How did people waste their time in the pre-Internet era?

We masturbated more. We did not have porn sites but we had much more vivid imaginations. Wait... I was in my teens, then. Nah, probably has nothing to do with it, though.

We interacted more with each other. In the 19th century, people entertained themselves by singing as a family around the family piano (sheet music was very popular in the late 19th century and was bought in music stores) in what was then called "the parlour", we call it a den now. They read books, real books, magazines and newspapers and discussed the issues of the day with friends and neighbors. Then they would go into town on certain nights and see shows or go to dances, and in the summer they would go to concerts in parks and wait for the circus or parades to come to town. Famous men would come and speak for long periods of time on all manner of subjects as entertainment or for special events such as the dedication of a place or a memorial service like the one Lincoln went to at Gettysburg. The main speaker that day was not Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, but Edward Everett, a well-known orator of the day who was supposed to talk for hours. Lincoln's speech, short as it was compared to Everett's is more remembered today than what Everett said there. Talk about brevity being the soul of wit.

They talked. I know, it's crazy.

Well when I was just a kid I would figure out ways to make some money. This would include taking the old outdated raffle tickets from school and sell them to adults I wasn't fond of. It would also include a lot of long walks and exploration, making super-8 movies using our Star Wars figures. Going to the library and renting the short 8mm films of the latest movies even though they only lasted a few minutes and charged the kids in the area to see them. It was days of having a group of friends that would love to wonder around the creek behind our house to catch whatever we could find. Heading to the train tracks and have us all flash the on coming VIA-rail train. We'd swim, we'd fight and then we'd create our own games to play - usually role playing games. We would hardly sit watching TV unless there was a good foreign film coming on in French which we'd see some naked women. Sometimes someone would rent a beta max, video disc or VHS player and we'd have a sleep over. We'd build snow forts and have competitions. We'd play road (or roller) hockey constantly. When we were completely bored we'd just pick on each other and start a fight. Some days we'd hang out at the mall hoping to find the girl of our dreams and learned how to interact with the opposite sex. As I got older it was a big thing to head out to find a few good magazines to read and sit in during a very cold night. You'd very much look forward to going out to rent a movie that just came out and you'd do your best to get your name on the reservation list. Things were very personable and intimate. You were having a great time and didn't have this silly need to share it with the world - which at that time would have meant, taking out an ad in the newspaper. We were independent and comfortable without any pressure to be otherwise.

