My wife and I have been very slow about entering the 21st century. We were almost the last people we know who got cell phones, computers, used email, got on face book, etc. One of the reasons for my reluctance to adopt these “time saving” innovations is that they do not save time. Before I had a cell phone no one bothered me when I was out of my office or not at home. Now I have to restrict my cell phone number to family members lest I get too many phone calls. I don’t like talking on the phone. On the other hand, once my wife got a cell phone she adopted it with enthusiasm. She has hundreds of phone numbers stored in it and uses it constantly.
I had to talk my wife into getting a computer and using email. She thought she would never use it. She now has hundreds of email addresses from all over the country and is on her computer even more than her phone. Outside of business emails I have only family on mine and use it only to respond if someone emails me. It is very handy for business and special announcements but I have fewer and fewer of those.
Our daughter signed us up on face book. When someone asked to be my friend on face book I was honored and freely accepted them, although I never initiated a friend request. I eventually learned that most of those people weren’t interested in me as much as telling the most people possible about their day to day activities. Some were posting 3 or 4 times a day so I don’t know how they had time for any day to day activities. I have now winnowed my friends list to family, god children and very close friends. I now have 24 friends on my list. My wife has hundreds on her list. In the rare case that I ever think of anything clever enough to be shared with a lot of people, I simply tell my wife and, if she also thinks it’s clever, she will send it to the world. This not only saves me time but prevents my sending things that are only clever to me.
All of our children have these contraptions that do everything. They take pictures, surf the internet, show movies, give GPS directions, make phone calls, etc. Neither of us has one or is particularly interested in having one. If I were still on the road in business, these would be invaluable. In my current situation I can’t think of a situation where I might have used one of those things.
While Christmas shopping four weeks ago we stopped in Best Buy looking for an inexpensive digital camera as a gift. We didn’t find a camera we liked but we did buy a 57″ flat screen TV. Although we had discussed doing this for several years, we didn’t watch enough TV to justify it. We decided that now was the time and arranged to have it deliverd after Christmas. When we got home my wife measured the space in which we intended to install it. It was too big for the space. Another trip, a repacement order, a 52″ screen. In order to install it where we wanted, we had to empty the shelves of our library and re-do all the shelving. We have hundreds of books of all sizes and on all subjects and my wife has had them artfully displayed on the shelves along with petinent pictures and interesting knick-knacks. Now that the TV is in place the artful arranging has been going on for several days. We watch this wonderful device around stacks of books as she considers their proper placement. I take no umbrage at the situation because I always like the results of her work.
If we didn’t have children we would not have any of these things and probably would never miss them. They’ve certainly enlivened our existence. The children I mean, not the devices.
Tags: 21st century, gadgets and gizmos, updating
