and I are always saying how much we loved the days when we grew up. He’s over 80 and I’m almost catching up to him. Our kids didn’t have cellphones growing up and we bought a used computer for them when they were in high school, no internet then.
My girls didn’t have cell phones or the internet when in high school. That came later.
Absolutely 100% yes. A good book on this is called Reconnected. I do whatever I can NOT using phones or internet. I could never wrap my brain around the fact that people carry their entire life on a phone from banking, to personal photos, to every.single.thing. and think it’s safe. How about those who toss all paper and think the Cloud has it all. I’ll stay private, thank you. The lack of privacy is insane as are ads, and if you ever watch a show that mentions someone can’t be tracked, they make those people out to be weirdos. Yeah… no thanks. Did you know that you can get a cell to jack connector to utilize a landline phone from your cell phone? Actually though, I miss a landline. I don’t need people to get ahold of me 24/7. I dump whatever I can as time goes on.
Yes, I know! Too much information on one device. I don’t put everything on my phone. I don’t need constant reminders of what I need to do.
Ah Brenda, I myself would gladly go back to the simpler time of 3 stations on the TV to watch and the National anthem playing at midnight. To rotary phones and actually sending letters and cards through the mail. I’m 66 years old and today is just too stressful. Our morals are skewed for sure and it seems we’re always in 4th gear. I consider every day moving away to Spain or Scotland. Slower, simpler life is there!
Some days, I want to leave this country. It’s turned toxic.
Maybe we need to start handing out bibles in school again instead of prison.
Oh Lord yes!
Remember when “their word was there bond” and truth mattered? Good behavior and good deeds were more commonplace. Neighbors knew each other for decades. But most of my stress is caused by technology. Even my washer and dishwasher don’t have simple on-off buttons any more, but use Sensors to prove they know best. I truly believe people were happier with better mental health when there were no cell phones and computers. I love researching on Google but was scammed, adding to my distrust of the Internet – Ultra-loud TV commercials raise my BP and keep me adjusting TV sound level constantly. I can (and do) turn off the news which helps. Guess I’ve turned into a curmudgeon but life really has changed.
I hate loud commercials, which is why it’s nice just having Prime Video and Netflix. No cable. When I want to watch TV, I have to choose something to stream, and I don’t get commercials or news. I pay Amazon $2.99 a month not to have commercials, and it’s money well spent!
Oh I miss mechanical buttons and appliances that actually worked and you kept them forever!!!
I would go back as well. I was born in 1947, so remember “all the things”. I have not memorized anyone’s phone number since the cell phones became popular. If you go somewhere and need to call someone but forgot your phone—you are out of luck! And there are no booths with telephone books!
I raised our 3 sons without technology, no computers, 1 telephone attached to the wall, and we did just fine!
I loved life. All 3 boys are in their 50’s now and raising their own children. It is a different world for them for sure.
Kendra will be 51 on the 28th, so it was the same at our house as you mentioned. I couldn’t come up with a phone number if my life depended on it, unfortunately!
I thought YES even before I read the blog! I woke up early this morning and decided to not turn on the news just like I passed on watching the news late last night. I cannot imagine having my phone dinging me all hours of the day and especially work communicating with employees after hours. Have a peaceful day everyone!
Peace is kind of hard to come by these days, but I sure seek it out!
Yes I would!
Me too!
Bonsoir Brenda,
Oui, j’y retournerais tout de suite.
Et moi qui suis visiblement plus vieille que vous toutes, je me souviens de l arrivée du téléphone dans l appartement, de la télévision, du réfrigérateur.
Et de la salle de bain et des toilettes dans l appartement.
Des gros dictionnaires. Des carnets de citations.
Merci Brenda pour cette nostalgie heureuse .
Oh yes, where did my giant Bartlett’s Book of Quotations go? Or the giant dictionary?
Oh dear it just erased a long comments I had. So I will agree with you that I’d love it to be slower!
Sorry about that. Slower life, slower eating, slower to speak out in anger. A lot of people could use that one!
I would go back in a heartbeat. I remember rotary phones and even party lines. You sent letters, not emails. No cable tv or streaming, just rabbit ears with foil on the tips so you’d get better reception and I remember watching Luke and Laura getting married. Children did not have to be afraid to play outside. Were those times easier? Not always but there were plenty of good memories to make up for it so yes, I would go back.
Oh yes, the TV antennas! Rabbit’s ears with foil wrapped around them! And moving them around to get the best picture.