Technology has changed drastically since I was a child. Looking back, it’s almost laughable how excited many of us were over the Apple IIe and its new word processor and what an improvement it was over daisy wheel typewriters and learning “Basic”. I have always been an enthusiastic supporter of technological advances, and I harbor no sentimental longings for memorizing function keys to perform common word processing tasks. To survive and thrive in my day to day life, it’s impossible for me to live without the following technology.
Facebook is not just for playing games or gossip, it’s how I stay connected, with everyone. All four of my children attend different colleges, hundreds of miles away from one another. With the distance and their busy schedules Facebook is really the only way that we have to communicate with one another if we don’t want to play “phone tag” all day. The same goes for many of my family members and close friends. Growing up I was close to several of my first and second cousins. Since many of them are in different states, and some of them in the military and in different countries, Facebook is the only way that we can all “meet up”, at least virtually, to keep in touch. Some of my work involves collaborating with other authors, and Facebook has become our platform to meet and discuss joint projects.
Microsoft Word remains my favorite word processing program. As a freelance writer and editor, this program is absolutely necessary for me to be able to create necessary documents with ease.
Computer Access and Internet/Wi-Fi Connections, whether it’s a desktop at home, a laptop I can carry with me, or just having regular access to “free computer time” at my local college or library, it’s impossible to manage my online banking, connect with everyone on Facebook, receive, complete and submit my writing assignments to clients or a myriad of other activities without access to a computer, and internet, in some form or fashion. Just ten years ago it would have been impossible to juggle all of my commitments without computer and internet access.
Electricity, we all take this for granted, but less than 100 years ago most people did not have electricity in the United States and still many parts of the world do not have access to this basic building block of technology that we take for granted.
There are other technologies that I like to use, the iPod, and my Xbox 360, and all of the entertainment offerings that I can enjoy with their use, as well as the connectivity that is provided by my cell phone. While fun and convenient to use, these three technologies have not become indispensable to living my modern lifestyle, yet.
In 10 years there will be even more innovative ways to accomplish the tasks that are necessary in our modern lives. Some of these technologies will be so radical that we cannot even imagine what that will be like. When they arrive I intend to embrace these new advances as I have every advance that has come before. While some people become fearful of change and withdraw, I think back to the aggravation of changing “daisy wheels” and ink ribbons out to produce documents with different typesets, and I say bring on the innovations and improvements. Overall, when it comes to technology, change is a good thing.