The library was my friend and it wasn't just for reading, it was a social outlet also. I didn't watch any TV, if anything it was a VHS movie from the local rental store and the movies were like 3 for .99 cents. I spent a lot of time at work and it wasn't a stressed environment. No one talked about mortgage problems, bankruptcy, or not having enough money to feed their family. Where I worked was like one large family in itself. We had a lot of block parties. I think what really stands out pre-Internet is what I did for fun. I spend more time in Nature....hiking, biking, playing with the camera. My family and friends would join me in board games, poker parties, card games, and after I had dinner with my family we would play scrabble and talk.  We talked a lot more. I also didn't use the phone as much. If anything was pressing to say to someone it could wait, or I would drive over to their house and talk, or take a bus or even walk over to chat. There was no Social Media or dating Websites or Facebook and Twitter so when I was single I actually met people face to face.....like at the health club, or through a friend or at my Church. I also remember camping quite a bit. You know in a tent. It was so fun. Cold, but really fun. No one had their Droids stuck to their faces so what we did was talk about the past, good times, bad times, work, our kids...all sorts of things.  The trust element was a lot higher back in the 80's and 90's too. Nobody seemed creepy to me. We all knew each other from our childhood, were family or went to College or High School with each other. * Big one!  Healthcare was fabulous. I didn't meet anyone that had anything rotten to say about healthcare. It seemed everyone was on either Group Health or Blue Cross and were happy about our coverage. I know mine was super "cheapo" for a whole array of exams.  I would walk in sick as a dog and not pay a thing. Now a person can't even see a Dr. until they do pay up first or have a certain insurance...and to pay it's done right quick through a Debit Card Machine. At the Banks loans were really easy to get....like my house loan. To pay my mortgage payment I would have to actual go to a Post Office and buy an envelope and a stamp. Post Office boxes were all over the place too. We have 2 drop office containers in a 2 block radius. So what stands out for me is 1.  Limited TV watching because I was out doing something else. 2. Banking in an actual Bank and having checks. 3. Talking to each other and playing a lot more games other than sitting in front of a giant Plasma 3D Plasma TV playing games or having 10,000 channels chose from. 4. I dated men I actually met in person other than in cyberspace. 5. I developed nice relationships even with my milkman, mailman, anyone that delivered anything. People remembered each other names too. 6.  Work was less stressed and people didn't seem angry or crazy like they do now. It was fun to go to work. 7. Concerning my retirement funds I actually had a person at the Bank I talked to not like trading and investing online now. I developed a good relationship with my broker and it was calm and friendly and there was hope, calm and serenity in my life.  I also tell people that the 70's and 80's were fabulous even if there was Disco, LOL. I also remember clothes and shoes being made better to last. Even furniture, cars.....everything seemed to last. I still have a terrific freezer from the mid 70's that is going strong. I also have my 1979 VHS machine that sounds and plays just like I bought it yesterday. My furniture, or some of it is from the 70's and when I ordered it I didn't do it online like you can do now. I drove to the store. I picked it out. When it was ready I either got a letter from the company or sometimes a phone call. Most interaction was done through the mail though.  Now at work my co-worker sends a text to me from just 5 ft. away?  That's not right.... It is also beyond me that so many individual talk more about online games, social networking stuff, playing with their Facebook page more then actually communicating with their family in person.  If Angry Birds comes before your family there is something wrong. Why talk to your kids in person when you can text them right......goodness!

As a child in the early-2000s, the only Internet I had access to was on my dad's boxy computer from the 90s that he almost never let my sister and I use. None of my friends had cell phones or any mobile devices for that matter, maybe partly because we were so young and our parents were against providing us with things like that. I do remember I spent a lot of time outside and was at a friend's house almost every weekend. Sleepovers and slumber parties were really common, along with going to the neighborhood pool almost every day during the summer where you would be sure to find a kid you knew from school. There were a lot of improvised games with whatever stuff we had, from half-deflated soccer balls to trampolines and water hoses. I also read books almost constantly, some of which were not particularly good but I read anyway because I didn't know better. Now I haven't completed a tangible book in months, mostly because I spend most of my time reading content online. I also spent A LOT of time watching TV. That was definitely a waste of time, considering the shows I watched were pretty bad and definitely didn't educate or expand my mind in the slightest. I didn't have cable, so there were hardly any watchable channels, which lead me to spend a lot of mindless hours staring at a screen. I've noticed now that kids today don't spend so much time watching TV, which is nice to see. I think it's better to play a game on your iPad than watch a crappy television show.

Played with rocks and built huts out of anything.  Climbed the local water towers and watched the direction of your spit from the top.  Put little pieces of tape on the cat's feet.  Taught the dog how to roll over and beg.  Made a house of horror out of dead chicken parts.   Made time capsules out of okra and wondered what petrified okra looked like.  You know, stuff like that.......

Pinball machines worked for me. The goal was to get so good at pinball that you could get a quarter to last for an hour or until people behind you started clamoring for their turn. One of the reasons I never got into gaming is that I had already wasted huge chunks of time on various pinball machines.

I will answer this question based on experience. Books - yes, real books. Encyclopedias Board games Gaming consoles - snes, family computer Group games - in my country (+63) we call it: taguan, patintero, agawan base, luksong tinik/kalabaw, etc. Prepare food/snacks as a group and watch betamax, vhs or laserdiscs. Bike Run Basketball Star gazing on the roof.