How The 80s And 90s Ushered in the Era of Constant Connectivity
Have you ever wondered how our society transitioned from the occasional phone call and handwritten letters to a digital world where constant connectivity is as natural as breathing?
The journey from the analog days of the 80s to the digitally saturated era of the 90s and beyond is a tale of technological advancement, marked by important human innovations, vision, and, sometimes, cautionary tales.
Central to this narrative are pioneers like Steve Mann, with his groundbreaking work in wearable computing; Jennifer Ringley, who brought her personal life into the public domain via a simple webcam; and Josh Harris, who explored the depths of online identity and surveillance.
Their contributions, among others, paved the way for the always-on, interconnected world we navigate today.
In this Retro Review, we seek to unravel the complex web of how the technological and cultural shifts of the 80s and 90s led us to our current state of constant connectivity.
Through the lens of these three visionaries, we’ll explore not just the milestones of digital innovation, but also the societal transformations that accompanied them.
Setting the Scene: The 1980s Technology Boom
The 1980s marked the dawn of the digital age, a period of rapid technological innovation that laid the foundation for our modern world of constant connectivity.
Personal Computing
At the forefront of this revolution was the personal computer.
Models like the IBM PC, introduced in 1981, and the Commodore 64, released in 1982, began the transformation of computing from a corporate and academic privilege into a household staple.
The Modem
This was followed by the groundbreaking invention of the modem.
The modem, short for “modulator-demodulator,” is a device that converts digital data from a computer into analog signals that can be transmitted over telephone lines and then back into digital form at the receiving end.
This technology was pivotal in the 1980s and 1990s for enabling computers to connect to the internet and to each other.
While the first modem was developed in 1962 by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), their widespread adoption and evolution continued throughout the 80s and 90s, with significant advancements in speed and reliability.
Dennis Hayes and Dale Heatherington are credited with the invention of the PC modem in 1977, with further developments expanding its capabilities in the following years.
Bulletin Board Systems (BBS)
This era also saw the rise of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS).
These early online communities, accessible via modem, were the precursors to today’s internet forums and social networks.
BBS allowed users to download software, games, and share messages with others, forming the first digital social networks.
Despite their limited reach and slow speeds, these systems fostered a sense of community and shared knowledge that hinted at the potential of global connectivity.
Steve Mann – The Fahter of Wearable Technology
Amidst this emerging digital landscape, Steve Mann embarked on his pioneering work in wearable computing.
Mann, often considered “the father of wearable technology,” began experimenting with wearable computers and personal imaging systems in the late 80s.
His vision was profound: to extend computing beyond desktops and into the fabric of daily life.
Mann’s early prototypes, which included a computer backpack and head-mounted displays, were technical marvels and philosophical statements on the future of human-computer interaction.
These devices, while clunky by today’s standards, were the precursors to the smartphones, smartwatches, and augmented reality systems that have become integral to our lives.
Video Games and Home Gaming
As the 1980s saw innovations to computing hardware, a new digital culture started to emerge. Video games transitioned from the arcade to the living room, transforming the entertainment industry.
As storage capacities increased and computing speeds were accelerated, more and more people made their first forays into the digital world and there was no looking back.
Digitization and CD-ROMs
The introduction of the CD-ROM in the mid-80s revolutionized data storage and multimedia computing, setting the stage for the rich, interactive experiences we now take for granted.
It was a decade of exploration and excitement, as society began to grasp the potential of digital technology both as a tool for work, and as a transformative element of everyday life.
Trepidation Prior to the Era of Constant Connectivity
Anecdotally, I can remember concerns being raised about computers and technology taking over the world back then, similar to the concerns being discussed today about AI doing the same.
The Internet Looms Large at the End of the 80s
This period of innovation was critical in setting the groundwork for the explosive growth of the internet in the 90s.
The technological advancements of the 80s, combined with a cultural shift towards embracing digital technology, helped pave the way for the world of constant connectivity that was to come.
The pioneers of this era, like Steve Mann, were inventing new gadgets that effectively reimagined the future of human interaction, communication, and creativity.
The Rise of the Internet and Digital Culture in the 1990s
As the 80s gave way to the 90s, the momentum of the previous decade essentially exploded into what became the vast digital landscape that we navigate today.
This era was characterized by significant advancements from the isolated, slow connections of Bulletin Board Systems to the interconnected, multimedia-rich environment of the World Wide Web.
It was during these years that the internet, as we know it, began to take shape, transforming from an academic and military network into a global public space.
