What did people do with their free time when there was no TV / Radio?

Answer 1

we as children played, made play houses , in the woods, read books , made up our own stories, climbed trees, played with our pets, and friends, did house work ,helped mom with the washing, wound water from the well,carried wood in for the heaters, and cook stove..., all grades of things....and i did these....I'm only 51, we didn't have tv til i was 13....so I've seen a lot of changes ...very fast changes

Answer 2

Radio became popular in the late 1920s--and before then, average lifespans were much shorter than they were now--in 1900 the average lifespan in the US was 47 years. Nevertheless, there were many people who lived well past 65 years of age.

Older people generally lived with--or close to--their children. And they continuedto have a part in family life--often caring for children while parents worked. In addition, prior to 1900, when most people still lived on farms, they often helped in the farm work--though obviously the chores they did would have been fairly light. Only a small minority--usually those who were very poor and who had no close relatives--lived in "rest homes."

Older people were not relegated to nursing homes and other institutions as they are now. Instead, rather than being considered useless, they were valued both for their life experience and the good judgement in dealing with problems that implied. They still were allowed t o be contributing members of the family and of society. The current stereotype that tmisleads us into believing someone is a "burden" or useless simply because of old age did not exist.

Answer 3

They lived life, thats what they did!

How wonderful to not have to be entangled into a world that involves sitting around a giant box for hours, watching 2-dimensional people you never met, or listening to a very tiny square box, with music coming out. Can you see how ultimately boring this is?

Just think back to what it must have been like before radios existed. How did the 'teens' get their music fix? Not by plugging in an electric device and zoning out in their own little world (antisocial much?), but by attending symphonies and concerts, hearing AND seeing the beautiful instruments creating the melodies right in front of you. There is nothing like watching music being created, why do you think concerts are still going strong. Sure they are vastly different than the living-room style concerts that Mozart gave, but minus the lack of intimacy, that thrill is still there.

And as far as television? Who needs television when you can attend the theatre and, again, watch art as its being created! You watch it live, as it happens, you are a part of the show. Television puts a wall up, you are no longer a participant, you are just a watcher.

And not to mention, that without TV and Radio, (and computers) individuals willingly chose to interact and be social with other individuals (what a concept, I know). Learning about your heritage, telling stories, creating art, interacting with loved ones....sounds like a pretty good life to me.

However, we can glamarize this all we want....the truth is, the reason why TV and Radio werent invented until recently is because the technology did not exist for it. This wonderful luxury that we take for granted did not always exist, because people had to work, literally work with their hands and feet to just sustain their ownh bodies and that of their family.

So this idea of "free time" or leisure time, as its known, is a relatively new concept and wasnt created, really until the 20th century.

Answer 4

They read, played games, told stories, sung, and such. There was a much greater emphasis on family interaction. At that time, much of the US was rural. On farms there are lots of chores, meaning early mornings and early nights. People generally figured out how to entertain themselves.

Answer 5

They go to the movies, trade stories, played cards, sew, read, laze and wind up their gramaphones over and over again and waited for someone to invent the radio and TV I guess.

Answer 6

Talk,Play. Enjoy the scenery.Work,Read, Sew, Arts & Crafts. You notice you don't see many quality crafts around like you did back then. Everyone's too busy watching tv to learn anymore.

Answer 7

They read books, did needle point, made clothing and quilts, played musical instruments, whittled things out of wood, ate, drank, smoked, talked. You can't miss what you don't have.

Answer 8

Talk, spun stories - and every so often venture out to churn butter and throw the odd hooley or hoe-down!

Answer 9

Lots of things like activities...practically something like the Girl/boy scouts of America..Adults would be busy all day...

Answer 10

They were busy working, reading and rasiing their families. Life seemed so simple in those days. Every one knew what they had to do and that just did it.