Thursday, January 31, 2013

Progress?

After being harassed and ridiculed by my grand kids, i recently got rid of my old flip-phone, which i loved, and got one of those Droid X2 gadgets. It seems to do everything except pay for itself. It took me a week to figure out how to answer a call, and then only after being helped by my 12 year old granddaughter. Yes, technology. That can often be a scary word for some of us "old timers". (around here, i guess that means Steve and me)

My grand kids, like just about everyone else, have all the latest "i" pads, "i" phones, "i" books,  and whatever other crap they make. I used to be able to email them, but that's now "old fashioned" They no longer read their email since their computers are now also "old fashioned". In fact, they don't even talk on their phones anymore. And just when i finally figured out how to send a text, even that's pretty much out. Now, everything is tweeting, twitting, twatting, or whatever they call it. Yep, that's progress. Or is it?

Have you noticed how young folks hardly talk face-to-face anymore? When is the last time you saw someone under 50 actually sit down and write a letter? Thanks to all that technology, you rarely see kids playing out in the streets anymore. I bought my grandson a bike 5 or 6 years ago and it's in the garage, hardly ever ridden. Fact is, when i go to visit, i never see kids playing outside! That's pretty weird. Well, to me anyway.

Are we forgetting how to be people? Have we forgotten how to look someone in the eye and talk with them? Is technology taking away our humanity, or am i just getting old? (no wise cracks please!)

4 comments:

Cogitating Codger said...

Don't worry you're still a codger. I retired my old Droid X last year and got a Galaxy S III. That I'm using now.

I got rid of my 1911 in 1912 got me one of them new fangled plassstek guns. Wunna dem Glocks. Only hadit fer twenny too years. It might actualy end up beein a gud shootin iron. Jes miss havin to reload ebby sevvin rnds tho

Poot Shoot Boogy said...

Arizona just announced that federal gun control laws are illegal in this state.

alan said...

I got a iphone 4 about 2 years ago, only because I needed it to access current weather radar while doing the job I was doing.

I sure do miss the days of having a cell phone that all it did was allow you to talk....on the other hand, there are times when I want to relay information to my kids, but don't really want to talk to them .... in that case a text is great.

On the other hand, every couple of days I get a new snapshot of one of the grandkids.....maybe this new tech isn't so bad afterall.

Oh....my extension in Uncle Sugar's green machine was misfiled and not processed, so I reenter the roles of the retired on Monday. On the upside, I was called and offered a contract job the day before I was notified that I would soon be out of a job.

Same job, same place, same pay, none of the military b.s., and only half the hours!!!! I love it. back down to only 2200 hours per year....wait, that still is more than a 40 hour week....but it is better than the 80+ hour weeks I have been putting in.

Schteveo said...

Much like our author, I'm a cell phone dinosaur.

I have the most basic phone you can get. I don't have data service, and it takes really bad pictures.

On top of that, I've NEVER sen a text message and I have NO intent of sending one. IF I need to contact someone, I call them.

As to 'modern' kids, how old / young are we talking? I don't see the idiot parents leaving the couch and xBox or some MMO crap either in most cases. Of my 5 grandsons, the two younger ones, the 5 and 8 y/os, would rather be outside, the bigger schmucks can't be bothered unless they're pushed out.