FabSwingers.com forum: Your opinions of the Internet

By *iamondsmiles. OP Woman
11 weeks ago

little house on the praire

Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts

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By *enrietteandSamCouple
11 weeks ago

Brum

It ruined the world.

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By *olyGlamorousWoman
11 weeks ago

Altrincham

"Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts"

A long long time ago, I was married, we got a computer, I logged onto AOL Transatlantic chat and got chatting to some bloke... 2wks later we met... 2wks after that I relocated... 24yrs later and we're still very much in love

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By *cunthorpe123Couple
11 weeks ago

scunthorpe

Way back in 2008, I had recently joined Facebook and was scrolling through ‘dating’ pages.

Got a message from a random guy, started chatting. We met and he kept coming back!

Now we are 17 years down the line, married for 11 years and have 13 and 15 yr old kids together!

Donna

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By *ude LawMan
11 weeks ago

Harrogate

"Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts

a/s/l?

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By *olyGlamorousWoman
11 weeks ago

Altrincham

"Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts

a/s/l?"

53/F/Altrincham 😉

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By *estructionDollyWoman
11 weeks ago

Manchester

I am a child of the Internet. My adolescence was full of AOL chatrooms, limewire/napster/pirate bay, MSN messenger, MySpace, YouTube, Deviantart, twogirlsonecup, flash games, and lots of other stuff best left forgotten.

It turned me into the well adjusted adult I've become

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By *cunthorpe123Couple
11 weeks ago

scunthorpe

"Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts

a/s/l?"

43/f/scunthorpe 😂

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By *upanovaMan
11 weeks ago

Sheffield

"Way back in 2008, I had recently joined Facebook and was scrolling through ‘dating’ pages.

Got a message from a random guy, started chatting. We met and he kept coming back!

Now we are 17 years down the line, married for 11 years and have 13 and 15 yr old kids together!

Donna "

What an amazing story! 😁

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By *oeBeansMan
11 weeks ago

London

"It ruined the world."

Yep, all the little weirdos who had batshit crazy opinions now find hundreds who think the same and suddenly think they're the majority

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By *upanovaMan
11 weeks ago

Sheffield

48/M/Sheffield, never done internet dating, just FAB lol.

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By *cunthorpe123Couple
11 weeks ago

scunthorpe

"Way back in 2008, I had recently joined Facebook and was scrolling through ‘dating’ pages.

Got a message from a random guy, started chatting. We met and he kept coming back!

Now we are 17 years down the line, married for 11 years and have 13 and 15 yr old kids together!

Donna

What an amazing story! 😁"

Absolutely! The absolute love of my life. Only lived half an hour away but without facebook we never would have met!

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By *iamondsmiles. OP Woman
11 weeks ago

little house on the praire

The most amazing thing for me was finding out information. When I was younger you relied on encyclopedias and going to the library, then all of all of a sudden it was at your finger tips

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By *orny PTMan
11 weeks ago

Peterborough

"It ruined the world."

I hate the have you got 'The app'? question.

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By *AJMLKTV/TS
11 weeks ago

Burley

It opened up a wealth of knowledge to the world, but I'm still not entirely sure that was a good thing.

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By *enrietteandSamCouple
11 weeks ago

Brum

"It ruined the world.

I hate the have you got 'The app'? question."

But there is such great contentment in simply answering No.

A bit like the, ‘can I take your email’? Question.

No, then stare blankly into their eyes.

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By *ovelyDayXXXWoman
11 weeks ago

Niche

"Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts

When it's right it's right 😁 love this

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By *iamondsmiles. OP Woman
11 weeks ago

little house on the praire

I'm still not sure the Internet is a good thing. It does make the world very small but gone areal the days of innocence. Someone said early they are a child of the Internet so they l no other.

If it wasn't for the Internet I wouldn't be sat here typing

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By *eoBloomsMan
11 weeks ago

Springfield

"I'm still not sure the Internet is a good thing. It does make the world very small but gone areal the days of innocence. Someone said early they are a child of the Internet so they l no other.

If it wasn't for the Internet I wouldn't be sat here typing"

I think we're still too early in the internet's evolution to grasp it's full impact for good or bad.

