My technological journey

A few years ago I owned a mobile phone - a bit like the one in the picture above, I used it to make phone calls and that was about it.  I was pretty content with this as I can remember when we never had mobile phones at all. Then appearing on the market was a new phone called the "smart phone". Wow, this one could do almost everything but wash the dishes. With my phone contract expired I moved to the latest smart phone.
I could make phone calls, I could surf the net, play games, take photos, read books - it was amazing.  I wondered how I ever coped with a phone that couldn't do all these things. What did I do whilst waiting in a queue, now I can read a book or play a game to fill in the time. Maybe I spoke to the person next to me, I can't remember.

I use to have shelves full of music CDs and when I wanted to listen to music in the car I would select a couple of CDs and take them with me. But then a new devise was invented, this was another wow moment.  
Suddenly I have 10,000 tracks of music at my finger tips.  How did I manage with just a few CDs in the car when now I have more than 1,000 CD's to select from.  And that pile of CDs taking up space on my shelves - they are gone - everything is stored digitally.  I no longer buy CDs from a store, I buy them online and download. 
I have a computer, I am using it right now. It works really well, however I do need to sit at a table in my home to use it. Before last year I didn't know I needed a Tablet, I was content with my desk top computer, this year I wonder how I coped without one. Now I can use the internet anywhere I want, I can read books, play games, listen to music, write blogs - the list is endless. I can lie on the couch and do all these things. I couldn't do that in 2009 but I can now. I didn't miss it then, but couldn't live without it now. 
At the end of this week, the iPhone 4S is being released.  Once again my phone contract has expired. I could select an "old fashion" phone that just makes phone calls, but I couldn't - I have pre-ordered my iPhone 4S - now that I have a smart phone, I don't think I could go back to a phone that wasn't quite as smart. 

I love the change in technology, I have enjoyed this journey.  I am one who loves change and I find it exciting that I am living at era where technological change is occurring - I probably would have enjoyed the industrial revolution. However it is interesting that before the smart phone, before the iPod and before the Tablet - I was quite happy with the technology I had.  But someone invented these things and was so clever in telling me that I REALLY REALLY needed them. You could say, I was sucked in with all the hype and I have contributed to making a company very very wealthy.

To be completely honest with you, if I didn't need these things beforehand, I really don't need them now . . . but I'm human and get easily discontented with what I already have and easily led (and excited) to buy what I am told will "change my life".   And to make matters worse, these things only last a few years before the "next big things" is invented . . . which means I will always be on the lookout to "upgrade" and therefore discontent.  Of course, I can say NO, but do I?

I am not alone in this, I am sure when the first record player was released or the first car or the first type writer, people felt the same. Inventions are exciting.

PS I hope I am just excited about change when I am an old lady as I am now.



Comments

  1. There are two types of people (at least - if not more)... There are those who get excited about new communications technology and have to buy it (like you)... and then there are those who are not at all moved or excited by new technology. I couldn't care less about the new forms of communications and have basically only upgraded when Dan has wanted me to, or in the case of my laptop, when we needed something extra for convenience (when I was so sick with CFS it was handy to have a laptop to use on the lounge).
    For me, I am far more excited about some of the new sewing machines!! But that isn't really something you upgrade as often as phones or computer technology!! And sewing machines are far more expensive. I'll probably own very few of them through my lifetime! :)

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  2. I can't keep-up with all the technological changes that take place in today's society, nor do I care to. I update the few technological gadgets that I have when I HAVE TO upgrade them. Otherwise, I keep them the same.

    Chang is not my friend. We don't get along. So, I change slowly and usually, kicking and screaming along the way. :)

    With that said, I hope you enjoy your new upgrades. I just don't see how you can keep-up with it all! :)

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  3. Madame Wildflower: I can't explain why I love change, but I do. When I was young I was always excited about rearranging my bedroom because it meant change, doing something different. I was always excited when we bought a new family car or had a new gadget and it has gone from there. Even going on a holiday is exciting as it means a little bit of change. I just love that new unknown and struggle to understand others who aren’t quite as excited as me!! I have rubbed this off onto my sons so they too get excited with new technology. In saying this, I also enjoy coming home to the familiar.

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  4. Clara - we are all different but I am glad you do get excited about sewing machines!! Perhaps my interest in technology is my brother’s fault as we had a computer in the house well before most people did (when I was a teenager) so I saw the major changes happening and found itinteresting. I can remember been told about the internet when I was around 18 and quite a few years before it became well known and I was blown away by the concept. But I am also excited by other inventions too, not just technological ones.

    I couldn’t imagine things always staying the same – I would find that so dull. Isn’t it funny what makes us all tick!!

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  5. When my grandparents were alive, both born in the 1890s we used to marvel at the huge changes in their lifetime. Buggies to cars, candles to electricity, phones etc. Wow, this past decade or two would blow their minds!
    As an adult with an income you have the luxury of deciding which of these marvels you will buy. I find it hard with teens - all this technology is soooo appealing to them.

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  6. I am always so far behind in technological upgrades ... I am happy to upgrade, but I am too lazy to keep up with trends or spend extra money! I like using things until they fall apart or stop working ... which, with most phones, seems to be about a year or two. :\

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  7. Shame sister, shame...

    :-)
    S

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