Back in my day....hahahaha.....I know, you'd think I was 98yrs old! But, truly, when I was 19yrs old, I moved to BC for three years....left behind my family and friends and set out on a whole new life. That was 1981 and one of the problems with living so far away in that era was communication with your loved ones. Firstly, I didn't have much money, so making long distance calls was a huge luxury, mostly to be done on birthdays, special occasions, etc. Letters just weren't written as much as they should have been and I moved around alot while living in BC, so it was hard for my friends to keep track of my whereabouts as well. I missed out on daily life of my family and friends and keeping in contact was not something I really thought about. I just yearned for my familiar surroundings and the people in my life I knew so well, even though I had met many new and wonderful people to fill the void left in Ontario.
The point of my blog today is we are so lucky in this technological day and age (don't get me started on the negative side of figuring out how to use any of it! Hahaha!) in that we can communicate weekly, daily and yes, even hourly if we feel like it. If, using the same scenario as above, we had been living in this day and age, I would have been in heaven! I know it's not the same as "being" there with the real live person, however, I believe all grandparents should have Skype on their computers now if they have grandchildren living far away. They can have face time with each other and watch the grandkids grow up. It wouldn't seem like so long in between vacation visits and they'd become a real part of each others' lives, which is something that seems to have been lost a little bit in the past. If they were on facebook, they could interact all the time and chat whenever they felt like it. Never mind sending photos and videos to loved ones on e-mail...that's an extreme bonus. Digital cameras have changed so much of our lives...no trudging to the store to drop off film, pick it up in a day or two making sure you ordered duplicates so you can mail them off to loved ones and sometimes just forgetting them in a drawer. Now, just insert memory stick, copy to e-mail.
Wow! I remember, as a kid, Barry Manilow being on TV performing on stage (this was before VCRs!) and I was standing in front of the television, snapping photos with my Kodak Instamatic camera! And, you couldn't even tell if you got a good photo or not until you did that trudge to the store.... Now, I can just YouTube him...if I was so inclined and share it with a friend! Amazing really!
I used to wonder how the picture and sound got inside the box in the livingroom....I don't bother wondering anymore. I just accept all this happily because technology has changed lives all over the world and helped people to be closer than they ever were in real time! And I'm thankful, having lived through it prior....back in my day!
Have you skyped your loved ones today!
The point of my blog today is we are so lucky in this technological day and age (don't get me started on the negative side of figuring out how to use any of it! Hahaha!) in that we can communicate weekly, daily and yes, even hourly if we feel like it. If, using the same scenario as above, we had been living in this day and age, I would have been in heaven! I know it's not the same as "being" there with the real live person, however, I believe all grandparents should have Skype on their computers now if they have grandchildren living far away. They can have face time with each other and watch the grandkids grow up. It wouldn't seem like so long in between vacation visits and they'd become a real part of each others' lives, which is something that seems to have been lost a little bit in the past. If they were on facebook, they could interact all the time and chat whenever they felt like it. Never mind sending photos and videos to loved ones on e-mail...that's an extreme bonus. Digital cameras have changed so much of our lives...no trudging to the store to drop off film, pick it up in a day or two making sure you ordered duplicates so you can mail them off to loved ones and sometimes just forgetting them in a drawer. Now, just insert memory stick, copy to e-mail.
Wow! I remember, as a kid, Barry Manilow being on TV performing on stage (this was before VCRs!) and I was standing in front of the television, snapping photos with my Kodak Instamatic camera! And, you couldn't even tell if you got a good photo or not until you did that trudge to the store.... Now, I can just YouTube him...if I was so inclined and share it with a friend! Amazing really!
I used to wonder how the picture and sound got inside the box in the livingroom....I don't bother wondering anymore. I just accept all this happily because technology has changed lives all over the world and helped people to be closer than they ever were in real time! And I'm thankful, having lived through it prior....back in my day!
Have you skyped your loved ones today!
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