Technoaging
Thinking about how technology has evolved over the years and how I've witnessed these changes makes me sometimes realize I'm not that young anymore. I grew up in a world of Commodore 64 and 386 computers. Now I live in a time of iPads, wireless internet and harddisks the size of name cards. I start to feel like a slave to technology. Everything is computerized and stored. Even my entering and leaving the office building is accounted for.
Computers back then were rare, we wrote school essays by hand. It wasn't until high school did computers start coming into schools, and then it was a computer lab for everyone to share. Games were played on Atari and my Commodore 64 was then top of the line. Monitors displayed black and green. Color excited us, and then it only offered a nice blue screen. Printers were dot matrix. This was already wonderful. I loved it already then. I had my extra joystick and information was stored on 5inch floppy disks. I still have some of that in a box somewhere.
We listened to music on tapes and radios. I remember going to the record store and getting my first LP. I remember buying Pet Shop Boys "It's a Sin." Now LPs are collectors' item and only those really into music like to collect them. The sound just sounds purer. Then CDs came along and that was in itself amazing. How did all that music fit into a small disk? Now we have DVDs which hold much more.
Computers now are dual core, my Pentium III that I got in college is no longer in existence. I donated it awhile back. The beautiful large 17 inch monitor which was beautiful back then is now large and clumsy. I prefer slim flat screen monitors. Yes, they are beautiful. I wonder if it can get any better than this.
We sold things on newsgroups on Unix. There was no ebay, no amazon, no online shopping store.
Now we have internet, speeds get faster but I am increasingly impatient. I want my news, my information at a click of a mouse. Any download time makes me feel like I am wasting time. I get upset when my internet disconnects me from the rest of the online world. Yet I wonder how I lived before in a time of dial up internets. Back then we connected on phones and mail. That was a time when I still got real mail in the mail. Now all I get are invoices and advertisements.
I wonder sometimes about all this technology. I love it, I use the entire time I'm awake. But are we all really learning how to use it properly? We should learn to use it to help us, aid us in doing things more efficiently and faster, but we should also not become a slave to technology. We must also learn to live and enjoy all that nature has to offer. Breathe the fresh air, feel the breeze rustle your hair and look up into the clouds. When was the last time you lay on your back imagining what shapes the clouds could be? Maybe now its time to try it a little now that it's summer :)
Computers back then were rare, we wrote school essays by hand. It wasn't until high school did computers start coming into schools, and then it was a computer lab for everyone to share. Games were played on Atari and my Commodore 64 was then top of the line. Monitors displayed black and green. Color excited us, and then it only offered a nice blue screen. Printers were dot matrix. This was already wonderful. I loved it already then. I had my extra joystick and information was stored on 5inch floppy disks. I still have some of that in a box somewhere.
We listened to music on tapes and radios. I remember going to the record store and getting my first LP. I remember buying Pet Shop Boys "It's a Sin." Now LPs are collectors' item and only those really into music like to collect them. The sound just sounds purer. Then CDs came along and that was in itself amazing. How did all that music fit into a small disk? Now we have DVDs which hold much more.
Computers now are dual core, my Pentium III that I got in college is no longer in existence. I donated it awhile back. The beautiful large 17 inch monitor which was beautiful back then is now large and clumsy. I prefer slim flat screen monitors. Yes, they are beautiful. I wonder if it can get any better than this.
We sold things on newsgroups on Unix. There was no ebay, no amazon, no online shopping store.
Now we have internet, speeds get faster but I am increasingly impatient. I want my news, my information at a click of a mouse. Any download time makes me feel like I am wasting time. I get upset when my internet disconnects me from the rest of the online world. Yet I wonder how I lived before in a time of dial up internets. Back then we connected on phones and mail. That was a time when I still got real mail in the mail. Now all I get are invoices and advertisements.
I wonder sometimes about all this technology. I love it, I use the entire time I'm awake. But are we all really learning how to use it properly? We should learn to use it to help us, aid us in doing things more efficiently and faster, but we should also not become a slave to technology. We must also learn to live and enjoy all that nature has to offer. Breathe the fresh air, feel the breeze rustle your hair and look up into the clouds. When was the last time you lay on your back imagining what shapes the clouds could be? Maybe now its time to try it a little now that it's summer :)
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