predigital
Pre-internet era technology
Predigital describes the era before digital technology became widespread—roughly before the 1980s or 1990s, depending on context.
It evokes a world of analog devices, physical media, and communication without screens: predigital photography, predigital record-keeping.
The term often carries nostalgia or is used to mark generational divides: Those of us from the predigital age still remember card catalogs.
Comparable equivalent
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
- vacuum tubeEvacuated electronic amplifier
- rotary phoneCircular-dial telephone
- typewriterMechanical printing keyboard
mimeograph · telegraph · phonograph · cathode ray · clockwork · punch card · switchboard · reel-to-reel
Transfer text to paper
- newspaperPrinted periodical of current events
- letterpressPrinting from raised surfaces
- darkroomFilm processing chamber
- celluloidTransparent flammable synthetic material
broadcast · radio · vinyl records · film photography · handwritten · manuscripts · lithograph · engraving
Mail composed manually
- card catalogsManual book-finding system
- encyclopediasMulti-volume knowledge collections
- analog clocksTime displays with rotating pointers
- pen palsFriends who exchange letters
photo albums · scrapbooks · mixtapes · face-to-face · unplugged · patience · craftsmanship · tactile
1901 through 2000
- postwarAfter hostilities end
- midcenturyAround the 1950s
- VictorianOf a prim era
- precomputerBefore electronic data processing
cold war · modernist · atomic age · bygone · historical · antebellum · premodern · nostalgic
Idealized past era
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- warmthHeat you feel
- imperfectionFault or shortcoming
- charmAttractive personal quality
romance · tactility · physicality · slowness · intimacy · craftsmanship · character · soul
analog
Comparable equivalent
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
- vacuum tubeEvacuated electronic amplifier
- rotary phoneCircular-dial telephone
typewriter · mimeograph · telegraph · phonograph · cathode ray · clockwork · punch card · switchboard · reel-to-reel · fax machine
Transfer text to paper
- newspaperPrinted periodical of current events
- letterpressPrinting from raised surfaces
- darkroomFilm processing chamber
celluloid · broadcast · radio · vinyl records · film photography · handwritten · manuscripts · lithograph · engraving · woodcut
handwritten letters
Mail composed manually
- card catalogsManual book-finding system
- encyclopediasMulti-volume knowledge collections
- analog clocksTime displays with rotating pointers
pen pals · photo albums · scrapbooks · mixtapes · face-to-face · unplugged · patience · craftsmanship · tactile · tangible
twentieth century
1901 through 2000
- postwarAfter hostilities end
- midcenturyAround the 1950s
- VictorianOf a prim era
precomputer · cold war · modernist · atomic age · bygone · historical · antebellum · premodern · nostalgic · vintage
simpler times
Idealized past era
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- warmthHeat you feel
- imperfectionFault or shortcoming
charm · romance · tactility · physicality · slowness · intimacy · craftsmanship · character · soul · grain
predigitaldigital
Of discrete data
computerized · digital age · modern · information age · contemporary
predigitaldigital
Of discrete data
digitized · computerized · electronic · binary · automated
pre, digital, digit, digits, digitize, digitized, digitizing, digitization, digitally