Meg,
"How could someone not have a cell phone in this day and age?????"
First of all, I do have a cell phone. But it's at home and I only have it for emergencies. I hate talking on the phone so why would I get one that I have to carry around with me? When I leave the house, I like the fact that no one can call me. It's quite liberating.
I was one of the last people on the planet to get a VCR, I got one in the early 90's. Then, I resisted buying a microwave until the late 90's when someone bought one for me. I didn't want call waiting but everyone bitched so much that I got that and then they just whined that I didn't have an answering machine. Since the call waiting only made them bitch about something else...I decided not to get the answering machine no matter how much people whined. So, my father bought me one for Christmas because everyone knows that you don't buy people what THEY want on Christmas, you buy them what YOU want them to have.
When I was a kid, we had phones that were tethered to the wall and TV's with 4 stations yet somehow we made it through life in our ignorant bliss. Now, kids have phones with them wherever they go and they have 300 channels to watch on TV.
We went outside empty handed and found ways to entertain ourselves for hours on end. Now kids need computers, Ipods, video games and an entire slew of electronic gadgets so that they don't get "bored". I was never bored as a kid...I ALWAYS had something to do, even without video games.
So, this is progress? I submit that it is not only NOT progress...it is sending the kids BACK in their abilities to be creative and self sufficient. Not to mention the fact that this stuff has totally trashed children's ability to relate to other human beings. That's not good for anyone.
OK...now I have to go and be annoyed.
See ya!
Meg
"How could someone not have a cell phone in this day and age?????"
First of all, I do have a cell phone. But it's at home and I only have it for emergencies. I hate talking on the phone so why would I get one that I have to carry around with me? When I leave the house, I like the fact that no one can call me. It's quite liberating.
I was one of the last people on the planet to get a VCR, I got one in the early 90's. Then, I resisted buying a microwave until the late 90's when someone bought one for me. I didn't want call waiting but everyone bitched so much that I got that and then they just whined that I didn't have an answering machine. Since the call waiting only made them bitch about something else...I decided not to get the answering machine no matter how much people whined. So, my father bought me one for Christmas because everyone knows that you don't buy people what THEY want on Christmas, you buy them what YOU want them to have.
When I was a kid, we had phones that were tethered to the wall and TV's with 4 stations yet somehow we made it through life in our ignorant bliss. Now, kids have phones with them wherever they go and they have 300 channels to watch on TV.
We went outside empty handed and found ways to entertain ourselves for hours on end. Now kids need computers, Ipods, video games and an entire slew of electronic gadgets so that they don't get "bored". I was never bored as a kid...I ALWAYS had something to do, even without video games.
So, this is progress? I submit that it is not only NOT progress...it is sending the kids BACK in their abilities to be creative and self sufficient. Not to mention the fact that this stuff has totally trashed children's ability to relate to other human beings. That's not good for anyone.
OK...now I have to go and be annoyed.
See ya!
Meg
posted by Meg Kelso | 10:27 AM
23 Comments:
My grandmother used to tell us that only stupid people got bored....
Nice soap-boxing. I agree 100%. I see the impact of it in the new Joes that we get from basic training. No people, social, or interpersonal skills due to being glued to electronics. Now I do have a lot of the gadgets that you mentioned, but I never substitute it for human interaction. Unless that human is worth less to me than the gadget. I'm sure some of your readers can relate.
peeks around the corner to see if Meg is through with her rant........ :)
Meg: I agree. Our local paper just had an article about a new book called "Dangerous stuff for Boys" or something. It teaches them how to do stuff (other than video games) like tying knots, making paper airplanes, etc. Bonus is it is written to be done with an adult (preferably a DAD). Sad that someone had to write a book about how to spend time outside with a kid....
I agree: when we were young, we got home from school, grabbed a snack, slammed through the door, and disappeared with our friends. When we saw the Dads coming home, we headed that way. If we were a minute late for dinner, too bad. Starve for a night. Saturdays were heaven. Eat breakfast in front of the cartoons (on a console TV), change, and hit the street. We schlopped around the ditches (great after a rain), made forts, went where we weren't supposed to, but made it home for dinner. I couldn't imagine spending all day inside with my sisters. The friends I got in trouble with then are, for the most part, friends to this day.
