Sometimes I wonder how we even managed without a smartphone glued to our hands… but then I remember, that was just normal life.
Back then, my phone was a chunky little flip, and the coolest thing it could do was let me download a polyphonic ringtone for £3. Texting meant using T9 predictive text — pressing one button and hoping your phone guessed the word you wanted (and getting the wrong word way too often 🙃). And don’t even get me started on running out of credit halfway through a dramatic conversation.
The internet? That lived on the family computer. The one in the living room. Where your mum could glance over your shoulder at any moment. You’d sign into MSN, wait for the dial-up to stop screeching, and that was your window to the world.
It all felt slower, but in some ways, it was sweeter. We weren’t scrolling endlessly — we were waiting for a message, a nudge, a little green icon to pop up and say someone was online. And honestly? I kind of miss that simplicity.
Tags: mid-noughties, nostalgia, teen years, MSN, flip phones
Got a T9 memory or your first flip-phone story? Drop it in the comments — I want to hear them! ✨
Asten Does Nostalgia 
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