13 Things Millennials Remember About the Early Internet

The early days of the internet were full of unique experiences Millennials won’t forget. From dial-up sounds to chat rooms, here are 13 things only Millennials will remember about being online.

1. The Sound of Dial-Up

That screeching, buzzing, whirring noise was the soundtrack of our internet beginnings. Connecting to the web meant enduring a cacophony that resembled a robot orchestra tuning up. And once you were online, nothing—not even an incoming call—could interrupt your precious connection.

2. AIM Away Messages

Crafting the perfect AOL Instant Messenger away message was an art form. Whether it was song lyrics, cryptic status updates, or passive-aggressive quotes aimed at your crush, these messages were your personal billboard to the world—or at least to your buddy list.

3. The Joy of ‘You’ve Got Mail’

Hearing those three magical words was like receiving a digital hug. It was the early internet’s equivalent of getting a handwritten letter, except instead of cursive on stationary, it was often spam or a chain email that threatened bad luck if not forwarded to 10 friends.

4. Neopets and Tamagotchis

Image Credit: Tomasz Sienicki – Own work/CC BY-SA 3.0/Wiki Commons

For many millennials, digital pets were our first foray into the world of online responsibility. Whether it was feeding your Neopet on the family computer or making sure your Tamagotchi didn’t starve to death during class, these virtual companions were serious business.

5. GeoCities and Angelfire Websites

Long before Instagram grids and TikTok profiles, we showcased our personalities with homemade websites. GeoCities and Angelfire gave us the tools to create our own little corner of the internet, complete with blinking text, garish backgrounds, and visitor counters that we checked obsessively.

6. The Endless Quest for the Perfect MySpace Profile Song

Image Credit: Depositphotos

Choosing the right song for your MySpace profile was more than just picking a favorite track; it was about setting the perfect mood for anyone who stumbled onto your page. Whether it was emo ballads or top 40 hits, your profile song was your personal anthem and an instant insight into your soul.

7. Earning Cred on Napster and LimeWire

Downloading music in the early 2000s was like a digital treasure hunt. Napster and LimeWire were the go-to sources for free tunes, but they came with the risk of slow downloads, mislabeled songs, and possibly wrecking your computer with a virus. Still, nothing beat the thrill of successfully downloading your favorite track after hours of waiting.

8. Pop-Up Ads Everywhere

The early internet was a minefield of pop-up ads, each one more aggressive than the last. Closing them felt like a game of digital whack-a-mole, and before ad blockers, avoiding a sketchy site meant bracing yourself for a barrage of windows trying to sell you everything from credit scores to dubious miracle cures.

9. Joining Fan Forums

Whether you were into boy bands, TV shows, or niche hobbies, fan forums were where you found your people. These online communities were like proto-social networks, where you could obsess over your favorite things with like-minded fans, engage in heated debates, or just lurk and enjoy the drama.

10. Learning HTML for Fun

Before the days of drag-and-drop website builders, millennials learned HTML to customize their online spaces. From embedding music videos on your MySpace page to tweaking the color scheme of your blog, mastering HTML tags was a badge of honor that proved you were a true citizen of the internet.

11. Ebaumsworld and Newgrounds

Image Credit: Newgrounds/Fair use/Wiki Commons

These were the Wild West outposts of internet humor and entertainment. From flash games to bizarre videos, Ebaumsworld and Newgrounds were the go-to sites for wasting time and sharing the weirdest content with friends. It was the birthplace of internet memes long before we had a name for them.

12. MSN Messenger Nudge Wars

If someone wasn’t replying on MSN Messenger, the only reasonable thing to do was to send a nudge—a little screen shake to remind them you were waiting. This passive-aggressive feature was both loved and loathed, often escalating into full-blown nudge wars that no one really won.

13. Y2K Panic

As the year 2000 approached, the world braced for the end of civilization as we knew it—at least, that’s what the media had us believe. The Y2K bug was supposed to crash computers worldwide and bring society to a halt. Millennials remember the anxiety of that countdown, followed by the anticlimactic relief when midnight came and went without a hitch.