Technology

I was watching my 4th grader typing yesterday and was amazed at how quick and accurate he was, and it reminded me of my 7th grade typing class. We had to memorize the order of the keys, have correct hand position, remember to push the carriage back at the end of the paper so you wouldn't type completely off the page. And remember the white correction tape?? For when you spelled a word wrong or wanted to change something you wrote? How much has changed since then (and no, I am not THAT old)!! I remember when:

1. I bought my husband a pager for Christmas, just in case I wanted to get hold of him and needed him to call me back. How completely obsolete, unless you are a doctor, but maybe even now they don't page people anymore.

2. Remember when you wanted to record a song, but didn't want to buy the tape at the record store, so you waited until the song came on the radio and hurried as fast as you could to push "record" on the tape recorder? You could play that song over and over again, only missing the first couple lines every time. And how long did we sit there, just knowing the song would come on any minute now? Who even has the patience OR the time for that now?

3. Speaking of recording, how about TIVO? I remember when I first heard of TIVO and hearing that you could actually record a show, or pause it, or miraculously even rewind it. WHAT!?!? I thought to myself, "But what happens when I want to fast forward it.....how would it know where to stop....and what about all the other people watching at the same time?" I couldn't even grasp the concept. Now, I can't imagine what type of mom I was when a kid interrupted me during the most crucial part of the show. Or what if I actually had to be out of the house or away from the TV on Thursday nights? Would I just have to miss Survivor and find someone who happened to watch it to know who got kicked off?

4. I recall the first time I saw a credit card/debit card machine at the the grocery store. I was horrified that people were so careless that they would actually CHARGE groceries, of all things, to their credit cards. What was this world coming to? Did people not see the dangers of senselessly swiping their cards and spending years paying off the interest of their hot dogs/mac and cheese/bread and milk? Couldn't they just write a check and save their financial futures? I don't think I even owned a debit card yet, so the concept truly frightened me. I don't think I've written a check in the last year. I don't think I even own checks.

5. When I went to college in 1991, my dad let me borrow a laptop computer so I could type and print a large report. It was basically a highly technical typewriter that apparently I was too dumb to know how to work and he said it never worked after that. My 5th child was computer savvy at age 2. Yes, age 2. He could click on the Butterfly to get onto MSN, find the Favorites Star and get to Nick Jr and play games, watch videos, do puzzles, etc. Now at age 3 he can play Call of Duty, use the mouse with precision, and pause it for a potty break. The speed in which they learn just astounds me. Absolutely astounds me.

6. In elementary school I remember using the encyclopedia for everything. Have to write a report on evaporation? Read about it in the encyclopedia. Curious about bodily functions? Look it up in the encyclopedia. Even trying to find the meaning of a naughty word you heard at school....the encyclopedia. Now, I use GOOGLE for everything. To look up medical ailments, to find a recipe, to find ANYTHING....within seconds. In fact, if I were in elementary school today, I wouldn't even have to write a report about evaporation, I could just copy and paste a bunch of information, include a colored illustration and make it look super-fancy and professional in less than 5 minutes. And I wouldn't have to use a pencil or a typewriter to do a single thing.


I can't imagine my life now without my computer, my iPod, my check-free grocery trips, my smart phone and all the TV shows I record each week (and will have the time to actually WATCH one day). I can't imagine life without the instant connection I have with family and friends via texting, emailing, Facebook chatting. I would miss the events in their lives where I can read their blogs about new babies, weddings, and special occasions....complete with pictures and videos. And I would miss sharing mine with them.