thankful I grew up before the Internet

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oh my, how awful it would have been possibly bullied, ignored, teased, etc in the virtual world in addition to the real world.

Don't get me wrong, I love the internet. (is there anything Google can't help me with?)

But all the social media drama is something I am really glad I didn't have to deal with.

I did have a citizen's band radio in the mid 70's, but there were very few teenage girls on there.
And there were no pictures.

Things were a lot better before Facebook. In the days when not everyone had access to Internet.

For me, I think it would be worse without Internet. Especially since I live in a place with very few people. Which means there are few people for me to connect with. And I find it generally easier to get in touch with people on-line.

I'm glad there was no internet when I was younger, because I had few enough friends as it was and a very difficult time figuring out the whole dating process, but if I'd had access to Internet porn, I wouldn't have had any friends or ever dated, because I would never have left my room.

I agree, its simply awful for the poor kids these days with all of this cyber bullying going on.

It simply makes the physical bullying that I endured pale in comparison.
Like the time I was jumped by some toughs who knocked me to the ground while waiting for the school bus, then proceeded to hold me down and shove snuff in my mouth because they thought that was funny.

Thats NOTHING compared to cyber bullying ….

I grew up in the 90's and I would say that both online and offline bullying; they are both very damaging in their own respective ways. Online bullying is worse psychologically speaking as it is there for a long time (almost forever, but that is another story altogether), whereas offline bullying does involve more physical contact and you could sense them (the bullies) in reality. Offline bullying is worse due to the possibility of physical harm (plus psychological harm), but the only thing is that offline or real life bullying is that once it is over, it is (generally) over without the backlash remaining there for ages, but online, there is always a trace of it left.

I was bullied the old fashion way back in HS by being alienated. At the same time the internet was just starting to take off take off. Like you I did not have FB, or texting. Back then cell phones were used for basic verbal communications and rich people and that was it.

The school that was so big that word did not travel that fast so the gossip about me just circulated around the special ed areas. It was still painful and enough to make me feel icky.

I sometimes wonder if being 'cyber bullied' as well would have pushed me over the edge into suicide but I also consider that at least the police can (in theory) do something about it. NOBODY believed me at least that things were as bad as they were because there was no evidence to back me up. Sure, everyone knew I was excluded and teased but I doubt they believed I was mobbed and had the school nerd (stereotypical geeky, short Chinese kid) attack me from behind. Same of the things that happened I don't even talk about because I know everyone will think I am exaggerating. I wish I was! With cyberbullying, even if the police cannot really do anything thanks to our ridiculous young offender laws at least they can end up on the police's radar for when they turn 18.

Me to.
Back then when you were alone and recharging you were really alone to recharge. Information was much harder to get and came in slowly giving you time to appeciate it. There was no hyperlinks to distract your hyperfocus.

The internet is a weapon, in the hands of a madman it can take li- err... hurt feelings, but in the hands of a trained responsible citizen it can uhm... waste a lot of his or her time watching cat videos on youtube.

The internet needs a training regime to prepare people for intense fluffiness and rude 13 year olds.

I disagree, but that's just my opinion of course.

I grew up just as the internet came into being (1993) and when I was 'bullied' that meant that someone would throw me to the ground and start throwing punches or worse (someone shattered my elbow into 5 pieces once, that wasn't a pleasant experience to say the least).

While assaulting me they'd also be shouting the same type of derogatory things that today's social bullies do.

The one thing i'll agree on that's worse with today's social media and bullying is that people who would otherwise not be bullies IRL feel comfort doing it behind the anonymity of their keyboard and so there is no question there's more verbal bullying today then there was before the internet.

Imagine being beaten on the playground while dozens of people are laughing their asses off at you as the bully is at the same time of beating you also shouting the derogatory thing's that kid's do today over social media. It was like a double whammy.

I worry considerably about this stuff. I could tell my daughter "just turn it off", but that's no good if there's something flying around online behind your back; you walk into school and it's all over.

I've withdrawn from Facebook after years there -- just don't want the parade of endless Christmas letter. More accomplishments, more cute kid photos, more anniversaries. All it does is depress me (okay, I like the cute kid photos, but not all the time). And when I pulled the plug it's not like people emailed to see where I'd gone, either -- wasn't missed at all. Twitter's worse.

On the one hand, I'd have loved to have this sort of access to info. back when I was growing up.
On the other hand, my social faux pas and disasters were spread only by word of mouth, took place before incidents could "go viral" aided by technology.

On balance, I'm glad I had the cushion of growing up before the internet was in wide use, so my missteps and mishaps weren't preserved for posterity.
I was already socially paranoid (due to being confused by my own unlabeled awkwardness), and that was before the ubiquity of camera phones and such.

I had managed to stay off Facebook, and then my boss made me join, which is just wrong. But it has been interesting to find some people I used to know, and see what they're up to, without having to actually interact with them! Makes me feel a bit like a crazy stalker, though. I shouldn't really be able to do this!