1. Home
  2. Thinking Ahead
  3. The Networked Society blog
  4. 10 Things that disappeared since my first backpacking trip

10 Things that disappeared since my first backpacking trip

By: Mikael Eriksson Björling 29 June, 2011 People , Society , Technology , , ,

When traveling the world in the late eighties life was quite different compared to traveling today in the Networked Society.

10 things that have disappeared since then are:

1. Going to the telegraph station and requesting an international telephone line in order to make a call home (and becoming financially ruined at the same time)
2. Checking the rates for exchanging the travel checks
3. Going to the travel agency to check the prices for a flight
4. Economizing on film for the camera
5. Sending undeveloped rolls of film back home to be developed when getting back
6. Creating a cassette tape with the perfect mix of music
7. Going to the General Post Office and browsing piles of letters
8. Relying on guidebooks that were several years old
9. Carrying the old style air tickets in thin paper with the IATA logo  
10. Not having the possibility to get or follow any news from home

Written by Mikael Eriksson Björling

Mikael is an Expert on consumer behavior at Ericsson ConsumerLab with focus on explorative and strategic consumer research. He works to translate findings into key insights by combining consumer understanding with technology and business understanding.

Commenting rules

  • Alex

    You went backpacking by air? Most of us went by train in the “good” old days… :)

  • Mikael Eriksson Bjorling

    Hi Alex,
    I did a number of Interrail trips (by train) in Europe in the eighties and early nineties. Then I went around the world 89-90 and did as much as could overland (train from Stockholm to Hong Kong) but in the Pacific I went by air. A common topic to discuss with people you meet was about where to buy the cheapest tickets, in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok or Penang?

  • Murodshoeva

    The advantages of a new digital networked world are obvious but I really miss using pens and writing letters, developing pictures and gluing or sticking them in the album.. There was some charm in it)) And still is.

  • Mikael Eriksson Bjorling

    Hi Murodshoeva, I agree. I still use the pen and paper even if I have sophisticated drawing softwares on the laptop. They have both have their advantages.

  • Anish

    hey all……..
    nice blog sir,
    although i was not even born at that time but i know how was the life without technology…..
    i m from India….. and India is not so rich country…..but because of increasing demand of technology India is now standing up with other countries………..”pen and paper are still in use here” [:)] mostly in rural areas but urban areas are  now developed….
    I m now 20 years and i had observed the drastic change in the development of India in Last 15 years…..

  • http://mikaelbjorling.com/2012/01/03/10-things-that-disappeared-since-my-first-backpacking-trip/ 10 Things that disappeared since my first backpacking trip | Mikael Eriksson Björling

    [...] this post at: http://www.ericsson.com/thinkingahead/the-networked-society-blog/2011/06/29/10-things-that-disappear… Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This entry was posted in [...]