He’s right. Before 1998, waiting was a condition of life. You waited for a letter. You waited for your favorite song to come on the radio so you could hit ‘record.’ You waited for Thursday night at 8:00 PM because if you missed Seinfeld , it was gone until summer reruns.
Following 1998, waiting became a glitch. Google was founded in September 1998. The iMac dropped in August of that year—translucent blue plastic promising that technology didn't have to be a beige box in a dusty office. Suddenly, answers were five seconds away. Music fit in your pocket (shout out to the original Rio PMP300). The friction of life was being sanded down. Following -1998-
I’ve been digitizing old home videos from 1997 lately. Grainy VHS footage of backyard barbecues, the static hiss of a CRT television in the background, and the sound of a rotary phone ringing. My nephew watched it over my shoulder and asked, “Why is everyone just... waiting ?” He’s right
