By Bonnie Brown

Columnist

We have been experiencing a lot of new technology in our lives recently.  It’s hard to fathom all that is available to us in our everyday lives.  

Technology first came to me in the form of a transistor radio at the age of 13.  How wonderful it was to have my music without being tethered to a radio and an electrical outlet!  I could go outdoors and play the radio as loud as I wanted—which wasn’t very loud back then.  It was a feeling of complete independence.  No matter that the radio signal was often fuzzy, the sound unclear, and there were so many commercials being read by someone who often sounded like a first-grader just learning to read. 

When I was in high school, our class visited the local bank to see a computer that occupied an entire floor in the multi-story building.  That same roomful of a single computer today could have been replaced by my smartphone.  

 The telephone has played a major role in our lives since it’s creation.  In my case, I could come home from school and ring up the friend I had just left on the bus to continue the conversation, which might have long periods of silence because let’s face it, we had pretty much talked-out.  

It was just a cool thing to be on the phone.  My family’s phone (and there was only one!) was still on a “party line” which meant that other households shared the same line.  So, you might pick up the phone only to hear a conversation going on.  The polite thing to do was to replace the phone in its “cradle” but honestly, I admit to eavesdropping which was probably the first evidence of stalking.  It was our close neighbors with whom we shared the party line whose conversations were brief and not very interesting.  

 Then came the cordless phone.  Talk about freedom!  I remember our sons Dennis and Jeff walking and talking, indoors and out, at least as far as the signal would allow.  It was their best effort to keep their conversations from being overheard by their nosy mother.  It was all for naught since living in a small town meant that I knew their classmates and friends and their parents. 

The next technology came in the form of electric typewriters which quickly morphed into “correcting” typewriters.  No more carbon paper, white out correction fluid, and erasers.  Nothing could improve upon that, right?

Along came computers and the World Wide Web!  How remarkable to have such a wealth of information available with just a few strokes of the keyboard.  Entire libraries were available to you without ever leaving your chair.  And on-line shopping and two-day delivery quickly followed.  Hello Amazon! My I-Pad is at the ready each time I sit down in my easy chair making shopping so convenient.  My husband told me the other evening that he heard applause from Amazon employees each time I picked up my device. 

 And then there is Facebook.  I could readily see photos and activities of my friends, and more importantly, my children and grandchildren.  Do my acquaintances really have that much actual drama in their lives?  And why are they so willing and even eager to share this personal information with virtual strangers?   

Yes, technology has brought about changes many of which have greatly simplified and enhanced and in many cases complicated our everyday lives.  But what can be next?  

Self-driving cars and robotics of all kinds appear in our midst.  Now, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has emerged taking on many roles.  It is an explosion of different approaches to everyday tasks.  And so much more to come.   

I am grateful for all the technology that makes life easier, that I can make a phone call, send a text, get driving directions, take pictures, and on and on with a small device held in my hand. And I’m most grateful to have had my transistor radio back in the day—and Amazon now.