By “Interoverts”, I’m talking about like people who don’t like talking to other people. How did they spend their time?
Before the Internet, I read books. Everywhere, constantly. Haven’t read a book since the 90s, probably.
Introverts of our era spend their time on their computers, but what did introverts do before? Like when literacy rates were lower (pre-1950s)? Or before the printing press?
Submitted 5 months ago by DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
jerkface@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Infrapink@thebrainbin.org 5 months ago
Before the printing press, introverted men worked the farm, while introverted women spun thread, made and repaired clothes, cooked, cleaned, nursed babies, and also worked the farm.
this is the same as what extroverts did, because back then, you contributed to the farm and the household whether you liked it or not.
At a celebration or festival, the introverts might gather in a corner to tell stories, but there was no way to avoid being part of the community back then.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Model trains, stamps, and books. Unless your last name was Cavendish - Then you’d be making amazing scientific breakthroughs and not tell anyone, only to get credit posthumously after someone reads your lab notes.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house to avoid encountering his housekeeper, because he was especially shy of women.
💀 This is next level introversion, way too above my level.
Leather@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Developing Philosophy.
kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
People used to live in the secluded far edges of the village when they really wanted to be left alone
ruuster13@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
Build model trains.
Hegar@fedia.io 5 months ago
Humans are social mammals. In many important respects, it makes no sense to even think of us as individuals.
I suspect that in the past people with higher levels of social anxiety probably just spoke a little less than average, and noticably less on the much less frequent times they met strangers.
But i think it's its probably very inaccurate to imagine anyone who we'd recognize as an "introvert" in the much more collectivist cultures that dominate history.
adespoton@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Before the printing press was before organized timekeeping or most automated machines.
This meant there was plenty of space for introverts doing isolated manual labour that we now automate.
What did they do at the end of the day instead of visit at the pub? Probably collapse in exhaustion.
For those who had more power, there was always religious orders.
Jerb322@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Mountain hermit
miguel@fedia.io 5 months ago
I can't speak to pre-1950s, but before the modern internet (not counting ARPANET), I spent most of my time hiking trails and reading.
HubertManne@piefed.social 5 months ago
books.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
I think people are painting the past with a little bit of rose colored glasses. There was less support in the 90’s, you couldn’t just look up how to do something, be yourself, or understand the basics about anything. We had a 3 “pedophiles” on our street. Were they? I don’t know, it was a rumor. There was no list. It was great in some ways and not so great in others.
Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
The mind wonders when you’re doing mundane tasks. A sheep herder would be lost in their thoughts all day.
Triumph@fedia.io 5 months ago
I spent a good deal of time disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling slot cars. Plenty of reading. Climbed trees. Ate wild mulberries. Fixed bicycles.
oxomoxo@lemmy.world 5 months ago
In 2003 I worked for a small company that was attempting to be an early ebook publisher, before the days of ereaders and smartphones. It was too ahead of its time and closed after our first two publications. One of the books was on an old mining town, and part of my job was doing research and collecting photos and reference materials for the book.
I had the chance to read the diary of a miner from the 1860s. Keeping a diary was one popular hobby, but one thing that stood out to me was how he described a day off he had, it was a Sunday I believe and he spent 6 hours watching a bird and writing down all that it did.
What I gathered is that in the absence of entertainment or chores, humans will find things to fill the void. What seems extremely boring to you or me was very fulfilling to those with no other options.
False@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Bird watching is still a popular hobby
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 5 months ago
In the spring and summer, in a park near my home, there’s a three feet-tall crane that makes appearances before sunup, and on the days I can’t sleep, I get up early to go see him. Birds can be really neat.
abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
I’ve worked in factory where my responsibility was to watch a machine that needed intervention at most once per shift. I perfected the art of paper plane folding.
dhork@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Introverts probably had it much better back then. You couldn’t physically take your work home with you. Your news came once a day, to the front porch, and was not constantly bombarded at your eyeballs. When you were home, you only interacted with your immediate family, unless you had someone physically over to visit. Or if someone called in the telephone, which you could always just not answer.
hanrahan@piefed.social 5 months ago
in the telephone, which you could always just not answer.
Indeed what feesh hell is this
I mostly don’t answer my phone, i have a ringtone for my parter and that’s the onky one i DO answer.
yaroto98@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Join a convent/monastary and spend your life in seclusion and take up an oath of silence. Or at least let people assume you took the oath and just not talk to anybody. Spend time ‘meditating’.
Boozilla@lemmy.world 5 months ago
[deleted]TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub 5 months ago
Shepherds are famous for having lots of free time to write religious fanfiction so future generations bicker about it.
idiomaddict@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Reading books, writing, doing crafts, going on walks, hanging out with pets, gardening, doing chores, cooking, making art, looking at the stars…
DaniNatrix@leminal.space 5 months ago
Feeling blessed that this is basically my life, except I do have to go to pesky work Mon-Fri. And work is work, I’d always rather be home, but in the grand scheme of jobs, I have one where I’m challenged and get to learn new things with a decent group of humans on my team and good work/life balance so, yeah, feeling blessed for sure.
AstralPath@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
I wish that was my life.
birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
Minus the stars, it’s my life. It’s pretty good.
TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub 5 months ago
You can do my chores for me if you want, I know it’s little but it’s something.
Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
With the exception of the stars (assuming you live somewhere with bad light pollution, which is most people), all of those things are still achievable. You can even use the internet to learn how to do them; don’t let your dreams stay dreams!
pwnicholson@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Spending the day working in a field, in a factory, etc you don’t do a lot of socializing.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Damn that sounds so sad, I forgot the 5-day/40-hour workweek wasn’t a thing back then.
j4k3@piefed.world 5 months ago
They often had seasons off back before the industrial age. Like, war was seasonal. Ya had to return your piece of shits to plant their fields or pick them, but in between, they had time off for pointy pointless things.
Aeao@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Took walks and complained about other peoples traditions.
Source: hp lovecraft