Both Sides of Technology

When I watch old movies I find myself becoming nostalgic for a time I never lived through. It was all so simple then. And the movies don't even have to be that old. Even movies made in the 80s and 90s make me wish for simpler times. It used to be that if a boy liked you he had to call you and think of things to say to you once he got you on the phone. Now, we accept a "hey what's up" text in place of a real conversation.

I love technology, I really do, but I wish this hadn't happened. I can remember my first boyfriend having to call my parents' house to talk to me. Many times he had to get through my dad before he could talk to me. That never happens now. Most kids have cell phones and most text rather than talk.

I can remember running to the mailbox to retrieve love letters from my first boyfriend. I can't imagine that happens much anymore. People get love emails.

It's kind of a shame that you can now set up a date online with someone that you've never seen or met. It takes all the "courting" out of dating. I'm not old-fashioned, but these are some of the things I miss. Remember that nervousness you got when you stared at the phone thinking of things to say to the boy once you got him on the phone? Or remember waiting for his call? I haven't had that feeling in a long time. I hope kids today get to experience something like that feeling we used to get.

I'm part of the generation that can truly remember both sides of the technology revolution. And it happened fast. When I entered college I had a word processor that I carried around campus and a Nokia cell phone that was as big as my head that I was only to use in case of emergency. One person on our floor had a personal computer. If I wanted to talk to my boyfriend I had to be in my room when he called, and vice versa. Texting didn't exist, or if it did, no one knew about it. I remember receiving my first text message in 2003... three years after I left college.

When I left college I had a computer and printer in my dorm room and my very own cell phone. And now I have to have every gadget as soon as it comes out as long as I can afford it. So I'm in a conundrum. As much as I think technology is wonderful, I'm always a little mad at it for what it's taken away from us.