So much for progress. As the author of the afore-mentioned book said, kids that take chances when young don't end up playing chicken on the highway as teenagers.
Have a great weekend!
My dear Meg, you must be rescued from your technophobia. I don't know if I can do it myself, maybe Sol will have to come down and we'll have an intervention. ROTFLOL (pulling your leg, trying to invoke a smile).
Meg, I keep my spare tire in the trunk of my car, and my cell phone at my side. Often my emergencies occur away from home. I have Caller ID, distinctive ring tones and photos, so I know whose calling and feel equally liberated in answering or not.
Hmm, your Dad buying an answering machine, he sounds likable already. Oh Meg, I get email on my current phone, but the headset jack is worn, so the free upgrade they're offering me has bluetooth hands free and video. The camera on the phone is upgraded from .5 to 1.3 MP in case I don't have my 5 MP with me.
Don't tell me you are still using a VCR, you need a PVR/DVR with TIVO.
Oh gosh we sure were improvised as kids. I love telling my son about B&W and 3 channels. I guess you didn't know what you were missing.
OK when should we schedule the tech intervention, let's all look at are Palm Calendar's (for Sol and I that is a palm sized computer, for Meg that is some ink scribbles on her hand). ROTFLOL.
Now before you go write a JQ post, I'm just teasing you Meg. You know how much I like you. Your post made me laugh so much when I needed to.
On a serious note, I will grant you that these non-educational or shooter games are worthless. My son doesn't play them.
Just to make amends a little (so Meg doesn't get mad and write a whole post about me), I grew up living next to a park and we had about 300 feet of woods that was part of our backyard. We had a lot of creative fun, making trails, maps, forts, etc. So I did grow up pre-video game. I remember "Pong". Pinball was the closest thing we had.
As for my son, he has plenty of creative alternatives to technology, some of which get me in trouble. His school and I expose him to technology and I think he'll be better off for it. I do try to direct it in more of a learning mode vs. time wasting. Given that he is banned from technology by my wife, subject to my court order on that topic, he doesn't get overexposed (especially in a negative way) at all.
LOL we still only have 4 stations on our tv, I only really watch one channel really so why bother with pay tv. I do have a mble but like you I dont use it for fun I have it for emergancies, or when others want to contact me. I don't have call waiting and only vmail on my mble cos half the time I don't hear it ring. I grew up riding my bike around the block, shoot pretend cowboys and indians with my cap gun, rollerskating up and down the street till midnight during school holidays and then onto the rollerskating rink for lessons. Then I joined the air force cadets and learnt the side drum , from there it was a cb club and finally a career, How did we ever survive LOL
The book Donna is talking about is and apparently there is some demand for this "lost art" as Amazon shows.
My son found some old stuff in the attic, and I was surprised what we played with back then. I have this one cap bomb that emits a fair amount of fire when dropped. It certainly would not pass the PC police of today not to mention my wife's overprotective phobias.
I'd love to hear your opinions on a similar kids play vs protection over here. Thanks in advance for your comments.
Only a nit wit would let a kid play in or with a car...they aren't toys. So, whatever the kid's doing, he shouldn't be doing it. I once tried that, I played Vacation in my Uncle Steve's beautiful new red convertable something, I was only 7...the car was parked in our driveway and I put it in gear. I rolled out of the driveway, across the street and smashed into the neighbor's car that was parked in front of THEIR driveway. I was "severely punished" for that little trick.
Grandma was right, you'd have to be stupid to be bored...in my house the true moron actually SAID he was bored...where my father could hear the foolish comment. In my house, bored children washed walls. There was always a wall to be washed so I did my best to stay the hell away from those walls.
See ya later, I have to go wrap up a huge piece of pig meat that my father bought for $1.46 a pound. He's quite proud of himself. I got to cook it, Tomorrow I'll rip it to shreds and make bar-b-q out of it.
JG, your ass is mine, Littlewing, you're off the hook.
:):):)
I'm usually within about 10 feet of him. Today's transmissions don't slip out of gear like the old ones did. I also have an alarm on the car that secures it even further. He is not allowed in the driver's seat and he knows why.
Littlewing you owe me one.
So you want my ass. Meg, I'm blushing. LOL. ;-)
Oh my! Meg just called JQ75 a nit wit!
Meg,
Well, I guess I am one of the "idiots" that does not have a cell phone.