The World Wide Web
Arguably, the most pivotal moment came in 1991 when Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, introduced the World Wide Web.
This innovation provided a graphical interface to the internet, making it accessible and understandable to the average person.
Suddenly, the internet wasn’t just for sending text-based messages or sharing files in niche communities; it was a space where anyone could explore, create, and connect.
Early Web Browsers
The introduction of web browsers like Mosaic, and later Netscape Navigator, further democratized access, allowing people to “surf” the web with ease.
In high school, I can remember taking a “computers” class in 95-95 and learning how to navigate this new world.
We used Netscape Navigator as a starting point but quickly learned of other options like Webcrawler and my favourite: Dogpile.
In the pre-google search world, each search engine had somewhat of an equal footing as it’s competitors.
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Cultural Shifts as People Start to Embrace Constant Connectivity
Parallel to these technological advancements, a cultural shift was occurring.
The internet started influencing every aspect of society, from business to entertainment to social interaction.
Email became a staple of communication, changing the pace and nature of correspondence.
ISPs and Digital Messaging
The launch of AOL (America Online) and other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) brought the internet to millions of homes, packaging it as a service that included not just access but also content, chat rooms, and a sense of community.
Do you remember what it was like wandering into chat rooms back in those days?
It was novel, exciting, scary and strange. I remember the novelty of MSN Messenger in 99 and being able to chat with whoever else was online.
You could see who was online and logged in as there wasn’t a “appear offline” feature back then.
It was intriguing to be able to have a glimpse into the private lives of friends and family via this instant messaging service.
Why Aren’t You Answering Me?
For me this is when I first felt the pull to have to respond immediately or at least somewhat quickly to messages received.
Marking a stark departure from the “leave a message and I’ll call you back later” world I had known in the 80s and earlier in the 90s.
It was, and still is a feeling, that I struggle to be comfortable with.
I still like the idea of responding when it is convenient to me, and sometimes, after I’ve had time to think of a meaningful and more thoughtful response than something just off of the cuff.
When not logged in to services like MSN Messenger, the anonymity of the majority of the online world felt almost entirely different to anything I’d known before.
As usual, society quickly fell behind at trying to keep up with ensuring adequate safeguards were in place and that the free exchange of information was above board for all involved.
A struggle that is just as real today as it was back then as we spend more and more time online in the era of constant connectivity.
Ethical Concerns During the Age of Constant Connectivity
There are those individuals and corporations who exploit vulnerabilities and corrupt the original intent of the web which was to be one for all and all for one, to instead be a place where the tech-savvy get rich.
The growth of things like targeted advertising, tracking user’s digital journey and selling your data those who want to use it to sell you things you may or may not need, were byproducts of the shift to being always online.
I don’t remember many commercials in the early days of the web and being constantly connected, but it didn’t take long for big industry to figure out that they needed to be where you were, and for more and more of the world, that was online.
But soon after getting myself online, the dreaded popup ads started to appear.
Social Media, Influencers, and the Need for an Online Presence
As is evident today, most businesses who refused to make the transition to at least doing some of their core business and advertising online, got left behind in the dust as history bore out that the internet and the world of being constantly connected was not just a fad.
Jennifer Ringley and JenniCam
Into this rapidly evolving digital world stepped Jennifer Ringley, a college student who unwittingly became one of the first social media influencers.
In 1996, Ringley set up a webcam in her dorm room and began broadcasting her life on the internet 24/7 through a website called JenniCam.
Her project was simple yet revolutionary, blurring the lines between public and private life and setting the stage for the era of live streaming and personal broadcasting.
Ringley’s experiment attracted millions of viewers and sparked discussions about privacy, voyeurism, and the nature of reality in the digital age.
These discussions have continued and are still as relevant and as polarizing as they were back then.
Although a few decades have past, we are still in the early days of being able to objectively study what this reality means, not to mention that our digital reality changes so rapidly that it is difficult to fully understand it before it morphs into something different.
JenniCam foreshadowed the rise of platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram, where sharing every aspect of one’s life online has become commonplace.
Early Social Media Networks
The 90s also saw the birth of early social media platforms. Services like Six Degrees, LiveJournal, and GeoCities allowed users to create online profiles, connect with friends, and share their thoughts and experiences.
GeoCities was an early web hosting service founded by David Bohnett and John Rezner in 1994.
It allowed users to create their own websites, organized into “neighbourhoods” based on the site’s content theme.
