People talk about the early 2000s like it was ancient history, but if you lived through it, you know how different things were.
By 2000 and 2001, it felt like everybody had a cell phone. The problem was that having a cell phone and actually being able to use it were two completely different things.
When cell phones first became popular, text messaging wasn’t even a thing for most people. Then, when texting finally arrived, it wasn’t as simple as sending a message like it is today. In many cases, you had to log onto the web to send and receive texts. If the service was busy, forget about it. Your message might not go through for hours.
And don’t get me started on phone plans.
Most companies gave you something like 200 free minutes for the entire month before 9 p.m. Eventually they moved it to 7 p.m., which felt like a major victory. If you called someone before those free-minute hours kicked in, you were burning through your plan. One long conversation could have your phone bill looking crazy by the end of the month.
Then there was the service.
When I played basketball at WVU, I learned quickly that cell phone coverage wasn’t guaranteed. As soon as our bus got on I-79 heading toward Morgantown, service became a gamble. There were stretches where your phone was basically useless. I remember traveling back toward Pittsburgh and being excited when we finally hit Washington, Pennsylvania. The moment those bars came back on your phone, everybody on the bus was smiling. People started calling home, checking messages, and reconnecting with the world. If we played a game in Charleston or went deeper into West Virginia, you could forget about using your phone altogether. There were plenty of areas where you simply had no signal.
Looking back, it’s funny. We were thrilled to have cell phones because they felt revolutionary. But compared to today, it was a constant struggle. Dropped calls, limited minutes, spotty service, expensive bills, and texting that barely worked.
Kids today have unlimited talk, unlimited texting, high-speed internet, video calls, social media, GPS, and can stream anything they want from almost anywhere.
We thought we were living in the future. The truth is, we were just getting started.