Yesterday, some of you weighed in on the role technology plays in your lives (if you didn't catch our Technology in Twelve word game, check it out - my friend Erik's 12 words are hilarious!) and I said I would explore the role it plays in my life today.
But now that I'm sitting here at the keyboard, I'm
overwhelmed (and a little nervous) by the thought of doing just that. Why? Because I know the role technology plays in my life is a Catch 22, a paradox: can't live with it, can't live without it, right?
The number of times I've opened my mouth in front of classrooms full of 17 year olds and said "When I was your age, we didn't..." is exponential: I'm at a point in my life where I have more than doubled my students' age - I know what it was like "back in the day", dammit - I LIVED back in that day!
And so did most of you... come on, you remember that day, the one without cell phones, the Internet, hell - the one without computers, for goodness' sake!
It was a different life: we waited with baited breath for the rotary phone to ring, cried when our parents wouldn't sign up for call waiting, passed notes behind the teacher's back and in the corridors at school, made a plan and stuck to it because there was no option to cancel textually.
We broke up with our first loves in person, while seated on the couch in our parent's 'good room'. If our parents wouldn't get off the phone, we hopped on our bikes and pedaled over up the hill to Heather's house to get help with our math homework. If we wanted to harass someone, we did it to their face; if we wanted to stalk an ex-boyfriend, we did it in person.
We did a lot more in person and because of it, there wasn't too much lost in translation: we intoned sarcasm from the sound of one's voice or the roll of one's eyes. We stuck to our commitments because it was easier than seeing or hearing disappointment.
We read more books. We played outdoors. We paid attention.
When we shared a meal with others, we shared more than food - we shared our time and more often than not, our undivided attention, too.
When the working day was over, it ended - it didn't continue from the couch, the kitchen table, the bathroom, the beach, the movie theater, the bar...
People didn't bargain with one another, promising that the next time would be different because he/she would leave their phone at home.
Ugh! I could go on and on and I will continue but class is about to start and I need to check my email quick... and my phone... and...
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Technology; you love it, you hate it. I have this exact dialogue in my head most of the time. I think the worst thing technology has provided us is the need for instant gratification. It has changed me for the worse in that case. I do love the connection to people that I would not have otherwise met.
ReplyDeleteWell, I must say that I'm terribly glad my 11 year old nephew texts me random, irritating thoughts just because he knows they'll irk me *rolls eyes*
ReplyDelete:) j/k...but, not about the texts.
There are all kinds of things kids are getting themselves into trouble with through technology. 'Sexting' being one of them. I've also overheard two young girls, maybe 12 or 13, talking about an old man sending them naked pictures of himself to their phones. That is very concerning.
However, I attend classes online. I send our distant family videos and pictures of my kids online (and make them foot the bill for the print outs).
Most notably, the internet makes my home a happier place. Google has settled many an argument. When you've married into a family of males who like to become disgruntled just for the sake of it, Google is your best friend.