GeoCities became one of the most popular and iconic platforms of the 1990s internet culture, offering millions of people their first opportunity to create an online presence.
It played a crucial role in making web publishing accessible to individuals without technical expertise in web design or coding.
Did you have a geocities site or do you remember checking out any neighbourhoods back in the day?
I would almost guess that creating a geocities site back in the 90s to share your voice with the world was the same as creating a blog today.
These platforms laid the groundwork for the social media explosion that would come in the following decade, emphasizing the human desire for connection and community.
It was comforting to some people that the digital age seemed to make our world just a bit smaller and connect us in ways that were new and novel by being able to overcome barriers of physical space and geographical separation.
Josh Harris: Social Experimentation at the Beginning of the Era of Constant Connectivity
Amidst this backdrop of rapid technological and cultural change, another visionary, Josh Harris, was exploring the darker implications of our online lives and the implications of constant connectivity.
Harris, an internet entrepreneur and artist, conducted social experiments that delved into the impact of constant surveillance and the loss of privacy.
His projects, like “Quiet: We Live in Public,” were prophetic in their examination of how living online could affect our sense of self and relationships.
Harris’s work raised critical questions about the trade-offs of connectivity, foreshadowing the debates we continue to have about privacy, data security, and the psychological effects of social media.
There is a great documentary titled “We live in Public” from 2009 that was very interesting and informative about Josh and his work.
It is still just as relevant today as when it was first released, and I highly recommend watching it if this conversation is as interesting to you as it is to me.
The Seeds of Social Media Were Now Sewn
Looking back, the 1990s were a decade of exploration and expansion, a time when the digital world became intricately woven into the fabric of society.
The contributions of pioneers like Jennifer Ringley and Josh Harris, alongside the technological innovations that fuelled the internet’s growth, shaped a new cultural paradigm.
This era set the stage for the 21st century, where digital connectivity would become an inescapable part of human existence, for better or for worse.
The Personalization of Technology
As the digital wave of the 1990s surged, technology became increasingly personal and portable.
Mobile Phones and Handheld Tech
This shift was epitomized by the rise of mobile phones and handheld devices, marking a departure from the stationary, shared family computer to personal gadgets that connected individuals to the world—and to each other—anytime, anywhere.
This era of personalization was about making tech accessible as well as intertwining tech with ever-increasingly more aspects of our everyday lives.
The miniaturization of technology and the advent of mobile phones further revolutionized communication, making it instant and omnipresent.
No longer tethered to landlines or desktop computers, people began to experience a new level of connectivity.
Text-based Digital Messaging
SMS (Short Message Service) or texting emerged as a quick and casual way to communicate, laying the groundwork for the concise, real-time interactions that would later characterize social media communication.
In parallel, the internet was maturing into a platform for personal expression and social interaction.
Social Media Takes Off
The late 90s and early 2000s witnessed the birth of social media as we know it today.
Platforms like Friendster, MySpace, and eventually Facebook, transformed the web from a space of anonymous exploration and communication into a digital mirror of our real-world social networks.
These platforms allowed users to create profiles, share updates, and connect with friends, fundamentally changing the way we interact, share information, and perceive our relationships.
Josh Harris’s Exploration of Constant Social Connectivity
This era of social connectivity both inspired and was inspired by people like Josh Harris.
Harris was particularly intrigued by the implications of living life online, under the constant gaze of an unseen audience.
His most notable experiment, as noted earlier, was his “We Live in Public” project which was a prophetic exploration of the psychological and social effects of constant surveillance.
In this project, Harris and his partner lived in an apartment decked with cameras, broadcasting every moment of their lives on the internet.
The experiment, which ended tumultuously, was a stark commentary on the erosion of privacy and the performative nature of online life, presaging the issues that would later emerge with the proliferation of social media.
Wearable Personalized Technology is the Way of the Future
This period also saw the continuation of Steve Mann’s work in wearable technology, with developments that further blurred the lines between the digital and physical worlds.
Mann’s innovations, such as the EyeTap, a device worn in front of the eye that could record and display augmented reality, were both technological feats and also philosophical inquiries into the nature of reality in a digitally mediated world.
His work challenged us to consider the implications of a life where the digital and physical are inextricably linked, a theme that resonates strongly in today’s world of augmented reality and virtual interactions.
The personalization of technology and the rise of social media marked a significant shift in our relationship with digital tools.