I'm grateful I'm old enough to have known the pre and post internet ages, I feel I've had the best of both worlds. Those who have grown up only knowing the internet may find it harder to disconnect.

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By *orny PTMan
11 weeks ago

Peterborough

"I'm still not sure the Internet is a good thing. It does make the world very small but gone areal the days of innocence. Someone said early they are a child of the Internet so they l no other.

If it wasn't for the Internet I wouldn't be sat here typing

I think we're still too early in the internet's evolution to grasp it's full impact for good or bad.

I'm grateful I'm old enough to have known the pre and post internet ages, I feel I've had the best of both worlds. Those who have grown up only knowing the internet may find it harder to disconnect."

This is where Gen X really do thrive. We can switch between analogue and digital in a heartbeat.

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By *iamondsmiles. OP Woman
11 weeks ago

little house on the praire

"I'm still not sure the Internet is a good thing. It does make the world very small but gone areal the days of innocence. Someone said early they are a child of the Internet so they l no other.

If it wasn't for the Internet I wouldn't be sat here typing

I think we're still too early in the internet's evolution to grasp it's full impact for good or bad.

I'm grateful I'm old enough to have known the pre and post internet ages, I feel I've had the best of both worlds. Those who have grown up only knowing the internet may find it harder to disconnect."
I agree I'm glad I've lived in both worlds. I'm very naive as far as the Internet is concerned and I know nothing about Ai. My grandchildren take it all in their world but it scares.me. There will be a.time people can't physically Interact with each other. In glad I won't be around then

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By *omeones GrumpMan
11 weeks ago

3rd rock from the sun

I don't think it will catch on

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By *amierebelMan
11 weeks ago

My own little world

[Removed by poster at 28/04/25 22:11:19]

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By *amierebelMan
11 weeks ago

My own little world

Did a long term for 4 years or so, who got pissed off with me when told them I’d met a lass and well things happened literally bad mood etc (turns out she was married with a kid 🙈🤣) so my opinion is not everyone is who they seem 👍

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By *bi HaiveMan
Forum Mod
11 weeks ago

Cheeseville, Somerset

"I'm still not sure the Internet is a good thing. It does make the world very small but gone areal the days of innocence. Someone said early they are a child of the Internet so they l no other.

If it wasn't for the Internet I wouldn't be sat here typing

I think we're still too early in the internet's evolution to grasp it's full impact for good or bad.

I'm grateful I'm old enough to have known the pre and post internet ages, I feel I've had the best of both worlds. Those who have grown up only knowing the internet may find it harder to disconnect.

This is where Gen X really do thrive. We can switch between analogue and digital in a heartbeat."

Yep.

Oh how I miss the joys of dial up and a freeserve email address. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂😂

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By *iamondsmiles. OP Woman
11 weeks ago

little house on the praire

I saw a black mirror episode where people's lives revolved by how many likes living they got for different things

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By *amierebelMan
11 weeks ago

My own little world

"I'm still not sure the Internet is a good thing. It does make the world very small but gone areal the days of innocence. Someone said early they are a child of the Internet so they l no other.

If it wasn't for the Internet I wouldn't be sat here typing

I think we're still too early in the internet's evolution to grasp it's full impact for good or bad.

I'm grateful I'm old enough to have known the pre and post internet ages, I feel I've had the best of both worlds. Those who have grown up only knowing the internet may find it harder to disconnect.

This is where Gen X really do thrive. We can switch between analogue and digital in a heartbeat.

Yep.

Oh how I miss the joys of dial up and a freeserve email address. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😂😂"

Mind when aol was all the cool kid chat rooms and shit 🤣

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By *viatrixWoman
11 weeks ago

Redhill

I was one of the first generations to use the internet back in 1991, so not really much to “laugh” about.

Back then it was science, it was progress, it was education. It was the privilege of being able to access libraries that had been exclusive before then, such as Oxford and Harvard, it was a fantastic research tool and it was also a wonderful place to meet and chat to like minded geeks.

That now it’s descended into stupid Tiktok trends, the cancel culture/bullying and the general circus that it has become is a disgrace.