I, for one, am thankful that I don't have one. They're annoying and I don't want people to be able to instantly reach me. Plus, there are so many hidden costs.
A standard land line will be just fine with me, thank you.
Society is far too obsessed with technology, which in turn has caused more instances of depression and other emotional problems, namely added stress.
I will do without a cell phone as long as possible. Thankfully, I CAN live without it.
Leslie
Absolutely. I don't understand those fools standing in the grocery store aisle saying things like, "They don't have Ho-Ho's...how about some Twinkie's?" I do NOT want to be called when I'm not at home. I don't even like to be called all that much when I am at home. I would love to lose the phone all together but I can't do that because I wouldn't be able to hear from my kids. However, I do like mail.
:):):)
Hey she said my ass was hers too.
I'm sure she didn't mean either. Right, my sweet smiling Meg? I mean I tease, but I don't call YOU names.
Plus, she didn't allow that my late model car doesn't just go rolling around even if you try to make it.
I should qualify that I don't make a habit of letting him play with the car. He was only there for 5 minutes and then went on to other things.
Thanks for watching my back Littlewing.
Technically, I didn't call YOU a nit wit, I said only a nit wit would let the kid play in a car. If you were right there, it's a different thing...isn't it? You asked me the question, sorry if my answer wasn't to your liking. Now, play nice, my humor seems to skim right over most heads when it's written, but trust me, if you heard me say it, you wouldn't be offended. I still want your ass.
:):):)
I reluctantly got a cell phone after my H's affair to keep track of him better. I hate the damn things! No on has any privacy anymore.My mother loves them- that tells you how boundaryless she is!
Oh JQ - please don't drag me into this. Everyone who knows me knows that I rarely pick up my cellphone - I don't even wear the damn thing. Everything is set to go straight to voicemail and when I get home, after I take a shower and eat, then I listen to the messages -that is if I don't fall asleep 'till the next day.
I only use the blackberry to check blog comments and play tetris.
Good clarification, Meg. If I wasn't right there, he might have gotten in some trouble.
And actually it is a fact that writing is a less efficient communication mechanism. You can't hear tone, or see body language. For that matter a video would have shown what my son and I were doing better than a photo, but that would have been more boring compared to the one image.
OK so we have that taken care of. As for your last request, we can go over that via email. ;-) :-)
And now to clarify what I have meant by my writing. First people who don't particularly like technology aren't idiots. They might be missing out on somethings, but its their choice. If it works for them, its fine with me.
Even as a technology advocate, I'd have to agree that a grocery store conversation about twinkies or hohos qualifies as idiotic and annoying. Cell plans could be simplified, but that's not technology, that's corporate greed.
As a person who commuted 100 miles/day, worked odd shifts, and had visitation withheld, the cell has been indispensable. If you don't want calls turn off the ringer or phone. But having it with you can come in handy when YOU need to call someone (which is what started out this conversation).
So hopefully we can call a truce, after all we're all using the internet, we have that technology in common.
Meg,
I just reread my message. I want to apologize - I didn't mean to come off so defensive and hateful.
I meant it honestly to come out more softly than it did.
I vow almost never to get a cell phone. I have to maintain my sanity some how.
Leslie
Leslie,
I didn't find your comment to be the least bit offensive...not even the teeniest, weeniest bit. You're just fine sugar plum!
Ciao,
Meg
Well, here we are all these years later...and guess who ELSE doesn't have a cell phone?
You got it. Know why? Besides the fact I spent my life working in a field where my clients NEVER called to say, "Hi TW, How are YOU?" there is a technological glitch here in The Tundra. It's called "We AIN'T got NO 'CEPTION." Translation: Just as you can't get there from here, neither can technology save you.
So when I see people muttering to themselves with their hand clapped over their ear while grocery shopping (and taking up the whole damn aisle) acting like "The REAL Housewives of The Tundra" I know they really ARE muttering to themselves.
Cuz peeps, the only other "person" on the other end of that conversation is the one they invented to impress the less-knowing.
Now, get outta my damn way. Or take your Thorazine.
TW
I especially hate when people repeat themselves over and over. The other day I heard a lady say, "I'm at Target. Target. I'm at Target. I SAID TARGET. TARGET."
I wanted to paint a target on her face.
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