Astonishing True Stories of How Youngsters in Love Were Actually Able to Communicate With Their Crush/Steady BEFORE Smartphones!

Jeff Pfeiffer
black and white image of a teenage girl writing a letter to her boyfriend in 1942. She is lying on her stomach on a blanket outside on some grass as she write this, wearing a 1940s bathing suit, with some open books in front of her.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A teenager writes a letter to her boyfriend back home while away at a music camp in 1942

A few days ago, on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter), this interesting question was posed by a woman who, it seems, may be in the younger millennial demographic: “HOW did young people date before mobile phones and email?!! Did they just have to give out their parents’ home numbers?”

Screenshot of a post on X (Twitter) in which the user is asking how young people used to meet and date in years before smartphones and email

Screenshot from X/Twitter

That spurred a lot of equally interesting answers from folks who do recall being a teenager/young adult during those long-ago days before smartphones (or any cell/mobile phone of any sort), email, texting and social media, and trying to make and maintain contact with the object of their affection.

Most of the respondents seem to have been from the Baby Boomer and older Gen X demos, who recalled things like:

–  trying to find the phone number of your crush’s household by looking in a phone book (and hoping that the person’s last name wasn’t something like “Smith”)

–  those butterflies felt when making the call after finding the number

–  getting through to that number but then having to run the additional gauntlet of asking a parent who may have answered if you could speak with (fill in the blank)

–  desperately waiting for your family’s phone line to be freed up so that the person you liked, whose call you were expecting, could get through

–  the embarrassment of having to talk to your crush/steady in front of the rest of the family because your landline was in a main room of the house, and perhaps trying to stretch the phone’s extension cord as far as possible to get away from the crowd while you spoke

–  writing letters when you were far away from a person you were dating (like at different colleges)

–  passing notes to each other in class

–  going to a place where you thought your crush might be and just hanging out for a while, hoping they show up

How Old School Are You? Find Out With 'Never Have I Ever: Retro Edition'
How Old School Are You? Find Out With 'Never Have I Ever: Retro Edition'

The fun game has been making the social media rounds. You give yourself one point for each thing you have NEVER done from a list that includes activities like using a typewriter, listening to vinyl records, using a phone book and more. How low can *you* go to prove your old-schoolness?
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There was at least one answer I saw that may have been from an older millennial, who mentioned meeting and talking to people with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), which is now is pretty much as dated as a rotary phone.

Below are several answers to the initial question that stood out to me because I recognized them from my own days as a youngster either hoping to connect with a crush or while in a dating relationship.

Check them out, and let us know about your own unbelievable adventures as a youngster in love before today’s technology! (All screenshots of posts are from X/Twitter)

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

black and white image of a teenage girl in the 1950s talking on a rotary dial phone. She is sitting in front of the phone, which is mounted on a wall, and has part of the coiled cord connecting the phone's handset to the base in her right hand while holding the phone to her ear with her left.She is smiling as she listens to the person on the other end of the line.

H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

A 1950s teen talks on a rotary dial phone

 

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

black and white stock image of a teenage girl talking on a rotary dial phone circa late 1960s/early 70s. She has dark hair tied in ponytails on each side and is wearing a lighter-colored dressed with a dotted pattern. She is smiling as she listens while holding the phone up to her ear with her right hand, while standing next to the base of the phone, which is mounted on the wall next to her.

H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

A teenager using a rotary dial phone, circa late 1960s/early ’70s

 

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

screenshot of a Twitter post responding to a question of how people used to meet/date in years before mobile phones and email.

You know what? I agree with the last commenter.

All of the above did work!

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Retro Scorecard — How Many of These Classic Bands and Solo Artists Have You Seen Live?

A fun list making social media rounds features 60 music groups or people who came to prominence between the '70s and '90s. Give yourself a point for each one you've seen live; how high will you score?
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