The Ghost of Technology Past: Having a Senior Memory

When I was young the modern technology of the times was not nearly as advanced as it is now. The most exciting technology that came around in my early childhood was the TV. The first television programs were not even in color. Dude can it be true?

We had no wireless devices. In fact our telephone was a rotary phone, and we had what was called a party line (Rotary Phone? Isn't that from the Stone Age?). The party line was a shared phone among two or more households. You could use the phone if no one else was on the line already. Occasionally you would have to wait forever for the line to be free. I hate to admit this, but sometimes I would eavesdrop on my neighbors on the party line.

Can you imagine not having a cell phone, computer or high-speed internet? The computer and internet access was not available until I was an adult. We have had tremendous technological advances in the past 30 years.

I no longer have a land line. If you want to contact me, you can do so wherever I might be. My husband gets anxious when he can't talk to me immediately (So much for bathroom time without the invasion of my cell phone).

My family now spends a lot of money on our technology. My parents' technological expenses were very small compared to what we pay today. During my youth, once you purchased your television, there was no other service you had to pay for. Excuse me, I forgot, you did have to purchase and install an outside antenna. That was all you needed to view television programs. Although, there were only about three stations to view back then, and television stations went off the air about midnight.

We now have satellite radio that you pay for, and television programming that we buy. We spend more money and use more energy. Our entire way of life is changing. We can work from home, and easily talk to someone on the other side of the globe. We have instant communication, and 24 hours a-day news.

I won't be around to see what it will be like in another fifty years. I only hope that the future will bring just as many wonderful things as I have seen in my lifetime. I like most of the technology that has been developed. Technology has allowed me to do so much more than I could without it. I think we could do away with the violent video games, and sex and violence in movies. I don't like what I see in school children's behavior. I think cell phones, television, and video games affect our children in an adverse way.

There have been many more changes than what I have written about here. I love technology. I don't know how I could ever get along without my GPS, cellphone, or computer. Not everyone feels the same way about technology. Technology sometimes gets a bump wrap. It's just misunderstood.