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We had no Internet prior prior to the 1980s-1990s.
How did we exist before that?

We had no personal computers prior to 1970s-1980s.
How did we exist before that?

We had no semiconductor electronics before the 1950s-1960s.
How did we exist before that?

We had no electric lights or electric service prior Edison, Tesla & Westinghouse.
How did we exist before that?
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We had not chipped flint spears before Og chipped the first one.
How I’d we exist before that?

WE HAD NO DATA CENTERS 5 YEARS AGO
NOW—OVER 5,000 OPEN & 3,000 MORE PLANNED.

HOW DID WE “EXIST” BEFORE?????????????

Who said that!?!?

I worked at an MCI/Verizon Business Data Center years ago.

During the microcomputer industry boom of the 1980s, computers started to be deployed everywhere, in many cases with little or no care about operating requirements. However, as information technology (IT) operations started to grow in complexity, organizations grew aware of the need to control IT resources. The availability of inexpensive networking equipment, coupled with new standards for the network structured cabling, made it possible to use a hierarchical design that put servers in a specific room inside the company. The use of the term data center, as applied to specially designed computer rooms, started to gain popular recognition about this time.[43][note 3]
During the dot-com bubble (1997–2000), there was a boom in data center construction because companies needed fast Internet connectivity and non-stop operation to establish their Internet presence.[44] Many companies started building very large facilities, called internet data centers (IDCs),[45] which provided enhanced capabilities, such as crossover backup: "If a Bell Atlantic line is cut, we can transfer them to ... to minimize the time of outage."[45]
The global data center market saw steady growth in the 2010s, with a notable acceleration in the latter half of the decade. According to Gartner, worldwide data center infrastructure spending reached $200 billion in 2021, representing a 6% increase from 2020 despite economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[46]

Just because you never heard of them didn't mean they didn't exist. When 9/11 hit us I worked 24 hours straight rerouting American Express circuits from NYC to another Data Center in Pennsylvania.