I am more horrified of it now than I ever was when I started using it. We needed to pass a special exam to be able to access the VT320 terminals where we could FTP files, access Oracle and the IRC and BITNET chats for example.

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By *iamondsmiles. OP Woman
11 weeks ago

little house on the praire

"I was one of the first generations to use the internet back in 1991, so not really much to “laugh” about.

That now it’s descended into stupid Tiktok trends, the cancel culture/bullying and the general circus that it has become is a disgrace.

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By *ansoffateMan
11 weeks ago

Sagittarius A

Before it became dominated by huge corporations it was a fascinating human resource. Not without it's problems, but the idea of just talking to a random stranger the other side of the world was beyond awesome.

Playing GO and getting my ass kicked by a 12 year old Korean kid - was humbling 😂. I really thought I was good before that.

For the first time in history th collective ingenuity of humanity was connected in one huge hive mind. And we invented rick-rolling. 😂

I met my wife online even though we grew up in the same town, went the same clubs even new friends of friends and had never met.

It's changed the world for better or for worse. It was always going to become commercialised eventually - everything does.

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By *eoBloomsMan
11 weeks ago

Springfield

Arguably the invention of the smartphone was more revolutionary than the invention of the Internet, and the widespread integration of AI with the Internet will be more revolutionary still.

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By *a LunaWoman
11 weeks ago

o o OO o o

I first used the Internet in work, wasn’t until I got my own place that I had internet at home.

I then discovered MSN chat rooms. Nevermind the knowledge at my fingertips, I was more interested in gabbing to folk online.

I think it was wasted on me really. Didn’t use it to its full potential. I’m a bit better these days.

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By *tr8MrEMan
11 weeks ago

somewhere near Sheffield

"Before you got it.

I used to laugh at people who said they had met someone through the Internet. I couldn't imagine liking someone by typing words.

I remember the first site I ever went on was a quiz site and a guy privately pmed me. After a few weeks I got to "like" him. Never thought it would be possible.

What where your thoughts

Wow!!

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By *UGGYBEAR2015Man
11 weeks ago

BRIDPORT

It’s the work of the devil, come the day of reckoning we will all be judged on our browsing history

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By *oubleswing2019Man
11 weeks ago

Colchester

28.8K USR modem back in the day.

Then 56.6K USR

Then I got 2 x 128K ISDN lines put in at home. That would have been about 1990. Gosh that was expensive,

First computer in 1981 (13 years old).

Yes, I'm a Gen X'er and never looked back.

First experience was using IRC and newsgroups.

It was the empowerment and ability to find info that reeled me in.

Mates were all getting wasted buying alcohol and going down the park. I was sat in my room talking to people around the world learning about their unique lives, their struggles, their challenges.

But I've always been interested in current affairs. I was allowed to stay up late ONLY if I watched news at ten, or Panomara or other documentaries. For a 7 year old, a 10pm bed time was a luxury provided I sat still and listened. So I did

I'm all in favour of empowering and educating, the younger the better.

I'm not sure on the complete frivolity of Tik-Tok per se, but provided some influencers are edutating the next generation with meaningful content, I think a new generation of politically-aware and issue-focussed viewers is a good thing.

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By *a LunaWoman
11 weeks ago

o o OO o o

I remember using the BBC Computers in Primary School, wheeled in on a big trolley. We had about 5 minutes each to have a go on it.

Now my kids are given Laptops by the School to do their learning, resources are mostly online.

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By *oubleswing2019Man
11 weeks ago

Colchester

"I remember using the BBC Computers in Primary School, wheeled in on a big trolley. We had about 5 minutes each to have a go on it.

That's what got me hooked. BBC Micro.

Our coursework was to "write a program".

I think our teacher was quite pleased with his own attempt.

10 PRINT "Hello World !"

20 RUN

I wrote an RPG Character Generator that rolled 3d6, let you assign it to attributes, and then randomly rolled age/height/weight. It randomly chose race, then applied the correct modifiers to the attributes. It then used a variety of IF statements to choose a class.

That's how I got hooked. Not on what the computer could do, but what it could for me.

