As we welcome the new decade, I reflect on all the advances in technology that have happened in my lifetime. In the past 50 years, I have seen so many inventions come, and some go as well. Microwave ovens, 8 track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, MP3 players, color TVs with remote controls, video games, cordless phones, answering machines, pagers, car phones, digital cameras, to only name a few. Of these, the greatest and most influential and life changing must be cellular phones, personal computers and the Internet.
There can be no doubt that all these things have made our lives so much easier and the world a much smaller and closer place, but I also feel that they have taken away some of the things that we used to enjoy. As it becomes easier to learn about any topic by “Googling” it, we have lost the ability to think, question and discuss. With the convenience of cellular phones, we are never out of touch. We can always be reached and we never miss a call or text, allowing us to leave the house or work without worries, but it also enslaves us. Do we really need to be contacted at all times? Wasn’t it nice to go out for dinner, a movie or a walk and talk with the person we were with?
I am one of the worst offenders, always having my phone in my hand but this year I hope to put down my phone, turn it off or at least try to make real contact with my friends and family again. Wish me luck!
Jill