The problems with dial up internet are hard to convey to young people, because it wasn't just about the internet. It was also about the phones, but phones operated much differently than they do now. Dial up isn't such a big deal when you have cell phones, but back when there was often only one phone line in the house, dial up would block that phone line. It was either internet or phone calls. "Who makes phone calls?" you might be wondering. Everyone used to!
I remember the stress of wanting to go online to talk to a girl in a chatroom, but my parents would be waiting for a phone call, so I couldn't get on. In all likelihood it was probably never a girl who I was talking to. It was probably a dude. That's the one thing you can say about phone calls. At least you know who you're talking to.