I'm 48 so I've been caught in the middle of life before and after the net. Growing up we played outside for hours on end: kickball, wiffleball, tackle football (yes tackle not touch),basketball. Most of the kids in the neighborhood played and the games were very competitive. Some fighting, some punches thrown occasionally but the kids sorted it out, not the parents.
Our diets consisted mostly of sugar, caffeine and saturated fat but we were all skinny as a rail. We just burned it off by being outside playing. Winter, no problem; We had snowball fights, rode sleds down hills you couldn't see the bottom of from the tops and shoveled the court to play hoops.
Their were bullies but you kept your distance and in the end they got what was coming to them. They either got thumped by bigger, badder kids or ended up in jail down the road.
On rainy days you were inside watching the T.V. but not for long with only 9 or 10 channels. You listened to radio to get your music and we even figured out how to get the good city channels by hooking your t.v. cable up your radio.
Parents didn't micro manage like they do now (heck I'm even guilty of that sometime). You sorted out your own problems, took some lumps, got paddled and learned hard lessons that made you a better person. You knew everyone in your neighborhood because they were outside all the time and respected the adults.
Life with the net has it's benefits. No more waiting all day to hear a song you love. You Tube helps you relive good memories and has helped me fix countless things around the house and with cars. Getting goods and info are much easier on those of us in rural areas now. Amazon has saved me a ton of time and gas. Research, current events, sports results are much easier to access.
The downside of the net: more obese kids (which is not the foods fault) by overusing the net/technology. People constantly prying into others business or bragging about their kids (facebook). Harder to teach kids/adults about the benefits of delayed gratification with our instant society.
I grew up playing ball sports but went to running after the glory days. I recall going to races in the late 80's early 90's and running low 15's for 5K and barely finishing in the top 15. Now 25 years later I'm running in the high 17's and finishing in the top 5. More people are running but it's much less competitive. I blame that on technology/net and people not getting a background at a young age.