PSA: Dial-up turned 'working from home' into a family negotiation in the 90s

I was just remembering how my mom's office tried letting her work from home sometimes back in '97. She had to use our family computer with that screechy dial-up modem. Every time she needed to check email or send a report, we all had to stay off the phone for hours. It felt like a big deal, like we were helping with a space mission or something, lol. If my brother or I accidentally picked up the receiver, her connection would drop and she'd have to start over. Her boss would get annoyed because replies took so long, and they'd just tell her to come into the office instead. That whole experience made me see how new and clumsy remote work was back then. It's funny to think how far we've come from those days.

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly_lee888h ago

That "helping with a space mission" bit is so true. The whole house had to go on high alert for a basic email download, like we were defusing a bomb. One wrong move, someone picks up the phone, and the mission is a total failure. It's hilarious how something we treat as a constant background thing now needed a full family meeting and silence back then. We've gone from treating the internet like a fragile science project to it just being the thing that lets you watch videos while making a sandwich.

kelly.henry9h ago

Notice how tech friction used to dictate family routines more than it does now.

abby_martin281h ago

Seriously, the part about treating the internet like a bomb defusal is wild! I remember my dad yelling at us to stay off the phone so he could connect. It felt like a military operation just to check email. The whole house had to be silent, like we were in a library. Now we stream movies on three devices while someone is on a video call and nobody bats an eye. The shift from that level of stress to it being totally normal is just crazy to think about.