70+ Ways the Internet Has Changed Our lives.

  • Travel agents —> -Acting as our own Travel agents Priceline, Expedia
  • Hotels —> HomeAway and Airbnb
  • Bookstores—> e-books
  • Realtors —> finding it on line  to buy and  Sell your home without a Realtor
  • Big box department stores —> Amazon.com…. (wonder why the malls no longer look like they did in the past?)
  • malls and retail stores shopping (Thanks Amazon! With your ‘cheap mailing deal’ we can turn malls  into medical facilities or universities!)
  • Traditional stockbrokers and the financial industry—> trading our own stocks online
  • Record companies —> ITunes
  • Local Gas prices—–> GasBuddy tells the lowest prices.
  • Land lines —> carrying our phone with us wherever we go; no long distance charges
  • phone cards
  • phone book covers
  • Phone booths – Cell phones
  • Watches-  no need for a wrist watch…with a cell phone. Sorry Timex.
  • Newspaper delivery– get yesterdays news. We can get it immediately —> reading on line
  • Attorneys  for Trusts and wills—> buying forms online and it is perfectly legal   instead of paying lawyers HUGE sums to have their assistant click a few radio buttons on a computer program. Thank you Legal Zoom and others.  Artificial Intelligence could replace 39 percent of all legal positions  due to automation. (Also we can  ask at the bank to add a POD line so your money passes to your heirs without an atty…Ditto a TOD for real estate and vehicles.)
  • Accountants  an estimated 95 percent of accounting positions will be eliminated as a result of automation.
  • Car/Automobile ownership buying a car and paying for insurance, tags, gas, parking and maintenance such as new tires, oil changes, gas, breakdowns,   etc. —> Uber and Lyft  saves all that plus depreciation,
  • Grocery delivery —> ordering online and have the groceries waiting for you at the store or delivered
  • scanning our own groceries at the store
  • self service gas stations over gas jockeys
  • Video stores —> Netflix
  • Friends introducing you—-> online dating
  • Getting a drivers license at 16 to meet friends —> Texting, Facebook, Cell phones
  • Cable TV—> (thanks to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and HBO Go and streaming services like SlingSmart Tvs with apps and other content providers and devices)
  • Encyclopedias —> Google
  • Doctors appointments —> Doctor on demand (Telemedicine)
  • Going before a judge —> video arraignments
  • Driving to meetings —> video conferencing
  • Telegrams —> cell phones and emails
  • Fax machines —> scanning and e-mailing
  • Yellow pages reps —> googling
  • Yellow pages —–> online
  • Background checks —> googling
  • Maps —->GPS
  • Cookbooks —> googling
  • Check deposits at the bank —> with a smartphone
  • writing checks —->bank online or by phone
  • – going to the bank    online banking….snap a picture of your check and it is immediately deposited to your bank!
  • High School or family reunions —> Facebook
  • Having some privacy —> having very little.
  • Greeting cards /Christmas cards —> eCards and Facebook birthday wishes
  • Sharing pictures of family —> email them
  • Getting to school on time —> Online school
  • Invitations and RSVP —> online
  • Movie theatres —> Amazon Prime, Netflix
  • Netflix DVDs in red envelopes  —–> stream them
  • “How to” Books—> Youtube
  • Teachers lesson plans —> Online
  • Courthouse records, county assessor, casenet —> all on line so everyone can be a private investigator
  • Newspaper archives —> always available.
  • Genealogy records —> available without going to the Church of Latter Day Saints fiche (Findagrave, Ancestry.com)
  • Friends fixing you up with a really cool guy —> eHarmony
  • Magazines —> celebrity gossip on line
  • Politics —> everyone seems to have something to say and it is in your face.
  • Wedding registries—> The Knot
  • Latest sales —> here or sent to you so you don’t have to go store to store to find the best price (See also retailmenot or groupon
  • Meeting friends to go Christmas shopping —> Shop in the middle of the night from home.
  • Wondering whatever happened to that cute little girl in 2nd grade —> Facebook
  • reviews before purchasing an item.
  • 6:00 news  – news 24/7
  • Tied to an office/  driving to work in an office  —> Telecommuting
  • Simply taking whatever your doctor prescribes —>Typing in the name of the pharmaceutical and next to it, type the word lawsuit
  • Telling your doctor about a side effect of medicine —> Check side effects here
  • Pharmacist or doctor —> quickly checking for drug interactions yourself
  • Coupon clipping —> Showing the clerk your smartphone. (No need to buy the newspaper)
  • Pinterest!
  • Classified ads fees—> Craiglist is free
  • Keeping in touch with family——> keeping in touch everyday with all of them on Facebook
  • Photo processing booth —>smartphones
  • Watching the news to hear the weather report —> Get it anytime, any day
  • Job searches —> From how you look for a job to how you send your resume.
  • Dictionary or Thesaurus —> Online dictionary and Thesaurus
  • Yard sales in newspaper   —> Online
  • Seed catalogs, especially finding non-GMO —> online
  • Counting your words when writing a story —> Check them instantly
  • Check your grammar or spelling or punctuation —> Grammar spelling punctuation
  • Wishing we could lower our bills —> We learn how
  • Messy underwear drawers —> Folding our underwear
  • Toys for toddlers to play with in their strollers —-> Mom’s smartphone
  • Bill paying —–> Done in minutes online.
  • Enjoying the scenery while driving —–>Googling or texting (Not me.)
  • Watching a TV program  from the past —–> Youtube
  • Calling a business between 8-5 —–> Chatting on line with customer service anytime of the day or night.
  • Swatches of paint chips —->googling paint colors
  • Calculators ——> There is one on your smartphone
  • Pedometers—-> Free apps on smartphone
  • Ads in the mail or Sunday paper ——> They are online and we always have them with us on our phone
  • photo album—> our phones and the cloud
  • Camera
  • photo processing
  • diary
  • Someone to talk to in the middle of the night… Lots of forums such as City-data.com
  • leather brief case
  • notebook planner to keep track of appointments and such —-> our phones
  • ballpoint pen set
  • professional photographers
  • stationary (to write letters) as a gift
  • postcards
  • clocks
  • bath soap —–> body wash
  • scrapbooks
  • radio/record player
  • tape recorders
  • magazines —> online
  • music —> -ipod
  • books—-> Kindle
  • cookbooks….find a recipe on line.-ATM’s taking bank teller jobs
  • automated attendants instead of a human answering the phone and transferring calls.
  • answering machines
  •  Directory assistance….  just go online to find a number.
  • if your ‘land line’ messes up you are told how to find the gray box attached to the house and test it yourself.

