Technology has brought such rapid changes to our lives that it's almost hard to remember how things used to be. Unless you're Neetha Desai. Here, the digital native reflects on things that have changed for the better.
By Neetha Desai
Maybe you’re reading this article on your iPad after you clicked on the link via the Westport HamletHub Twitter account. Maybe you’re driving your SmartCar to your buddy’s house to play a game of Super Mario Bros. Maybe you’re eating homemade soup, made using your Magic Bullet or Vitamix blender. Either way, it’s obvious that technology has made your life more convenient over the years. Not only has it enabled you to easily access information, minimize your carbon footprint, and make quick meals at the flick of a switch or a push of a plastic jar, it makes you appreciate what you have and what you use on a daily bases.
You can’t help but realize that prior to these useful inventions, our lives used to be dull. Of course, we didn’t see it that way because we didn’t know any better. I remember using Dial-up Internet to surf the web, but because it would tie up our phone line, we had to make sure we didn’t use it for long periods of time. Truth be told, if you had told me that Wi-Fi could be set up in my house so I wouldn’t have to lose my phone line, I would be excited about the future but because it would seem like a long ways away, I would be content with what I had. See, when you don’t know any better, you seem to enjoy what you have. Innocence is bliss. I know I’m “only” 21-years old. What do I know about the “ease of life,” or what do I know about “being grateful for new technology?”
Trust me. I know. In fact, I can name five things that I really don’t miss anymore.
1. Slap Bracelets and Scrunchies
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, slap bracelets were sweeping the nation, grabbing the hearts of children, teens, parents, and grandparents. Yes, people of all generations were mesmerized by this long, flexible piece of metal decorated with tie-dye and animal print spandex. It was timeless. Not only was it a conversation starter, but it could double as a weapon as well. Don’t ask me how but let’s be honest—give a kid a long, flexible piece of metal adorned with animal print spandex, and the imagination runs wild. In retrospect, scrunchies were just as awful. Doubling as a slingshot, these elastic numbers could fasten long hair back effortlessly.
True, I’m singing its praises but the slap bracelet is definitely one thing I really don’t miss. I have war stories. I’d come home from kindergarten with welts on my arm because my classmates thought it was awesome to take their older siblings’ slap bracelets to school and smack everyone with them. The more slap bracelets you could wear around your arm, the cooler you were because you could withstand pain. If CBS had thought of Survivor prior to 2000, I would have submitted my application for: Survivor: Slap Bracelet edition. I’m not kidding. Slap bracelets hurt ,and if you ever wore a slap bracelet, you can relate. I’m toying with the idea of a slap bracelet support group. More details to follow.
2. Foldable Maps
During my childhood, my family and I rarely went on 'vacation' road-trips. Part of this is because my dad used to travel a lot for his job ,and when he did, my mom, my sister, and I would drive down during our school vacations to spend a week in whichever state he was in. Eventually, my dad ended up taking a job closer to home so long distance domestic travel took a backseat.
Truth be told, I don’t know how my parents did it. We’ve driven to: North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Canada, etc. Driving around, getting lost, pulling out a map that took up the entire dashboard, trying flip back and forth from the index to the map to match up letters and numbers to find a street, and ultimately pulling into a seedy gas station to figure out which way you have to go to get on the highway? Yeah, I definitely don’t miss it. It wasn’t fun for anyone. Needless to say, using a road atlas was absolute hell. The font was tiny, the roads could never be updated once construction was complete, and the paper would rip if you folded it the wrong way. And the gas you’d waste when driving around lost? In this economy? Forget it.
3. Lickable Stamps and Envelopes
As I’m writing this, I can still taste the nasty taste of adhesive in my mouth. Ew. There is nothing grosser than licking stamps and slapping them on envelopes and then having to lick the sides of an envelope to seal it. I get that online bill pay, email, instant messaging, social networking websites, and the like are causing snail mail to become extinct, but technology has made our lives much faster paced. We don’t need to send something through the post when we can use other faster methods.
But for those of you who like to send things through the USPS, it’s true. You can get a book of self-adhesive stamps for a little over $8. I certainly appreciate it. No longer having to tear off stamps from a carefully rolled up ring minimizes the stress of sending a letter or paying a bill significantly. But I have yet to buy a cheap pack of standard self-adhesive envelopes. Even if you can stick a stamp on a letter with ease, you still have to seal the envelope with your saliva, and it’s disgusting. In fact, if I have to lick an envelope, I might as well lick the stamp too.
I understand people use water, a fancy sponge, or tape to seal things these days. Frankly, it’s too much work. You’re paying a bill. You’re already giving money to a company. The least they can do is give you a self-addressed, self-adhesive envelope with a prepaid stamp. They charge you for everything these days. What gives?
4. The Walkman
Yes. The Walkman has made it onto the list. I am all for listening to music. In fact, I love listening to music. It helps me wake up in the morning, it helps me keep track of the amount of time I spend in the shower (a two Destiny’s Child song maximum before I’m late for classes), helps pass the time in the car, and it helps drown out awkward conversations. Music is fantastic.
My main problem with the Walkman revolves around the fact that finding a song on a cassette was nearly impossible. I remember when putting a cassette into the tape player in the car was annoying. I cannot imagine waiting in line for the new “Amazing Spider Man” movie (Andrew Garfield and Irrfan Khan in the same film!) while fiddling around with the rewind and forward buttons to get to the right Jay-Z song. I don’t think so.
5. Dial-Up Internet
I miss my childhood. I really do. But I don’t miss getting frustrated emails from my father asking me to disconnect from the Internet. He would be at work trying to call my mother on the house phone because we rarely used cellular phones back in the day. It’s true.
But though I don’t miss the usefulness (or lack thereof) of dial-up modems, I do miss the annoying sound they would make alerting everyone in the house that you tied up the phone line. I miss having the urge to quickly AskJeeves.com things so I could find information fast and then disconnect. I miss checking my email at 6:30 p.m. every night so that all four members of my family could check our mail before turning off the computer for the night.
The Internet changed our lives but the switch from dial-up to Wi-Fi was one of the most amazing technological advances we have seen, in my humble opinion. The fact that I can listen to music on YouTube or GrooveShark for free while catching up on NYTimes.com is the best feeling in the world. However, with news of, “SOPA” and “PIPA…” well, that’s another story.
What are you glad to see go the way of dial-up internet? Tell us in the comments!