25+ Activities that were easier 100 years ago than they are in 2025: 'You could just disappear for a while without explanation'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Mar 26, 2025 10:00 PM EDT

It can be hard to imagine what life was like in 1925. Odds are, none of us were around to see it. We've read The Great Gatsby, but after all, that's fiction. We imagine flapper girls and gangsters, old-timey automobiles, and the stock market crash. But generally, most of us have the sense that life was generally harder to live back then. There was no television, no internet, no texting, and no chickenpox vaccine. I don't know about you, but my life would be drastically different without those inventions, and perhaps for the worse. I couldn't have the job I have now (I probably couldn't have really any job, since I'm a woman) and I probably would have lost a bunch of friends to preventable diseases. For those reasons, I'll take 2025 over 1925.

But what are the things that were easier back then? Are there any ways that our lifestyles have declined since then, or has it only been uphill in the last century?

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  • 01
    "Get away with petty crimes. Cameras are everywhere now."
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

  • The commenters in this thread had some ideas about how in a few ways, life was simpler back then. Take a scroll through and imagine what you would have done differently if you were born in 1899 instead of 1999.

  • 02

    What was easier to do 100 years ago than it is today?

    • Dingo... 4h ago • Edited 4h ago Getting away with murder.
    via u/Dingo8MyBabyMon
  • 03
    . HandsLikePaper • 4h ago Faking your own death and starting over.
    via u/HandsLikePaper
  • 04
    LucyVialli ⚫4h ago Keep your privacy.
    via u/LucyVialli
  • 05
    UsuallyAnnoying324 4h ago • See the stars. Too much light pollution now.
    via u/UsuallyAnnoying324
  • 06
    lostloo... 4h ago Rob banks
    via u/lostlookingforamap
  • 07
    . Long_Serpent • 4h ago Catching tuberculosis
    via u/Long_Serpent
  • 08
    Elegantreese 4h ago Being unreachable - No phones, no social media, no constant notifications. You could just disappear for a while without explanation.
    via u/Elegantreese
  • 09
    Listening_Heads • 4h ago It was 1925. Only 1 in every 6 people owned a car. So it was much easier to step in horse sh.
    via u/Listening_Heads
  • 10
    jakeblutarski 4h ago Buy a Thompson sub machine gn in a hardware store.
    via u/jakeblutarski
  • 11
    TinyConfection7049 Know your neighbors
    via u/TinyConfection7049
  • 12
    WackHeisen Bauer • 4h ago Make a clean break. You weren't ultra connected. And you could honestly just move to the other side of your own town and start a whole new life without any real fear of running into anyone from your old life.
    via u/WackHeisenBauer
  • 13
    AdvertisingLogical22 • 4h ago Finding a parking space
    via u/AdvertisingLogical22
  • 14
    No_Investigator8165 . 4h ago Start a business, build a house, raise a family
    via u/No_Investigator8165
  • 15
    Common Object2131 Succumb to disease.
    via u/Common_Object2131
  • 16
    efreeme • 4h ago Avoiding plastic and food additives
    via u/efreeme
  • 17
    Money_Baseball_975 Be stinky
    via u/Money_Baseball_975
  • 18
    Jimxor 4h ago Pay for a baby's birth in a hospital. We found the hospital bill for when my mother was born. I don't recall the exact amount but it was ridiculously low, way below $100 for a three-day stay. They charged something like 25 cents a day for baby care. That hospital still stands today, 100 years later.
    via u/Jimxor
  • 19
    cewumu 4h ago • Support a big family on one income. Achieve success without tertiary education. Lie about your identity. Commit bigamy.
    via u/cewumu
  • 20
    Mutt_Bunch • 4h ago Play with a hoop and a stick, but now everybody just looks at ya weird.
    via u/Mutt_Bunch
  • 21
    asspatsandsuperchats get a solid night sleep
    via u/asspatsandsuperchats
  • 22
    Moron-Whisperer • 4h ago Get away with petty crimes. Cameras everywhere now
    via u/Moron-Whisperer
  • 23
    • Victor-Grimm 4h ago Build or do anything to your property without a permit or some other bureaucracies input or restrictions.
    via u/Victor-Grimm
  • 24
    North-Inevitable2465 Be efficient with less distractions
    via u/North-Inevitable2465
  • 25
    uttercentrist • 5h ago Send telegrams and upset the normies
    via u/uttercentrist
  • 26
    JaimieMantzel ⚫ 3h ago Build a house. Grow your own food. Basically anything to do with being self sufficient. ...and someone is going to say, "No no! It's easier to build a house today with all the technology!"
    via u/JaimieMantzel
  • 27
    Yeah... once your get through all the paperwork, permits, regulations, and finally get to the part where you have to pay other people to do it for you because you're not allowed to do anything yourself.
    via u/JaimieMantzel
  • 28
    Weak_Bell2414 Buy a top hat
    via u/Weak_Bell2414

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