Saturday, October 24, 2009

Cybercrone


credit: Flame Warriors by Mike Reed

While I was wandering around at the Farmers' Market today, my pocket rang. Fishing my cellphone out of my pocket, I was struck by the difference in my (and probably your) life today versus what it was in my grandmother's day. She would not have known what I meant by that first sentence, but you did. As I strolled around in the sunshine, I pondered how, if my grandmother were here how could I explain that difference?

When my husband and I moved up here, we both kept our cellphones, and he got a local number while I kept my Colorado one, to ensure that both our old and our new friends could contact us. We didn't get a landline. It's been almost two years now, and we haven't missed it at all. Our internet connection is wi-fi, and if I want to talk with someone I can't raise on my cell, I use iChat or Skype. We have two laptops and two desktops in our two-bedroom apartment, and we use them all.

The granny in the first picture is Mike Reed's idea of an old lady who incites people on the internet. Some of my fellow bloggers might qualify, but I try to keep it down. But I could if I wanted to! I am connected to a whole cyber world out there that is as real to me as my friends at the gym. I may see my fellow exercisers daily, but when Nancy at Life in the Second Half or Rae at Weather Vane stir up some cyber dust, I'm right there with them.

I blog daily, or almost daily, and if by some chance I leave the house without my cell, I feel totally disconnected. It just wasn't that long ago that I didn't mind walking around without being able to contact someone, or be contacted. How quickly all that changed. When I first thought about getting a cellphone, I remember hesitating, thinking how nice it was to be incommunicado, and now... well, that seems so last century.

When I used to travel internationally for my old job, I would often head to the internet cafe in China, Vietnam, or Thailand if I didn't have connectivity in my hotel room. As the years passed, we chose only to stay in places that offered wi-fi in the room, so we didn't need to go out to connect. Little by little, I found that my entire existence moved from the novelty to the necessity of being connected.

Nowadays I feel a sense of superiority when I see people sitting on the bus reading their twitter accounts, because I don't use that. I also don't use my cellphone to text or to connect to the internet. It's partly because I am feeling so connected now that I don't feel the need. But looking back at where I've come from, it seems possible that I could go down that road someday.  I've got a Facebook page, a cellphone, two computers (one portable), two blogs, and a website.

Just for fun, in re-reading that last paragraph, I wondered how much of it Granny would have understood, and how I would have described it to her. Pardon me for a minute while I do a little yoga.

:-)

11 comments:

  1. Things have certainly changed! We live in an area with very spotty cell phone reception..not enough towers! So we have none, but that's OK with me..I hate the phone anyway. We even tried one of those Trac phones that everyone said was great for emergencies..you have to call from your home phone to activate it..well that never happened. The "Can you hear me now" ad..does not appear locally.
    I will have to see what Rae and Nancy are stirring up!
    I did enjoy your post today! :)

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  2. ROFL! So true!! I hardly ever say never anymore. I remember the first person I saw talking on a cellphone in their car. I thought they were showing off. I was so happy not to have one. I traveled a lot of California in my car for work and I LOVED my quiet space. Then the company got us all cellphones - huge boxy things - and I was stuck. Now I even Twitter. But I constantly have to remind myself to do so. I'm sure my followers have come to expect little and I don't disappoint!

    P.S. Thank you, DJan, for your VERY kind words on my blog post today. What a continuous and loving encouragement you are to me. Truly.

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  3. Mr J doesn't understand why I need a laptop and a desktop! His dad is 85 and we got him his 1st cell phone this year. It took him a while to remember how to find his phone numbers and which button answers it. It's such a relief when he's been gone longer than we expected.

