Although the adage always proves true, no one wants to admit to the inevitable “becoming your parents” experience. Yet, it happens sometimes subtly and other times it smacks you in the face. Usually it’s not until after the episode that you recognize the eerie similarities. Recently, an exasperating encounter with a
videophone internet program that my husband (in Iraq) wanted to try proved, yet again, that technology is changing faster than I am.
As a parent myself, it never ceases to amaze me how easily our boys learn and use the latest hi-tech gadgets. I learn well enough, but frustrate easily when things don’t work as I expect. For example, navigating the internet is a fluid exercise for them, yet for me it can be a rather bumpy ride at times. Even the act of “writing” has gone hi-tech by forcing you to compose
at the keyboard instead of
in your head. Personally, there are times I prefer putting pen to paper but the older I get, the more I appreciate the ease of use my laptop computer provides.
With technology encroaching into every facet of our lives from coffee makers to washing machines to the vehicles we drive, it seems the days of rotary dials and simple on/off switches are long gone. Recently I purchased a new desk lamp because I liked the style but couldn’t figure out how to turn it “on” as I thought the switch had broken off, but turns out it was a “touch” lamp. My dad got a kick out of me trying to “touch” one of his lamps to turn it on but apparently, it was the “regular” kind and not the “fancy” kind as he called it.
I guess I am the “tween” generation being born to the rotary-dial age (like my parents) and having grown up in the digital age (to which my kids were born). I like the advances and enjoy being able to set a timer on my coffee maker to have fresh java when I wake up at 7am, but I dislike the frustrating 30 minutes it took me to figure out how to set it up the first time. My husband likes having his favorite television program recorded and sent to him on DVDs (the current episodes, not the ones you buy in the store), but that means each time I run out of DVDs, I’ll spend 15 minutes at
Best Buy trying to remember which type of recordable DVDs work in our DVD recorder.
As a parent myself, it never ceases to amaze me how easily our boys learn and use the latest hi-tech gadgets. I learn well enough, but frustrate easily when things don’t work as I expect. For example, navigating the internet is a fluid exercise for them, yet for me it can be a rather bumpy ride at times. Even the act of “writing” has gone hi-tech by forcing you to compose at the keyboard instead of in your head. Personally, there are times I prefer putting pen to paper but the older I get, the more I appreciate the ease of use my laptop computer provides.
With technology encroaching into every facet of our lives from coffee makers to washing machines to the vehicles we drive, it seems the days of rotary dials and simple on/off switches are long gone. Recently I purchased a new desk lamp because I liked the style but couldn’t figure out how to turn it “on” as I thought the switch had broken off, but turns out it was a “touch” lamp. My dad got a kick out of me trying to “touch” one of his lamps to turn it on but apparently, it was the “regular” kind and not the “fancy” kind as he called it.
I guess I am the “tween” generation being born to the rotary-dial age (like my parents) and having grown up in the digital age (to which my kids were born). I like the advances and enjoy being able to set a timer on my coffee maker to have fresh java when I wake up at 7am, but I dislike the frustrating 30 minutes it took me to figure out how to set it up the first time. My husband likes having his favorite television program recorded and sent to him on DVDs (the current episodes, not the ones you buy in the store), but that means each time I run out of DVDs, I’ll spend 15 minutes at Best Buy trying to remember which type of recordable DVDs work in our DVD recorder.
Amen! I swear 40 is the new 30 until I try to do something with my cell phone.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Becky