practically everything is automated nowadays that i often think about when we used to have more digital limitations and discovery felt a little more organic.

limitations to how we discovered music (watching music video charts on tv, tuning into the radio, buying CDs, finding music from someone's embedded playlist on their customized webpage, going down the rabbit hole of related youtube music videos back when they were actually related to the current video you were watching)

limitations to how we interacted (visiting each other's houses more often, waiting until school to see someone, asking for a phone because you didn't have one, finding out what someone was up to by actually talking to them - shocking, for those in the same household: talking to someone face to face instead of sending them a quick text)

limitations to how we discovered books (spending hours perusing bookstore and library aisles - still applicable today but less so)

limitations to how we discovered tv shows (waiting for a new ep of your favorite series once or twice a week, checking out the newest shows by actually watching them, flipping through channels until landing on something interesting)

limitations to how we discovered places (stumbling upon a place, the importance of having the directions before heading out)

ease and convenience are cool and all but limitations brought about innovation. we found our own way around things (ex. venturing onto sketchy sites just for some very important mp3s), we actively toiled for answers (ex. without photoshop, you had to search high and low for a standalone gif-making program where every single frame had to be imported to spit out a blinking pixel art teacup that you had to ask yourself, was this really worth it??) instead of leaving it to an algorithm.

how i miss actually doing things myself. no instant gratification, just a well-earned sense of accomplishment waiting for me at the end.