Sometimes it feels like we’ve been in this YouTube bubble for a long, long, long time. It can even be difficult to remember what we did before YouTube was A Thing! How did we fill our time? What did we watch? Who did we talk to?
(No-one. The answer’s no-one in our case.)
And it seems as though it isn’t just us who have been thinking about all this, as the Twitter hive has been abuzz with people talking about #BeforeYouTube.
It all started with an innocuous tweet from a US gameshow, who had some YouTubers as guests…
It's hard to remember a time #BeforeYouTube and we need your help! Play along!https://t.co/Cu305bdOpB
— @midnight (@midnight) April 19, 2016
…and like so many things on the internet, it escalated.
1. We completely undervalue the search bar.
#beforeyoutube I would come home from school & watch music videos on TV for hours.
— Hannah Witton (@hannahwitton) April 19, 2016
We love you, search bar *heart eye emoji*. Gone are the days of waiting for our fav video to play on MTV!
2. Some of our habits would have seemed somewhat odd.
#BeforeYouTube if you stared at your phone, your family would worry about you. pic.twitter.com/eUrUqhKi7a
— Jason Spellman 🎥 (@JasonSpellman) April 19, 2016
Related: Who else remembers #BeforeBroadband. We still have nightmares featuring that dial-up tone.
3. We used to go outside…
#BeforeYouTube I breathed a lot more fresh air! 😂✌🏻️
— Melanie Murphy (@melaniietweets) April 19, 2016
It’s been a bit of a running joke in the YouTube community, but it just might be a little bit more true than we thought…
4. Some people will never give you up, let you down etc.
#BeforeYouTube Rick Astley left us the hell alone.
— Creepy Dungate (@ScarfDemon) April 19, 2016
But did you know that Rickrolling was recently voted the most popular internet meme of the last ten years?
5. It’s entirely possible that cats will either become our overlords…
#BeforeYouTube cats were not the all-powerful beings they are today. pic.twitter.com/rr5dTogQX7
— Gokul Yesodharan (@ThePowtential) April 19, 2016
…or start campaigning for more privacy.
https://twitter.com/baezal_/status/722423561558827008
Someone get them some protest signs!
6. Haters gonna hate.
#BeforeYouTube I had no way of knowing some old racist white dude in California doesn't like me
— Will McDaniel (@will_mcdaniel) April 19, 2016
Once we learned to not let those kind of haters get to us, however, we became so much productive armed with the knowledge of their displeasure. One racist white dude complaining = +1 motivation.
7. But we’ve gained #TeamInternet
#BeforeYouTube the Internet wasn't as beautiful as it is today. Now we have an entire world dedicated to the wonderful #TeamInternet 🎉💕
— Vanessa Spook-ley 🎃 (@CadenzaNess) April 19, 2016
And that can only be a good thing, right? Putting aside the trolls and negative comments, there’s a whole group of people who might never have met if it hadn’t been for YouTube. Aaah.
8. There has been an alarming rise in phone/face incidents
#BeforeYouTube I never dropped my phone on my face. 😉😎 pic.twitter.com/DMBzyuZB6M
— Jeff Barrett (@BarrettAll) April 19, 2016
It’s a pain like no other. Where are our levitating phones, Apple*? GET ON IT!
(*Other phone manufacturers are available.)
9. E4 are a little bitter.
#BeforeYouTube people probably watched more E4. pic.twitter.com/QYEdhPzLnN
— E4 (@E4Tweets) April 19, 2016
Yikes. Tbf though we stopped watching E4 less because of YouTube, more because of when they got rid of Scrubs and chose The Big Bang Theory instead #sorrynotsorry.
10. There’s always time for a “social experiment” joke
#BeforeYouTube puberty was the only "social experiment" we cringed at…
— Hannah Cranston (@HannahCranston) April 19, 2016
Let’s be honest though, the cringe didn’t stop with puberty, it’s continued right on up to now for us.
11. We’ve all gained some new, er… “skills”
#BeforeYouTube I had no idea what the word procrastinate meant 😂
— Becky Sheeran (@TalkBeckyTalk) April 19, 2016
Even if those skills are questionable. Honestly, we’re watching all these videos for “research”. It’s all “very important work”. *shifty eyes*.
12. Our lives would be lacking Ben Cook.
We were free.
We were… alive.
— Benjamin Cook (@benjamin_cook) April 19, 2016
Where would we turn for our sarcasm and cynicism?
13. Justin Bieber. ’nuff said.
#BeforeYouTube Justin Bieber would not have been possible. F*ck you, YouTube. @midnight
— Richard Jeter (@MilesToGo13) April 19, 2016
Oh, Richard. A year ago, we might have apologised, but something’s changed and now we’re all Beliebers.
14. It really does feel like it’s been around forever!
#BeforeYouTube pic.twitter.com/Yykd1YbWjk
— Shannon Renee (@Shannon_WIE) April 19, 2016
Even though it wasn’t ACTUALLY all that long ago.
https://twitter.com/benyerks/status/722266139611553793
Oh, YouTube. What have you done to us?
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