A Look Backwards

We live in such a high tech world today and it is remarkable how quickly this has happened.  Does anyone really leave home without a cell phone strapped to their waist or stuffed in a purse or pocket?   I don't think, so but I wonder if this has made our lives better or worse?  We are so wired and connected it is is difficult to find any quiet time or "white space" today.  

I recall growing up that we had one telephone connected to the kitchen wall, and (amazingly) we had to actually sit at the kitchen table to be able to talk on the phone (we had a 10 minute time limit).  And, if no one was home, the phone just rang and rang until the caller figured out that there is "no one home". IF they really did want to talk to you, they would just call back later - or not, but you wouldn't actually know that unless they did because there was no phone messaging.  Also, if someone called when you were on your 10 minute phone call they would get a busy signal - no clicking and switching calls then ('sorry, got to get this'  means "someone more important than you is calling").   And last but not least, to be able to KNOW who was calling you, you had to actually answer the call by saying "hello" and then wait until the person identified themselves.  You couldn't screen calls or answer with some cutsie greeting because the phone (or TV or pc) has tipped you off. Thought of one more thing, you had to use a phone book or list because there was no auto-dialing; then, you had the advantage of actually memorizing phone numbers out of necessity.

OK then, here is the rest of the story. 

Back in the day, when you spent time with someone either riding in the car or going out to eat or whatever, you were actually WITH that person.  No multi-tasking then.  We didn't sit at some nice restaurant and either surf the net on our Blackberry or let everyone know on our Facebook page where we are and take pictures of what we are eating.  We weren't so much interested in being connected as "connecting".  We didn't interrupt a nice meal and conversation to take a call from a coworker or neighbor.  We didn't drive our cars with a cellphone on our knee to keep an eye on "our life" or take our lives in our hands by texting at 60 miles an hour.  We didn't let guests or visitors sit idly by while we chatted on our cell phones with someone else (we also didn't entertain with the television on). 

To be fair, I LOVE technology and technology has definitely made my life safer and easier.  But maybe not better.  Here's to "connecting" instead of being connected.  I think I'll give it a try (again).