No longer just a means of accessing information or facilitating tasks, technology became a central part of our social fabric, influencing how we perceive ourselves and interact with others.
The work of visionaries like Josh Harris and Steve Mann, alongside the development of mobile technology and social media platforms, highlighted the immense possibilities and consequently, the potential pitfalls of this new digital era.
Reflecting on the Cultural Transformation
The 80s and 90s were an era of technological advancements, public acceptance, and curiosity about how tech can augment our daily lives.
This all led to the creation of a society that values speed, flexibility, and access to information.
However, this period also ushered in new challenges, including issues of privacy, digital divides, and questions about the impact of constant connectivity on our well-being.
The pioneers of this era, like Steve Mann, Jennifer Ringley, and Josh Harris were among some of the first more-widely known innovators to explore the boundaries of technology and its implications for society.
Their work, and the broader technological trends of the time, prompted us to reconsider the nature of privacy, identity, and community in the digital age.
As we reflect on this cultural transformation, it’s clear that the legacy of the 80s and 90s is still with us, influencing current debates about technology, society, and the future of connectivity.
Today there is still a fear that we spend too much time interfacing with technology and a fear that technology will take over the world.
Movies like the Terminator (1984) reflected this fear, apprehension, and uncertainty about what it will mean in the future for civilization the more we embrace our digital counterparts in the form of AI robots, military digitization, online avatars, and devices that seem to be listening in on our most intimate conversations and serving us ads based on what we were just thinking about moments ago.
The Dark Side of Constant Connectivity
While the digital revolution has undeniably brought the world closer together, it has also highlighted significant challenges and unintended consequences.
The constant connectivity that characterizes modern life comes with a dark side, encompassing issues of privacy invasion, information overload, and a blurring of public and private boundaries.
The Pioneers Helped Champion Constant Connectivity
The pioneers who led the charge into the digital age were among the first to confront these challenges, sometimes in profoundly personal ways.
Jennifer Ringley’s JenniCam, for example, offered an early glimpse into the complexities of living life in the digital spotlight.
While it started as an experiment in transparency and a new form of self-expression, it also raised questions about voyeurism, consent, and the psychological impact of constant observation.
Similarly, Josh Harris’s projects delved into the effects of surveillance and online personas, anticipating the anxieties surrounding social media use today—issues like the erosion of privacy, the stress of constant connectivity, and the pursuit of authenticity in a curated online world.
Online Culture Includes Nefarious Others Too
Unfortunately there exist a number of nefarious others who see this as an opportunity to prey on or exploit people.
And not just strangers but to keep tabs on loved ones, exes, or work acquaintances for reasons that are unsavoury at best, and down right sinister at worst.
Societal Concerns Related to Being Always Online
Moreover, the proliferation of digital devices and platforms has led to concerns about digital addiction, the loss of face-to-face interactions, and the impact of screen time on mental and physical health.
And although more and more people were able to gain access to technology to join in on the constant connectivity, not everyone had access.
The proliferation of connected devices and the need to complete daily tasks online in virtual spaces, served to increase the divide between the haves and the have-nots.
These issues underscore the need for a balanced approach to technology—one that recognizes its potential to connect and empower but also respects the boundaries necessary for personal well-being and privacy.
Attention needs to be given to ensuring that if connectivity is essential for some, or most, of our daily routines, that technology is accessible to all, regardless of one’s socio-economic status.
Final Thoughts
The transformation to a culture of constant connectivity during the 80s and 90s has significantly reshaped our world, offering unparalleled access to information and each other.
Yet, as we’ve navigated this new digital landscape, the contributions of Steve Mann, Jennifer Ringley, and Josh Harris have served as both beacons of innovation and cautionary tales.
Their experiences and experiments highlight the dual nature of technological advancement: its capacity to both enrich and complicate our lives.
As we continue to grapple with the challenges of constant connectivity, the lessons of the past remind us of the importance of navigating the digital world thoughtfully and intentionally.
By engaging critically with technology, we can harness its benefits while mitigating its downsides, ensuring that our connected world remains a force for good in our lives.
Do you remember the early days of the era of constant connectivity?
We’d love to hear your stories from this period of transformation, experimentation and rapid technological advancements.
Have a rad rest of your day.
Craig is a partner, and proud father of a teenage daughter, and two dogs. He's an avid blogger who loves researching and discussing 80s and 90s nostalgia. When not working on his website or hanging with his fam, Craig enjoys playing guitar, watching lacrosse, and being near water.