We’re not sure if #BeforeFacebookI makes us want to laugh or cry

By Les Shu Published February 4, 2016

Remember the days before there was Facebook? We don’t either. The social network is so ingrained in our lives that it’s the first thing we check on our phone every morning. The Internet? For many, Facebook is the Internet. But there was a time when we didn’t post a gazillion photos, liked every brain fart our friends posted (even though we didn’t actually like them), revealed TMI, or had 3.5 degrees of separation from each other.

On the February 2 episode of the Comedy Central improv show, @midnight, during a segment called #HashtagWars, the guests played a round of #BeforeFacebookI to mark Facebook’s 12th birthday. Before Facebook, comedian/actress Mamrie Hart “begged her friends to come to her show via real mail” and “crushed actual candy and had a diabetic scare,” comedian Liza Treyger “would have never known that Stacey Dash’s opinions mattered,” and actor Dominic Monaghan “didn’t have to see so many ugly baby pictures and liked them.”

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The hashtag inspired others to share their #BeforeFacebookI memories on Facebook as well as Twitter, although some took on a more serious tone. Here’s a look at some of our favorite trending tweets.

https://twitter.com/musicMagpie/status/694852791534223360

Before Twitter, instagram and Facebook #BeforeFacebookI pic.twitter.com/1gUixOAmpG

— Funny Tweets (@FunnyThingsUK) February 3, 2016

#BeforeFacebookI would have to phone 538 people and let them know what I had for lunch. https://t.co/npv1z80491 pic.twitter.com/APwxvIvMBv

— Kabir Iyengar (@kabiriyengar) February 3, 2016

#BeforeFacebookI had to stalk my exes with binoculars and camouflage gear. pic.twitter.com/kpGaZUrEiN

— Ally Hirschlag (@AllyHirschlag) February 3, 2016

https://twitter.com/OnlyYoda/status/694770655787663361

#BeforeFacebookI thought *this* was a poke @midnight #Polk pic.twitter.com/TylEDn9cP2

— Lance Gould (@lancegould) February 3, 2016

#BeforeFacebookI didn't "LIKE" things like funerals and divorces. @midnight

— ʞɔiwbɿɒH ꙅiɿʜƆ (@hardwick) February 3, 2016

Former Senior Editor, Photography

I am formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends. I bring with me more than a decade of tech and lifestyle journalism…

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