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By *sleWightCoupleCouple
11 weeks ago

Ryde

[Removed by poster at 29/04/25 00:04:06]

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By *sleWightCoupleCouple
11 weeks ago

Ryde

Now, I had a Sinclair Spectrum 48K when I was 10, so was brought up with computers, but when a friend showed me his new internet-connected PC in early 1998 and demonstrated the World Wide Web, my exact thoughts were: "A nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there...".

I stand by that now, as I only check my main things on there.

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By *uke_silverMan
11 weeks ago

London

I thought it'd be great and it pretty much was, early days on it are pretty nostalgic for me.

I remember there being this online game called Pokémon vortex where I first spoke to people across the world in chatrooms. I also modified macro scripts to play the game for me and I got to top 100 in the world, still proud of that achievement!

Social media, however, was a mistake but that's another topic.

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By *idnightMischiefMan
11 weeks ago

London

I embraced it - been using the Internet since the 1990s. It's mostly enhanced my life - including an on-off career building websites that started in around 2001.

But I've always been a bit techie - I was wire-wrapping circuit boards when I was fourteen (1982), in an attempt to build a 'micromouse' robot.

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By *idnightMischiefMan
11 weeks ago

London

I miss the early "social media" websites from the days before it was called social media.

Feesch, Faceparty, Lookitsme etc. and the dating sites like Love@Lycos. I spread myself so thinly!

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By *ealitybitesMan
11 weeks ago

Belfast

I didn't have internet until 2009 or 2010 and even then it was pay as you go dial up.

I only used it to book a holiday and nothing more.

I wasn't on social media until late 2011 when a customer showed me some old pics of the local area on a FB group and I signed up.

As far as I can remember I didn't have broadband until 2012 or 2013 and we didn't even have an internet connection in the business I worked for.

There were a dozen companies operating from the same yard and only one or two of them had internet access when I left there in 2013.

I've never had an account on any of the various sites mentioned.

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By *rHotNottsMan
11 weeks ago

Dubai & Nottingham

I loved the mid 90s, I went to the Cittie of York in London for the first Webmaster world conference and met Marcus talking about his website plenty of fish we were all taking the piss out of him. I had over 100 websites at one point you could literally just do anything and make money. It was like the Wild West.

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By *arakiss12TV/TS
11 weeks ago

Bedfuck

The Internet is a waste of time and money.

Had a month without it and no problems no stress no passwords.

If it disappeared it wouldn't bother me.

The only good thing is it benefits people in remote areas but they usually can't get a connection anyway.

People are becoming too dependant on it, look at Spain and M&S, Internet fucks up the system when it goes down.

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By *enSiskoMan
11 weeks ago

Cestus 3

The best thing about the internet, is that I left it (except this site of course).

The hard thing about leaving was keeping in touch with friends, local friends wasn't to bad, but those who lived far away was hard to keep in touch with.

Other than that I am happy without.

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By *estructionDollyWoman
11 weeks ago

Manchester

I think it's quite funny all the people saying how awful the Internet is and how much better the world would be without it, while chatting on a website...

The internet has its problems no doubt, but it has made life so much better overall. Like most things, it's a double edged sword. But I for one would not want to go back to a pre-internet world. My job would be a nightmare for starters. And how would I meet anyone? Going outside and talking to strangers? Eurgh, no thanks.

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By *enSiskoMan
11 weeks ago

Cestus 3

"I think it's quite funny all the people saying how awful the Internet is and how much better the world would be without it, while chatting on a website...

Thats exactly what I do strangers talk to me and I talk to strangers, but here's a funny thing these strangers become people I look forward to seeing again and some have become friends.

They do not look me up on FB, insta etc to find out who I am because they cannot because I am not there so they have to ask me, and vice versa.

I say for me what I regained was trust didn't realised I had lost it but I did and I recognise loss of trust as a knot in my stomach and hints of fear something I no longer experience.

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By *otsossieMan
11 weeks ago

Chesterfield

The internet has really gone to shit since they let the plebs on.

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By (user no longer on site)
11 weeks ago

Like any technology it's only as good as the people using it

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