Technology has us in a rush

The Jay School Board’s recent discussion about changing the high school’s cellphone policy had me feeling old.
Very old.
The point of the changes approved by the board is to make it possible for students, under teacher supervision, to use smartphones in the classroom.
I do not own a smartphone. The cellphone I do own is not only pretty stupid, it’s also usually turned off and tucked away in my car.
That is, except for those times I forget to turn it off and the times it’s in the charger to get ready for another round of minimal use.
As long as I’m confessing about my Luddite, caveman leanings, I should also admit that we still have a landline at our house.
In fact, we still have an old phone that can be plugged into the jack and work even if the power is out.
Before you laugh, take a moment to remember the ice storm of 2005.
The rush of new technology is dizzying, especially after you’ve reached a certain age. (See above.)
But to those readers who find these ramblings by a soon-to-be geezer amusing, I would remind you that change is not only constant, it is accelerating.
So, imagine a few years down the road, or maybe a few months.
Isn’t it amazing, when you look back on it, how much we relied on email? And what was it with those YouTube videos? What the heck was that about? Doesn’t Facebook look quaint when you look back on it? After all, what was it but MySpace with better software?
Isn’t it amusing that we had to take keyboarding classes in middle school? How long has it been since you actually used a keyboard? For that matter, the whole Internet thing provokes a kind of nostalgia. I’m so glad we moved beyond that.
You get the picture.
Today’s cutting edge technology equals tomorrow’s antiques.
Talk to someone who grew up in the 1970s and you’ll hear stories of Pong and the first home computers.
Talk to somebody who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s and you’ll hear about their first transistor radio.
Talk to someone who grew up in the 1940s and you’ll hear about the movies in their heyday.
Talk to somebody who grew up in the 1920s or 1930s and you’ll hear reminiscences about rural electrification and the days when the home washing machine was powered by a gasoline engine.
And so on.
There’s no reason to believe that’s going to change.
Instead, it’s going to accelerate.
At the rate technology advances, today’s young people may feel like old fogies by the time they’re 30.
Serves them right, the whippersnappers.[[In-content Ad]]