Isn’t it great to live in modern times? It goes without saying that electricity and indoor plumbing are required but I’m talking about more recent developments You can bet I enjoy my smartphone and my tablet, and I like that any question can be answered by a quick search on Google, using only my voice if I am too lazy to type. Mobile phones have allowed us to be, yes, mobile- no more waiting at home for a call, and with texting, communication became even easier- no need to even speak to have a conversation. Many of us probably remember the days when you had to see a movie when it played in the theaters and watch TV at a show’s regular time. Of course you could have taped a show, but that wasn’t always reliable- messed up programming and taping over things I wanted to keep often ruined things for me. And remember the lines at the video store? Longer than security lines at the airport today! Now we can watch any TV show or movie whenever we want without standing on line, rewinding a VHS tape, or forgetting to return a video on time and incurring a late fee. Technology is fabulous! Like living in a science fiction movie of the future.
But what about the problems that come along with all this new technology? Don’t worry- I’m not really complaining- I’m musing. Watching movies now is completely different- I love it! I’m busy and don’t get to go out to see every movie that looks good. So when I want to relax I can now watch almost anything I want when it’s convenient for me. The problem is that unless I have a particular title in mind, it can take hours to look for something I want to see. If I watch the previews I feel like I’ve already seen the movies, and after all that time, my attention span is not up for a two hour movie anymore! I spend (waste?) more time searching for a movie to watch than I do actually watching it and who has time for that? Always leaves me frustrated, but I get to watch a movie at home in my pajamas!
About my smartphone that I love- and I do love it- do I really have to check my email every time it buzzes? Usually not, but I find myself doing it most of the time anyway. I have a friend who does have a job that holds her hostage 24/7 and we all know how much fun Girl’s Night is when work tags along! I still remember when people could have more than thirty minutes of “me time” without endangering their careers. So, is the smartphone a blessing or a curse? Probably a little bit of both. As annoying as it sometimes is to always be accessible, it does comes in handy when you need to be away from the office but can’t necessarily be away from work. And the comfort of knowing that your kids can always get you- also a mixed blessing!
Shopping online is great too- I’ve written about the convenience of that, but I didn’t go on about the hours I waste doing it. I can sit down to look for something I need and the next thing I know, an hour has passed and I never know quite how that happens. If there is something specific that I need, you would think I could find it pretty quickly, but there are always customer reviews to read, other options to compare, and suggested products to check out. If I want to shop for a book or a pair of sandals (Ha! What a joke- it’s still freezing!), but need to browse, I can easily lose hours of my life. I won’t get that time back, but I can have the merchandise at my door within a few days without having had to go anywhere. I wonder if it would have taken the same amount of time to travel to the store and stand on line there. Does any of it really make a difference anyway? After all, this is the way we live now, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be going back to the old way any time soon. Interesting to think about though…