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  4. Yes, we have come a long way since our grandmother's time. Like you I am on Skype and it allows me to talk to Larry almost every day for as long as we like for free (so far). Can't beat that, can we. I too have a mobile phone. I keep it Pay as you go and limit its use because over here it is expensive. I still have a landline but hardly ever use it except for work calls. How times have changed. Hey, we could talk on Skype to each other? How about that.
    Blessings, Star

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  5. It's amazing where technology has taken us. There are times I find it wonderful and times I feel it's gone a bit far. For example, children who have phones at the age of 10. When I was growing up call waiting was exciting. And I know that's leaps and bounds ahead of where things were in my parent's childhoods. It makes me wonder what communication will look like in five years.

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  6. 2 days being offline from cybeworld, makes me feel uncomfortable and left behind! Everything is running sooo fast with all the hi-tech gadgets we have. Sometimes I ponder what would it be like when everything will turn back to the old times, no cellphones, no internet, no computers. Will people get low and slow?

    Im catching up, very fast! See ya!

    AL

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  7. My granny would have muttered something about 'those new fangled gadgets' and started telling me about the good old days.

    My first computer was a Mac SE in the 80's. I got my first cell phone in '95 when I worked for General Mills and was on the road all the time plus for business calls. We started surfing the world wide web about that same time. The changes in technology in that period of time are mind boggling.

    We don't have VOIP but our phone service is through the cable company. We have three PC's, a laptop and I can access my email on my phone. I can update my FB account using Twitter via the cell, even though I haven't been on FB in months. Twitter, four blogs, FB and on and on.... I just want to know what's next?

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  8. Funny picture of Granny. Like you I'm connected; though perhaps a little differently. I love my computer. I have just one. Did a debate when it was time to purchase a new one pc vs laptop. I don't like typing on a laptop, and I prefer the big screen. Hubster has a laptop, so that's what travels with us. I don't use it as much when we're away...partially because it irritates him, and partially because we're away; and partially because I can do something 100 x here on my computer and because of his over the top virus program when I try to do the same thing on his laptop all hell breaks loose. Then his BP goes up.

    I am though thinking about buying one of those cheap super little ones for my own use.

    Cell phone, I like how numbers are programmed in. I rarely use it when out and about and if I do, it's always on vibrate because I hate to hear people's cell phone's ringing.

    Trying to relate to your, how would you describe to Granny, makes me think of my husband's father. He was born pre 1900, born in 1895 and therefore during the course of his life time went from horse and buggy to almost seeing a man land on the moon. He died just shortly before that. His father was more the age of my grandparents. And so I think what he experienced during his life time and somehow I have a feeling he wouldn't have any trouble understanding what a cell phone is.

    I refuse to do the facebook thing, daughter had one in it's early years when it really was a place for higher learning; so I think it's best I not invade her space. I do have, but don't often use Twitter...I just don't see that it does anything frankly. I currently have 3 active blogs; previously had 4 or 5 others that went by the way side (different formats etc.), and had several webpages.

    I find the blogs, cells etc such a good way to keep learning. We must use that gray matter...we must keep at it.

    Interesting post, enjoyed it. Doing a little blog walking this am, please stop in for a visit. Welcome mats always out on all 3 blogs.

    Sandy

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  9. LOL! I love the last pic!

    We have one laptop and one desktop computer. I have a cell but I only take it along in the car in case I run into trouble. I could easily dump the cell. Now the computer??? I don't think so. I have met so many wonderful people on here. It is, on some days, the most contact with people that I have.

    I would like to challenge myself to a day without technology. Maybe that is a goal for a Sunday? I kind of shiver at the thought!

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  10. LOL!! Yes, I am just as connected. I need all my blogging friends, like yourself, as much as I need friends in the real world. In fact, I may be more connected to all of you, than real-world friends. We seem to have more in common. And I love it when everyone joins in the cyber-dust! A smarter group of people, I have not found.

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  11. I agree with you. Grandma wouldn't know what to do. When I was young, nobody had a telephone. The only phones in my town was at the doctors house and at the grocery store. And nobody called unless there was a death in family or a relative was in jail for murder. Everything else was done without phones and we were a better nation of people for it.

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