Remember when cell phones were once — well — a phone?
We may still call them a “cell” phone, “mobile” phone, or “smart” phone, but these handheld devices are no more a phone than a laptop computer running Skype is a phone.
Yes, a cell phone is actually a hand held computer. And its biggest use is for the sending and receiving of text messages. But today’s generation finds dropping everything just to “talk” to one person at a time about as outdated and time consuming as dial-up Internet. Nobody listens to voicemail anymore. Even email is considered as slow as what older generations thinks of as “snail-mail.”
Oh, the times — they are a changin’.
The next time you’re on a train or walking down a busy street, check out how many people are NOT wearing a wrist watch. After all, why wear a watch when it’s simpler to just check the time on the cell phone — while sending a text? And while you’re at it, the next time you’re reading a text, check out how many people actually know how to type and spell correctly, or know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”
Like it or not, this year’s college freshman class of 2014 has a different view of the world than most any of us over 30. Tell them about a time when we all just answered the telephone when it rang, instead of having to know who’s calling in advance with Caller ID, and they’ll look at you like a confused puppy. Tell them about the old console floor model TV, complete with rabbit ears, no remote and a dial knob, and they’ll have to look it up on the Internet just to get a visual picture of what you’re talking about. Tell them about any President of the United States prior to Bill Clinton and they’ll have to first grab their history book to really know who you’re talking about.
This is a generation that’s totally unfamiliar with the concept of going outside to ride bikes or play street ball with their friends, instead of staying indoors to play virtual kickball on a Wii. They know nothing about sitting down to Sunday dinner with the entire family present, instead of nuking a Big Mac in the microwave as dinner on the go. They have no first hand knowledge or memory of Michael Dukakis as a presidential candidate, Michael Jordan as a Chicago Bulls basketball phenomenon, or Michael Jackson as a normal looking black man. And just try telling them about a record player, a Sony Walkman cassette recorder, or the days of less than 10 available VHF television channels we used to record on VCR machines, and you’ll have to first drive them to the Smithsonian just for them to believe life was once so simple.
Sooner than we think, desktop computers, picture tube TV’s that don’t hang on a wall, CD’s and even cable television programming will join the list of outdated memorabilia.
Oh, the times — they are a changin’.
