I was the last generation in college without a smartphone. We were more spontaneous, and social media didn't dictate our lives.

• When I first went to college, it was imaginable not to person a smartphone.
• Since we couldn't easy enactment connected and scheme hangouts, we were much spontaneous.
• We besides felt much connected and seldom uploaded photos successful existent time.

When I took a college tour successful nan early 2000s, I walked cautiously astir campus, making statement of pivotal places. The campus, pinch its lush trees and lively schoolhouse spirit, was conveniently built successful a circle truthful that it was easy to navigate. A circuit guideline pointed retired high-traffic areas, referencing important dorms and buildings, and I made judge to salary attraction because those were nan places wherever I would request to make friends. There wasn't different action past since I entered assemblage without a smartphone.

While it whitethorn look inconvenient now aliases moreover scary, being among nan past procreation to participate assemblage without a smartphone was a gift. I sewage to interact pinch my friends successful genuinely integrated ways, which created a batch of spur-of-the-moment memories that I still look backmost connected fondly today. I besides didn't person to interest astir cultivating an online persona — thing that feels almost mandatory today.

Some group connected field did person smartphones, but they weren't everywhere. They surely weren't arsenic ubiquitous arsenic they are now. Facebook was popular, but societal media didn't predominate our on-campus lives. I conscionable had a basal lime greenish flip phone, and I loved it.

Some of nan champion societal interactions happened without planning

Like an aged sitcom, it wasn't uncommon for friends to extremity by each other's dorm rooms aliases off-campus apartments. Sometimes, nan personification you were looking for would beryllium there; sometimes, they weren't. But immoderate of nan impromptu visits could lead to lifelong wrong jokes aliases memories. I learned that firsthand.

Since you couldn't make a scheme via text, it wasn't seen arsenic invasive to driblet successful and spot if your friend wanted to caput to nan gym pinch you aliases drawback food. There was little structure, but nan downtime allowed for much random moments.

There were less preconceived notions of strangers

Meeting caller group meant getting to cognize them successful personification first. A caller look connected field was usually conscionable a caller face. I hadn't been bombarded pinch their photos online beforehand. I didn't cognize their online artistic yet. I was gathering them for nan first clip and, much often than not, knew thing astir them.

I checked social media connected a machine sporadically, and past I was disconnected to unrecorded my life and meet caller people. At that time, not galore were building online personalities yet, truthful location was thing to study astir my classmates.

I had much freedom

There was an opportunity for freedom, particularly from family dynamics.

I retrieve a woman who had a smartphone, and her parents tracked her. I told her she could conscionable time off nan telephone successful her room and still travel out. That business seemed unfathomable to me, a full penetration of privacy, particularly for an adult. Now, it is nan norm for galore parents to way their children's locations, moreover erstwhile those children go college-aged adults.

Being independent and having caller experiences arsenic a young big without having to perpetually cheque successful pinch anyone was pivotal for galore caller college students.

No 1 was posting pictures and updates successful existent time

Many of nan silly assemblage antics were ephemeral. There wasn't needfully a digital footprint of bad manner choices aliases an aggravated but short-lived romanticist relationship.

Of course, Facebook was popular, but photograph uploads usually happened nan adjacent time aft reviewing nan SD paper from a integer camera. There was clip to reevaluate and curate images. There was nary unit to station things successful existent time, and that allowed maine to thief unrecorded successful nan moment.

Instead of getting fresh to return pictures, my friends and I sewage fresh for nan nighttime out. The pictures documented what we were readying to do alternatively than dictating it.

Connecting pinch group was much intentional

Not being truthful connected online helped maine beryllium much connected successful existent life pinch my friends. I didn't get work successful astir places, and I wasn't a prolific texter, truthful not being distracted by my telephone helped maine make memories pinch nan group astir me.

When I did want to link pinch group from home, I was very intentional astir it. Since I didn't person awesome work inside, I would caput extracurricular for a walk, meandering up and down nan constrictive streets, and springiness whoever I was connected nan telephone pinch — usually my champion friend from precocious schoolhouse aliases my sister — my afloat attention.

By inferior year, I did person a smartphone. They had go progressively necessary, particularly for school. But I'm grateful I sewage to acquisition clip without one, particularly during specified a transformative clip successful my life.