Both my parents died in the early 80's; around 40 years ago.
During those 40 years, so much has changed of which they would have been astounded; as often am I.
They never got to see the computer revolution. Laptops, digital cameras, mobile phones, etc, all had yet to be invented, and my mother, I'm sure, would have loved them all. Father would probably have found it all 'soppy nonsense'.
It's amazing how much we now take for granted. In my mother's day, had she wanted to send a photograph to Australia, she would have had to first take the photo, take the roll of film to Boots, wait for a week for it to be developed and printed, put the picture into an envelope, buy the stamp, post it, and wait another week or more for it to be delivered to Oz. From photo to delivery would have taken a minimum of two weeks, if not a lot more.
Now I can do the whole operation in a matter of seconds. Not only has the whole process quickened, but the quality of the photo has also improved dramatically.
No longer do I have a pile of reference books by my side (other than a Thesaurus and a Latin dictionary), as Google will supply almost any information I require. I no longer go everywhere with a lumpy 35mm camera. And letters are hardly ever written; not even Christmas cards.
Cheques have almost disappeared; as has physical money! Banks are closing by the dozen, and we have all become our own cyber Bank Managers.
My people did, of course, manage to avoid the disastrous foreign policies of Bush/Blair and all the ensuing slaughter and fleeing of refugees, the crazy rise in the price of UK property, and the current panic surrounding Covid-19 et al. They also missed Trump, Jeffery Epstein, and Brexit, so not all has been bad.
I now wonder what the next 40 years will bring. I won't speculate, just pray that it will be healthy and peaceful. The world desperately needs a period of calm, and some better leaders; but I suppose that's up to us.
I love all the technology stuff even though I can't use much of it. I have my laptop and a smart phone which could do a lot more but I prefer it to be just a phone for calls and text messages.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem I know of is with all the banks closing and everything being online, is the oldest people who still need their banks, their shops their Social Security. I know of several who go to the nearest Centrelink office (our social security) only to be told "all these things can be done online" and they have no idea of course, so they get taken over to a bank of computers where they try to make sense of things, but have to call for help and then someone does all the forms etc for them, but they are expected to remember for next time!
I'm just very lucky that one of my daughters has been so patient with helping me learn the things I need to know.
Just recently I've tried to pay two bills online. On both occasions I got to the final hurdle (after about 30 mins), and it all failed; not me, but the system.
DeleteTo paraphrase Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent is regrettable, to lose both amounts to a fortune.
ReplyDeleteYou were, comparatively, young forty years ago. But then people did die early or maybe you were born relatively late to their age. My parents? I swear they'll outlive me.
Reading your list I have gone all nostalgic. Is there an advantage of speed over leisurely shipping one's photos across the ocean? Nah. Goethe wrote a whole book about his journey from Germany to Italy. Today? You'd be hard pushed to write a post-it note before you descend on Marco Polo (Venice). And, so I find, despite the promised land of paperless society and ease of living, technology hasn't so much made things "easier" as god damn time consuming (washing machines excepted). Plus everything beeps at you. Even my hob when I turn it on. SHUT UP!
Cro, I had an epiphany the other day. So here is a word of warning: Do NOT get rid of all your reference books. This came to me the other day when there was a power cut, Mr Google had disappeared, the screen was black and the encyclopedia I carry in my head didn't quite stretch far enough. So, all my sources of information stay on the shelf. Volume or not. Think about it.
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I haven't yet discarded my reference books; they are no longer by my side. In case of a blackout, my encyclopaedia is probably hopelessly out of date. I don't even think the word 'laptop' appears.
DeleteThe future is interesting to ponder but can't be guessed. I hope and think young people will do it all somewhat better than we have, quite a botched job in my opinion. But we have lived through an extraordinary technological and medical advances.
ReplyDeleteWe're progressed hugely, but not improved. Maybe it's all gone too fast.
DeleteObviously we all have to move on and I think I have embraced this new technological world but, I find it very sad that we could stay in for the rest of our lives and do everything online and never speak to anyone …… I think social skills are declining rapidly and I do worry about that. XXXX
ReplyDeleteI do know of several 'youths' who can hardly speak, are incapable of eating correctly, and have hardly read a single book. But maybe they'll suddenly change; who knows.
DeleteMy dad passed away at the age of 95 three years ago. He had Facebook with some friends his age and younger. Only with Twitter he did not get along and always asked me to explain to him how it works ...
ReplyDeleteDidn't your Dad live in Tel Aviv? I was just reading that it's the world's most expensive city!
DeleteHe lived there only for the last ten years of his life. Tel Aviv is really a very expensive city.
DeleteDying in 1979, my father missed it all too. He departed from a world that was much simpler and yet more self-assured. I wish that "The United Nations" lived up to its name. We need more togetherness.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't they all be amazed if they could suddenly return now. The world is a totally different place!
DeleteTotally different and yet strangely the same.
DeleteWhen I joined the military and left home for good, I was able to call home twice in the year I was gone. It was all letters, and how important those letters were. When my daughter trotted off ten years ago, I was grateful for the technology that allowed me to talk/see/hear her whenever I wanted. Technology can be wonderful, but I really think that in these days when social media is all, people are losing the ability to be social.
ReplyDeleteIt's best to have as little to do with 'social media' as possible. I still use Facebook occasionally, but only for contacting family.
DeleteI can remember having to find a call box, negotiate foreign currency and languages in order to check in with my parents from time to time when travelling as a teenager. That and postcards which took forever to arrive was the only reassurance they had that I was safe and sound. Can you imagine that nowadays Cro?
ReplyDeleteWhen my three children all did their 'gap years', we hardly ever heard from them. However, it didn't worry me; I knew that if they had a problem they'd always find a way of contacting me pronto!
DeleteIndeed. I'm sure my parents felt the same. They were always pleased to hear from me but assumed I was ok which indeed I was.
DeleteMy husband and I often talk about what my father and his mother (both gone from this world for some 30 years or more) would make of today's world. I'm not sure they'd recognise it.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly.
DeleteGiven the refugee crises your parents lived through I would have thought they would have thought the last few decades small beer in comparison.
ReplyDeleteNews was less easily reached then; they would have been aware but not as bombarded as we are today. They took in evacuees, but lived a reasonable quiet war.
DeleteHowever, despite all the predictions of 1970s futurologists, people are for the most part still working long hard hours, often longer and harder than then. The promised leisure and personal fulfilment for all failed to materialise because of global business pressures.
ReplyDeleteBut they did get wealth, cocaine, and holidays on the costa del sol.
DeleteMy grandparents lived through the war and died in the 1980s
ReplyDeleteThey still loved the pools system , checked their premium bonds and collected green shield stamps
My people did Littlewoods Pools. I remember listening to the radio for the results on Saturday evenings. No green stamps though.
DeleteMy uncle died at almost 99 years of age. He marveled at computers and even took a course to learn to be proficient. He was also an avid gardener and even tilled the soil 2 weeks prior to exiting this world.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my mother would have done the same.
Delete"Leaders" are certtainly lacking these days -- the number increases by the day.
ReplyDeleteWe're reasonably fortunate in Europe, but elsewhere; I despair.
DeleteWe were talking about this the other day. Communications between north and south would take weeks. Thank goodness in the last few years I could contact my parents through my brothers email. They missed out on Skype and Viber which all the family enjoy now. Messages and photos zip instantly from one continent to another. It keeps our family united
ReplyDeleteWe tend to use WhatsApp these days; but I love Skype. I speak to, and see, my oldest son every day.
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