The "smart" age

Here we are in the middle of the 21st Century. We have come a long way in advances in technology. In five minutes, you can check your e-mail, view your bank statement, order shoes from Amazon, see what Adam Sandler is Tweeting about, and look up the latest news. All at the touch of a button and a click of the mouse. Amazing.

Call me old-fashioned, but I am a bit scared, intimidated, and resistant to technology. Funny, as I work for an IT company. I usually stick with the technology I have until I am forced to upgrade. It's not like I don't have ANY electronic devices in my home, I just don't have the latest and greatest. I have a flat screen HDTV, a DVD player that can play Blu-Ray (I think), a stereo that can accommodate an iPod, a DVR (best gift ever! My dear brother decided it would make a great Xmas gift. Now that I have it, I couldn't agree more. How else am I supposed to pause Glee, record Modern Family, and rewind a show? Especially with a 2 year old!), a laptop, and a Blackberry. I have an iPod, courtesy of my technology savvy brother, and I don't even know how to load songs on it. He does it for me! I still purchase CDs and DVDs. I worked hard on my VHS collection, which had to be upgraded to a DVD collection, which will someday be forced to be a Blu-ray collection.

I guess I just don't like the rapidness of the times. Technology seems to open "Pandora's Box" for some. They expect instant results and have to have the most advanced, current, and latest in gadgets. Some can barely go to the bathroom without tweeting from their iPhone. There are even advances in technology where you can control the lights and power in your home from your phone or laptop. Crazy!

These advances also seem to cause a lack of human interaction. Most things are done via e-mail and the internet. What did they do back in the 1940s or 1960s? They ran their businesses accurately, but perhaps at a slower pace. How did they communicate? Over the phone, mail, or in person. They didn't hide behind their desks and email all day. There was a human connection. The same goes for a lot of industries. You can rent/watch a movie online, check your bank statement, buy stamps and transfer funds from an ATM, or buy an entire spring wardrobe without leaving your house. A lot of businesses suffer from these advances.

I'm not saying I want to go back to the dinosaur days, when the huge 1980s Apple computers first came out, and the graphics on Oregon Trail were considered advanced, but it would be nice to own an electronic device and know it won't be upgraded/outdated in 3 months. My laptop is 5 years old, my car is 9, my microwave is well over 15. They work, I use them! I can't afford to update my appliances that often. There's also the issue of the learning curve on how to use these new smart appliances. I am quite impatient and thrive on instant gratification, so forget reading a 48 page manual on how to work my cable box or new phone; I learn by DOING! There are too many things to remember on a new device. I am not really in need of the latest and greatest. I am content with the bare minimum with a few luxuries here and there. In my home, I really just use my cell phone and laptop to keep in touch with people, blog, and Facebook! The internet is a great thing. The world wide web. I remember when it "came out" into the world and became the norm. I also remember when I was little, my dad worked for a copier company, and I thought my family was advanced because we had a computer, a fax machine, a copying machine, and cordless phones! And, my dad had an actual phone with a cord in his car. We were so cool! And now I wonder, what would we do without mobile technology and the internet? We couldn't function. The internet can be scary as well. Every one's information can be found, accounts can be hacked, children can be lured by an anonymous predator. Who knows what comes after the internet. Microchips implanted at birth?

I'm certainly not against technology, but sometimes I wish it would slow down. Yet, there are advances in medical technology that are curing diseases and diagnosing illness much more accurately. But at times, that same technology can advance diseases as well. It's a catch 22.

I am thankful for light bulbs, phones, TVs, laptops, and the like. I just don't really see a need in a machine that lives my life for me. Have you ever read "A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley? I highly recommend it.

And with that, I am going to enjoy shows on my semi-outdated TV, type on my ancient laptop, and set my alarm clock, not my phone, to wake up tomorrow.