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We’ve all heard some of the wise cracks, or memes about getting older; “The golden years aren’t so golden”, “use it before you lose it”, “the older I get, the earlier it gets late”, or various other quotes.  How about reminiscing on how you used to listen to loud music in your car with the windows rolled down but now you turn the music down to see better.  Can I get an “Amen” to any of those sayings? 

If you are one of us, who are growing older, or you’ve ever watched anyone grow old, you understand. If you are part of the generation that remembers your first color television set, rabbit ear antennas, wall phones with cords that stretched forever, transistor radios, first microwave, eight track tapes, cassette tapes that were supposed to replace vinyl albums, or even 45 records, you get what I’m saying.

Technology has made life so simple and yet so complicated. We have so much at the touch of a button, or the swipe of our finger, yet it can all stand still with poor Wi-Fi or a power outage.  For those that weren’t brought up with current technology, life can be difficult to navigate.  If you were born in a generation that knows how to play the latest games, solve the most detailed codes, navigate AI robotics, think about what it would be like if you were born in a time when phones only existed in your house, hooked to a wall? What if dinner meant you had to use an oven, stove top, or outdoor grill, but no fast food, no microwave, crockpot, or air fryer? What if the only way to communicate with those outside of your town was to call or write a letter, not a text or email?  What if you walked out of your house and didn’t check your pocket for a cell phone, because there was no such thing, and it didn’t matter if you weren’t immediately accessible?  What if there were no such things as smart phones, smart watches, or other smart devices in our homes?  Some of you can’t imagine, but some of you can.

Life has certainly become more accessible, easier to look things up, easier to connect, easier to learn, and easier to be entertained.  I use my smart devices, for sure. I use technology, and I enjoy it, but every so often my mind goes back to a time when I didn’t need to be concerned about wireless connection, cell phone towers, and internet reliability.  I was better connected with those in front of me, with nature, and with contentment of what I had been blessed with.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not a naysayer of technology; Still…there are days I reminisce on simpler times when I didn’t know about connectivity and artificial intelligence.  I think about what people from 100 years ago would have thought about all the advancements today.  I wonder what we will see in another 50-100 years. Would we be impressed with all the new technology, would we be sad with the lack of human interaction, or will it bring new interaction that surpasses anything we have ever known?

When you come across someone many years older than you, take heart; remember they didn’t grow up with their brain cells adapting to the technology of today, their synapses didn’t form with the same complexities in everyday life as we have now.  When they were young, they had to adapt, for sure, but it was different than today. One might look backwards and think how simple technology was back then, and it certainly was, with today’s perspective, but not with the perspective of back then.   I believe that the pioneers of technology back then were just as smart as the pioneers today, maybe more so. Our older generation went from zero technology to learning how to use what we think of as simple tools and technology.  They discovered the tools that evolved into what is now allowing us to have smart devices, electric vehicles, and AI that surpasses anything we’ve ever thought of just 25 years ago. 

Think about it; the first camera was invented in 1816, the telephone was invented in 1876, the phonograph in 1877, the light bulb was invented in 1878, x-rays were discovered in 1895.  The microwave started occupying kitchens in the 1970’s but was discovered in1945 with household use designed in 1967. The 8 Track tape became popular in the mid 1960’s; its replacement, the cassette tape became popular in the late 1970’s. I remember seeing an MP3 player in the late 1990’s and having no clue how it worked.  Then came iPods, and much later Smart phones that stored music and Smart home devices that could answer so many questions.

I left so much out of the evolution of technology.  Life changes so drastically in terms of what we can accomplish with the touch of a button or a voice command.  Life can be improved with technology or frustrated by it.  If you grew up in a time without so much technology, you may remember carefree days of playing outside without a phone for Mom or Dad to call with an alert that it is time to come inside: you just knew when it was time to go home by the streetlights.  Maybe you were raising children, and you remember report cards, on paper, or punching a time clock with paper, or going home after work and that was the end of your day; there was no way to check what was going on in the office; no email or texts.

On the contrary, it took time to know if loved ones were safe, if work documents were approved, if house sales were final, if kids were accepted to college. It wasn’t as easy to find out where the local pharmacy was, what the weather would be tomorrow, how to get from point A to point B.  It wasn’t as easy to keep in touch with family members from other states.  You couldn’t send a message to several people at one time and get immediate feedback.     

Like anything, technology in moderation is a good thing.  It can make life easy, or it can be frustrating. It can make life safer, or it can put you in danger. It can help you find that next job, or it can make you prey to predators. With advancement comes responsibility and respect.  We need to respect technology and use it wisely, we need to respect those who don’t understand the technology, and we need to respect the fact that there is so much we don’t understand yet.  There is a time when all people will be the generation struggling with technology and thinking about the simpler days.