A lot has changed since my wife and I raised our kids and many of the changes should have made things easier for today’s parents, and for everyone actually! Lets look at a few modern conveniences/changes that we take for granted today that a few years (well maybe quite a few…I am getting old) ago didn’t exist!
Microwaves: It was in the 70’s that I remember my Dad bringing in this Magic Chef microwave that was supposed to change how fast everyone’s dinner would be cooked. The cost was $400 (this was a lot in the 1970’s). Classes were offered if you bought one and I remember eating a pot roast cooked in ours, it was not impressive at all! Soon we figured out how to use it to reheat drip coffee and make popcorn, seems like not a lot has changed regarding using microwaves today does there?
Cable TV: I remember having only 3 channels in black and white, and never feeling “cheated” in the content we had. I have hundreds of channels now and can never find a clean, descent show or movie to watch. I know there are people paying over $200 a month to watch the re-runs and garbage today we call TV.
Computers: That’s right, we never had a computer at home and we survived just fine! People actually used a land line to call and talk to each other, it was nice to have that social bond that is missing in today’s world. How did we look up information?, encyclopedias at the school or library. Computers should make us more efficient, smarter, and all they seem to do is keep us “tied down” to them. I actually blame a loss of time on computers because of the social media sites that people just have to update when they sneeze or eat something.
Cell Phones: I never had one growing up and I survived just fine, it actually may have saved my butt a few times because Mom couldn’t just call and tell me to come home! This is actually a great tool that we take for granted today. I use the GPS often and can’t imagine life without that feature. What I can do without is listening to you talk loudly at a public place to someone on your cell phone, pull aside and speak at a reasonable level. The other challenge is to use the phone as a phone, CALL the person, texting is now often the only way we communicate. I fear that today’s youth will become tomorrows leaders with poor social and communication skills.
Let me mention just a few more things, perhaps it will make you feel better to be alive today, have what you do, maybe even appreciate them!
Color TV, drip coffee, fuel efficient cars (I still love the muscle cars though), Uber/Lyft, Apps to do everything, iPads, WiFi, cameras that fit in your phone, LED bulbs, Internet, Google, Social media sites, etc. etc.
The lesson today is for us all to stop and realize how much has changed.. some better some worse, it all depends on how we use the tools we have. I love the things we have and enjoy them, but I also don’t allow them to take over my life, but I do see that happening. To make my point all you have to do is walk through a shopping mall, airport, etc. and you will see everyone with the cell phone out, no one talking to each other, its each man out for himself mostly. In a way the simpler times were better because we didn’t have the distractions, we had friends that we visited, called, and cared about. Enjoy the changes we have, control them, don’t let them control you, and remember that it is always OK to turn them off and look up.
