How the Internet Changed Everything — Part 1
How the Internet
Changed Everything — Part 1
Before you swipe past — a quick word to the younger lot.
To Gen Z, Millennials, or anyone under 35 — I’m sorry.
You might not understand half of what we’re about to talk about.
We’re going to mention things like the Yellow Pages, cassette tapes, the Phonebook, and maybe even Busby the BT bird.
If none of that makes sense — don’t worry. I’ll explain it along the way.
For those closer to my generation:
Just read it. Smile. Laugh. And realise how far we’ve come.
When my dad used to say, “Back in my day…”, I’d roll my eyes and reply:
“Yeah, Dad. I know. You chased dinosaurs with a club.”
But unfortunately, as I get older — I’m becoming him.
Compared to the new generations coming through, I might as well have grown up in the Stone Age.
And no, I’m not taking the mick out of younger people.
But I’ll be honest — half the things they say might as well be a different language.
If someone told me, “That’s lowkey mid, but the vibe’s still kinda fire. No cap.”
…I’d probably nod politely and check my drink for drugs.
So if you're reading this and under 30 — bear with me.
And if you're over 40 — don’t worry, you’re not the only one feeling old.
The Yellow Pages
The Yellow Pages
Big thick book.
Every local business was in it — plumbers, decorators, window fitters.
It landed on your doorstep once a year and weighed more than your dog.
🔎 The Yellow Pages was basically Google — but printed on paper once a year, and you couldn’t click anything.
It was good for three things:
Killing bugs — because it was heavy enough to crush a mouse.
Getting a wallop from your mum if you stepped out of line.
Finding a business, which was technically what it was made for.
And if your business name started with Z?
You were stuck on the very last page.
Everyone looked at A to M — maybe N if they were feeling generous.
If your company was called Zed Nation, you didn’t stand a chance.Same thing happens today.
Search for something on Google — and if your website is buried down the bottom, no one’s clicking through 10 pages to find it.
A business called Another Day Marketing is going to show up way before Zebra Systems, even if it’s better.Being listed first still matters — it’s just moved from paper to pixels
The Phonebook
This one’s even madder.
The Phonebook listed every single household in your area — with your full name, home address, and landline number printed in it.
No opt-in, no warning — it was just there.
🔎 The Phonebook was like giving out your private details to anyone with a letterbox and calling it normal.
If you wanted to call someone, you flicked through this massive book and dialled the number printed next to their name.
No caller ID. No privacy. If they didn’t pick up — you’d try again later.
Nowadays?
You want someone’s number? You just Google them.
Want to talk? You leave a voice message.
You don’t need a book, a dial tone, or even to speak. You can send a voice note from your phone while you’re walking to the shop.
These days, we’ve got BT fibre, Wi-Fi routers, and mobile contracts with unlimited data.
But back then, BT had Buzby — a little cartoon bird telling you to “make someone happy with a phone call.”
Buzby was a bright yellow animated bird used by British Telecom in the ‘70s and ‘80s to encourage people to use their landline. The UK’s version of a phone mascot.
He showed up in ads, posters, and even at school assemblies.
Try explaining that to a teenager today — they’ve never seen a landline, never mind a cartoon bird telling them to use one.
“If Buzby tried that today, he’d be replaced by a TikTok influencer and a mobile upgrade.”
Answer Machines
We used to leave messages too — just not the way you do now.
When answer machines first came out, I was dumbstruck.
Not the kind you set up on your mobile — I’m talking about an actual box sat next to your landline, with a cassette tape inside it.
🔎 You’d record a greeting like “Sorry we’re not in…” onto the tape.
When someone called, it played your message, then rewound to the next bit of blank tape to record theirs.
You had to listen back to every message manually.
Rewind the tape. Stop it. Play. Rewind again. Delete. Repeat.
Half the time it was just someone hanging up or breathing too close to the mic.
Now you swipe, listen, and reply without even touching your phone.
You youngsters don’t know how good you’ve got it.
But then again... my mum and dad used to say the same thing to me.
So that just proves one thing — I’m getting old.
VHS, Betamax, and Remote Controls
Back before Netflix, we had VHS tapes.
VHS was a plastic cassette used to watch films — and yes, you had to rewind them when you were done, or the next person would hate you.
And before VHS? Betamax. Shorter tapes, better quality — didn’t catch on.
If you had the wrong one, tough. You had to buy a different machine.
I still remember when we got our first VHS recorder. It came with a remote control — and that absolutely blew my mind.
Now, younger lot won’t understand this — but when we wanted to change the channel back then, we didn’t press a button from the sofa.
You had to get up, walk over to the TV, and physically turn a knob or push a button on the front.
And I don’t mean a soft-touch panel — I mean a big plastic switch that clicked like a stapler.
So when this video player came with a remote, we thought we were living in the future.
Even funnier?
We had that VHS recorder for about 10 years — and my mum and dad never worked out how to use the remote.
And they definitely never learned how to set the timer to record a show while watching something else.
🔎 You could schedule it to record one channel while watching another — a mind-blowing feature at the time.
Now?
People don’t even use remotes half the time — they just tell the telly what to do.
“TV, switch to BBC One.”
“Play next episode.”
“Turn off in 10 minutes.”
You can even pause live telly, rewind a scene, or record entire series with one click.
Back then, if you missed a show — that was it. You missed it.
No catch-up. No streaming. No sympathy.
👉 Read Blog #4: How the Internet Changed Everything Part 2
💬 Want to chat about this blog post?
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