Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Day 245: Technology

This week my sister surprised my brother-in-law with a new smart phone, and of course it was buy one, get one so she got one too. They have spent the last few days downloading aps and playing new games. Just now, my BIL downloaded the giant fart button. We woke the napping baby by laughing at the gross sounds emanating from his cell phone. My mom's birthday present from me was a web cam so we can video chat with the baby. Living several states apart, the web cam allows us to share her cuteness live. Personally, I have been using my cell phone almost exclusively rather than drag out the lap top for most things in the past year.

A few years ago, I didn't even think a cell phone was a necessity. I thought if I am not home when someone calls, they can leave a message. I had just gotten one right after meeting my husband. I still have that ancient flip phone in a drawer because I can't bear to lose one of my husband's first text messages. He wrote, "You were my best friend before I ever met you. I just waited this whole time to know your face. You have far exceeded the expectations of my dreams." I still smile thinking of those precious words. Don't tell anyone he is such a softie!

I can't imagine living without the laptop or iPhone or the ability to video chat with grandparents and husband. I think about the military wives during World War II or Vietnam who would go months or longer without hearing from their husbands. Chad and I tend to go about a week between phone calls and a few days between emails, but it took us a few deployments to develop a rhythm and for me to feel more secure between contacts.

Twenty years ago, if you didn't know something off the top of your head, you had to find a book and look it up. If you didn't have a set of encyclopedias, you were stuck. Now, we were watching a movie and couldn't think of what we had seen the primary actor in. I can pull out my iPhone and check my IMDB application in seconds and have his entire bio, filmography, etc. at my fingertips.

While the technology has downsides for education because we've gotten away from memorizing facts and expecting students to carry a certain amount of knowledge in their heads, it is certainly a magical tool for keeping in touch, sharing pictures, keeping up with bills, banking, communicating instantly. Funny how things, we couldn't even conceive a few years ago are the same things we couldn't live without now.

I will admit there are times I play more games than I should, but primarily technology is a fantastic tool for keeping close the people I love.

No comments:

Post a Comment