The following are added from comments Not all of these are due to the internet…but more changes….means we aren’t building community and we are becoming isolated.  Which brings up this, which everyone should read.:

  • getting our own boarding passes at the airport kiosks
  • picking up movie tickets from machines that don’t call in sick, go on vacation or require a pension,
  • Secretaries/ Administrative assistant-   Microsoft Word to type our own letters on your computer
  • Typewriters- Microsoft Word
  • private investigators —–> Courthouse records, county assessor, casenet
  • media,  tv,    ancillary equipment for the phones,mail,
  • applying for a loan—->lots of places on line have cheaper rates than locally!
  • doctors office confirming now in e-mail
  • home ownership for those under 35 (they want to but can’t afford to)
  • millennials who work all the time, and feel guilty when they aren’t. experts worry that their attitudes towards vacation will spread (Could it affect Expedia and AirBNB?)
  • wakeup calls at hotels
  • TV Guide
  • calendars
  • Dining room table
  • Collectibles
  • Buying houses (rent)
  • copy machines
  • printers for your computer (go to FedEx!)
  • pantyhose
This entry was posted in Computer, Making Changes, Memories from the past and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to 70+ Ways the Internet Has Changed Our lives.

  1. E. L. says:

    There is a slide show on here that is pretty good about the changes with technology.

  2. Donna says:

    Some of the Best Online Shopping Sites

    Zulily
    Few Moda
    Style Mafia
    ASOS
    Lisa Says Gah
    BNKR
    Modcloth
    Aritzia
    Topshop
    Whistles
    Pixie Market
    Need Supply Co.
    The Dreslyn
    Tictail Market

  3. T.D. says:

    Sending off your film to Owl Photo and waiting impatiently by the mailbox to get the photos and negatives.

  4. l. arthur doss says:

    Attention Hoarders: With internet and cell phones….none of us need

    Floppy disks
    Maps
    VCRs- DVDs
    Fax
    Yellow Pages
    Alarm clock
    CDs
    Calculators
    Dictionary
    Portable Radios
    Wall clocks
    Pagers
    Cookbooks
    Camera
    Flip Phones
    Address book
    Photo Album- take all your pictures from your old photo albums, take them to your local Target, and have them scanned so you can have them digitally.

Leave a comment