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Some did this because it was a long time ago and the internet was new and only a few people had it.
Some people did this because the internet wasn't new, and the parents knew what kind of trouble giving a 10 year old unmonitored access to the internet could lead to - which meant that they would have to travel to that one friend's house whose parents didn't give a damn.
Then there are those that grew up after the age of smart phones and can't understand how two people could read from the same phone screen at the same time.
I'm in that first group and can still hear the squeal of the dial-up modem then, "You've got mail!"
Some people did this because the internet wasn't new, and the parents knew what kind of trouble giving a 10 year old unmonitored access to the internet could lead to...
Happy Tree Friends and helicopter dick jumpscares, among other things.