Netizens wax nostalgic on how Singaporeans spent their teen years before social media
A Reddit thread has Singaporeans reminiscing about their teenage years before the era of smartphones and social media.
Posted on 23 July, the thread asked, “What did Singaporean teenagers do for fun before social media and smartphones etc?”
The Original Poster (OP), a woman in her mid-20s who grew up during the heyday of Snapchat, Instagram filters, and YouTube tutorials, recalled her own teenage years between 2013 and 2018.
She described a digital landscape of selfies, Vine videos, and late-night Chatroulette sessions.
Curious about what came before, she asked the online community how they had fun and stayed connected without group chats or social media.
Source: Lorenzo Herrera on Unsplash
Redditors recall meeting up at ‘last cabin of MRT’
Older netizens were quick to dive into memory lane, painting a vivid picture of social life before smartphones.
One said they used to arrange hangouts by agreeing on fixed meeting times and locations, such as gathering at the last carriage of the MRT train.
Source: Reddit
Another redditor listed a popular landmark they would use in town: the Wisma Atria fish tank.
Source: Reddit
Unfortunately, the iconic hangout place was removed after renovations in 2008.
Source: Facebook
Other popular hangout landmarks included the iconic stairs at City Hall MRT and the Orchard MRT underpass.
One Redditor even brought up using pagers, including the numeric shorthand for “sorry” (50884).
Source: Reddit
Another netizen broke down how teen communication evolved over the years, from landlines to MSN Messenger.
Source: Reddit
HMV, Tamiya cars & blogging before algorithms
Before Spotify and iTunes, HMV was a cultural icon.
Redditors recalled spending hours browsing CDs at the massive three-storey outlet at The Heeren, which shut its doors in 2015.
Source: Reddit
Others waxed nostalgic about Tamiya cars, the remote-controlled racing models they would play with and customise.
Source: Reddit
Using computers before social media
Teenagers who grew up in the early 2000s also reminisced about their early digital experiences — spending hours on Gunbound, Neopets, and MapleStory.
Source: Reddit
Source: Reddit
Some mentioned early-days social media networks such as MSN and Friendster, as well as the boom of writing personal blogs.
Source: Reddit
One user mourned loss of simpler times
Reflecting on the shift to digital life, one Redditor remarked that today’s youth might never know the excitement of navigating social plans without the help of a group chat or checking in at a fixed landmark without GPS.
While technology has made communication faster, many agreed that something precious — and perhaps more personal — had been lost in the transition.
Source: Reddit
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S’porean Teens’ Low-Budget Avengers: Endgame Parody Fails When GrabFood Bag Gets Hooked By Chair
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Featured image adapted from Heritage SG Memories on Facebook and Tamiya RC Fans on Facebook.
