Hello Virtual Reality: “The Kids Guide to the Internet”

On your mark, get set, we’re riding on the internet!

Take spin and you’re in with the techno set! You’re going surfing on the internet…with the whitest of whitebread families out there!

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Yeah, them.

Because they taught you everything you needed to know about your computer running Windows 95, they made another how-to video, this time on how to surf the internet.  But “Sweater Dad” and “90s Soccer Mom” are only going to greet the viewers, they’re turning the teaching over to their children.

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That’s right, Dasha and Peter Jamison are going to teach you everything you need to know about being of “The Techno Set” (the sequel to “The Techno Hip” that comes with mastering the family computer).

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And this time, they’re joined by two friends – the not-so-whitebread Lisa, and her brother Andrew – who are equally interested in learning all about the internet.

Oh, and they’re actually siblings!

Hello Virtual Reality!

With improved grades, the ability to keep up with the stock market, and pay bills with ease, the Jamisons love the internet!

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The friends arrive (seriously, there is a title card to indicate that to us!), and the lessons begin.

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There’s surfing the internet, newsgroups, email, chat lines, games and kid-friendly stuff, places to do research, and even writing a letter to President Clinton (about how much the Jamison kids and their friends love the internet, naturally!) are included here.

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Pretty sure this was important to President Clinton in 1997.

There is an overview of how to get connected via an Internet Service Provider, logging in via a password, opening the browser, downloading, searching, creating bookmarks of liked pages, playing games, and web addresses (don’t forget http://!!!!).

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Ah, the days of when we had to include “www” in front of every website! I don’t miss those days at all!

Dasha can even dissect a frog online, and not the real deal!  It’s all right here at your fingertips!

Did I mention that was the name of the videocassette bundle that included both this and the computer instructional video?  I didn’t?  Well, know we know where the title came from!

Did you know that (in 1997) e-mail was the number one use of the internet, or that the internet is not regulated?  You’ll learn those facts, and many others, as well as see some cool shots of screens for websites you probably looked at in 1997, along with the Jamison kids and their friends!

Have An Internet Computer Party!

Yes, I’m aware how cheesy that sounds, but it is no cheesier than the Jamison family getting excited about a family trip to see…The Rolling Stones.

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Oh yes, because this is the kind of family I could totally picture at a Rolling Stones concert.  Alex, I’ll take “Things The Jamison Family Does Not Do” for $1000.

Oh, and I hope you like the theme song, because like the one for the computer instructional video, you’re going to hear it alot.  Like, every time there is a transition, you’ll hear it.

Which is every few minutes.

Never say I didn’t warn you!

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Allison’s Take On The Internet

I first got an internet connection in my home in 1997 – a dialup (56K!) connection through Bell Atlantic (now Verizon), running Netscape Navigator.  The world of the internet in my own home was amazing.  I loved spending time on the Saturday Night Live bulletin boards (I met a few friends that way), reading Entertainment Weekly, and using sites like Mr. Showbiz for fun.  As for search engines of choice, I used Alta Vista and Ask Jeeves for my internet searches.  Once in a while, I used Yahoo!, but I preferred Lycos.

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A year after getting an internet connection, we switched over the ultra-popular America Online, which we kept until the mid-2000s, when we finally upgraded our internet to high-speed through Comcast.  I’ve only had my internet through Xfinity since then.

The days of The AOL Running Man, the dial-up modem’s connection sound, and losing connection if we picked up the phone connected to the internet (something I did once to aggravate my brother, which also happened unintentionally many times) are funny memories of a time when the internet was on a constant evolution.  It is hard to believe this was only 20 years ago, and how much things have changed.

Especially the way we watch videos.

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And Now, You!

Do you remember the internet circa 1997?  What kind of great websites did you explore, and what internet service provider did you use?  In the pre-Google world, what was your search engine of choice?

I’d love to hear your stories of the Information Super Highway of the mid 1990s!  Be social on social media, or comment below!

The Jamison Family will not return next week (tragic, I know), but a group of Soccer Moms (perhaps Mommy Jamison knows them?) will be, when they learn the internet!

That should be interesting.

Surf’s up!  See you on the ‘net!

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(Have a great day!)

 

 

 

10 comments

  1. Fantastic post! Over the years, we have had Web TV, America Online and Comcast Internet. We have had Comcast Internet for nearly 11 years now. Before we got Comcast Internet in 2009, we had two dial-up Internet services in America Online and Web TV.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. This article made me laugh, especially the line about the Rolling Stones. I think I got AOL around 1996 and basically lived in the stupid chat rooms. The main thing I remember about AOL was the thousands of CD’s that would come in the mail every week. Apparently there are people that collect them, who knew? I remember I bought an actual internet yellow pages book, it was a paper book that you could look up the addresses for businesses and other stuff. I wish I still had it. Great article!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I loved chat rooms in the late 1990s, I realize how ridiculous they are now, but in the 90s, they were everything!!!! Yeah, I think we finally gave in when we got a disc for (I think) 5.0. Everyone had AOL, and those commercials really got you convinced it was a great deal! I have never heard of the Internet Yellow Pages before! Guess what I will have to look up? Lol!

      Thank you, as always!!!

      Liked by 1 person

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