META: Read our top picks of things we miss thanks to the internet and how to get them back.
The internet giveth and the internet taketh away. It has given us the ability to play slots online or turn our home into a cinema with all the streaming options, but there are some things weâre missing.
It has made a lot of changes to society, a lot good, a lot not so good. But weâre not here to talk about the great, massive changes that have us debating if we live in a Matrix or in the world of 1984, but just the little touches to things that we didnât know we needed until it was gone.
Read on for our top picks of things we miss thanks to the internet and how to get them back.
The smell of books
Somewhere around the introduction of the Amazon Kindle, there was a sudden appreciation for the smell of books. Some people would have you think that these two things coincide, but that appreciation was always there. People talked about how much they loved the smell of a library, or the inhale theyâd take as they opened an old book, but that craving is more pronounced now that we can carry around hundreds of books in a tablet.
If you are someone who has saved so much space and money by switching to a Kindle, I donât blame you, but if you are still looking for that book smell, there are options.
Book-flavoured candles have appeared on the shelf. They even come with their own variants. The woody musty smell of a book, amongst the newly cut grass, or the burning of a log fire, or even a wizardâs quarters.
Sharing photos
Have you noticed how no one really looks at photos together anymore? Sure, weâre âsharingâ photos in that we post them to our social media accounts for our friends to quickly heart and then move on, but we so rarely get that organic laugh that comes with pulling out a photo album.
We donât get to share in those holiday photos anymore, or the wedding photos, and all the stories that come from them â and thatâs a sin.
But there are ways to solve that. If you miss having a physical photo album to look back on, consider getting a photo album. You simply connect it to your social media accounts; choose what photos you are looking for and wait for your photo album to arrive.
Getting lost
Thereâs something lost when using Google Maps. You go straight from where you are to exactly where you want to go, even right to the door, usually entirely looking at your phone.
But if youâve ever been to a European city, youâll know that all the best stuff is hidden down narrow and little-known alleyways. Thatâs where youâll find the best pastries in Paris, or a single street market in Rome, or even Narnia if you look hard enough.
So, whatâs the solution? This one is simple: only use your Google Maps app when you really need it. You will see more of the world and find a valuable hidden gem along the way.
Total immersion
The great debate on whether cinemas should shut down is ongoing, and moot. Cinemas have survived the great changes of time and industry issues, including world wars, tech changes, the talkies, home television, the switch to digital, the then switch to streaming and everything else the internet has to throw at them.
But as much as we can pick up a wall-sized TV and mount it next to a window covered by black-out blinds, thereâs something about the cinema that just makes you pay attention â to the point that opening your phone during the movie will have you booed out of the place.
But donât you pay attention? Donât you really feel every emotion? And do you really get the same effect at home?
