People with children can look to them to measure how fast time passes. For me, it’s technology. Without a kid to remind me of the years flying by, I can sense accelerated change through the tech I use.
When I was a kid, we had a big black-and-white television that sat inside a huge wood console alongside a record player and a radio. It all disappeared when the two giant doors were closed. Now, like many people, I watch a flat-screen TV that show more than television programs.
At the time I was working on my MBA, the courses included COBOL programming and using keypunch cards to enter data into a mainframe computer. Personal computers were built from a kit, then available with a green or orange display running MS-DOS (remember the blank screen with a prompt?). Later we got color monitors. Four years after I graduated, Windows was introduced and people started using a computer mouse. Software was installed using floppy disks, then CD-ROM.
When I first moved to Georgia, I often stopped and used a pay phone to call when I got lost. Now there are navigation systems in cars and my cell phone has several map apps. The cell phone that fits in my hand has more power and capacity than the computers I used not too long ago.
Observing a roomful of children playing with their electronic devices on Thanksgiving Day, I was amazed at how easily they pick up new technology. Though I sometimes struggle with it, I love having witnessed the span of changes in my lifetime. It gives me a great appreciation for what technology allows me to do.
I would hate to grow older without the Internet, computers, smartphones, and other gadgets. While I may not keep up on all of the latest stuff, I love the options that new technologies give me to stay in touch, get my news, learn, or be entertained. And technology enables me to write this blog. Here’s to the relentless march of time and tech!
One of the challenges of being a grandmother today is keeping up with our grandchildren’s technology! Which include not only television, but X-boxes, WI, and Apple as well as PC hand held devices that stream Netflix, games, and educational programming. Though I have been tech savvy since 1986 when introduced to graphic design by computer (WHAAA?) — goodbye to the drawing table, radiographs, and press type — the current hardware/software has me resorting to “Let’s ask your brother..” when my 5-year-old granddaughter is in need of help!
Doctors don’t know it all. They rely on their PDR (Physicians’ Desk Reference). So why can’t we have sources to help with gadgets and software? Many of my older students turn to their children when they run into trouble navigating their online classes. Pulling in a grandchild to help is just plain smart. Since technology moves at the speed of light, we have to grab all the help we can get!