Technology is an amazingly wonderful thing. Let’s assume this to be true! Well, seriously, where would we be without the technology we have today? We have the world at our fingertips! Literally! With the advent of Smartphone technology, we can find virtually anything in seconds from wherever we are. With my Smartphone right now, I can google any tidbit of information I need. I can scroll through well over a thousand pictures of my family and friends in just seconds. I can take those same pictures and change them up thousands of ways using the photoshop apps that are available. I can access hundreds of recipes at a moments notice! I can even check the availability of food products from my local grocer! I can type in a destination and in seconds be able to discern exactly how far from me it is and how long it would take me to get there, either by car, bus or even walking! I can even use the satellite map and see exactly what the terrain is like, should I choose to take the walking trip. And I can even make a phone call! Yes, Smartphone’s have become a fixture in most of our lives. I actually even fear that I am perhaps getting (and you heard it coined here first) “Smartphone Hand”. The base of my thumb and the lower palm of my right hand are beginning to ache frequently. Now this could actually be “Smartphone Hand” or it could in fact be “Nook Hand”. The Nook being another wonderful piece of technology that has changed my life! On my Nook, I can access thousands upon thousands of books and magazines in just seconds. And trust me, I do! Being a non-sleeper, as I am, I often avail myself of the varied selections ready at my fingertips to be purchased and read at my leisure! Yes, our world is changing around us.
One day last week, it was brought home to me just exactly how comfortable I have gotten using all this smartphone and computer technology. I was busy putting on my makeup and multi-tasking as all the great ones do! I was simultaneously looking through a catalog as I was applying make-up. As I glanced at the catalog, I saw something that caught my eye. It was a small picture, so in order to view it better and learn more about this product, I (get ready!) tapped twice quickly on the picture! I cannot tell you how relieved I was that no one else was in the room with me. The picture, much to my dismay, did not grow bigger! I was forced to instead, search for my archaic reading glasses in order to view the product in a more satisfactory manner. How appalling!
Is this what we are coming to? Are we so wired into our technology that we no longer know how to shop through a paper catalog? Are we raising a generation of children for whom page turning will be just too much to ask? You know the mail that we used to think was so wonderful is now referred to as “snail mail”. We are encouraged to pay our bills online and conduct all our business via the Internet. Is our mail and are all our paper books and magazines going to one day be obsolete? And then what happens? If the power is out, are we rendered helpless? I don’t know. Even with the power on, I am rendered pretty helpless by technology on occasion! To whom do we speak to stop this madness? I am thinking Al Gore, since apparently, he is “The Father of Modern Technology As We Know It” Hmmm. What do you think? Please touch your screen to respond!
