The Good Old Days Before All The Technology
Do you ever feel nostalgic for those long-ago days? All those fond memories of simpler days.
At my age, I think about my younger years raising our children. And, I genuinely do believe those were simpler times. Life was just so very different. Sure we had our challenges and our ups and downs. But we dealt it with all.
It was a happier time. And, you know why it was happier? Because we were not bombarded day in and day out with a steady stream of news. No, we watched the local news after dinner. Some of us may have watched the 11:00 pm news before tuning into Jay Leno. And we didn't give much thought to the news the rest of the day. We were able to concentrate on our own lives.
We were more interested in what was going on with our family and friends. We stayed in contact with each other. We had lives that did not revolve around any electronic devices. We had a TV and no cable—the horror of it all. And we were happy. Can you believe it? Remember the excitement when TV's came with a remote? Kids no longer had to be the remote. But now, they were saddled with the responsibility of keeping track of the remote. But life was good.
Remember the days of families watching television together in the living room? Those were the days. We knew precisely which television shows we would be watching every night of the week. There was no cable TV. There was no Hulu or Netflix. We pretty much watched NBC, CBS, and ABC. A far cry from the massive selections we have today. Which once again made things much more straightforward, and dare I say it, simpler. Just my opinion, but I still think television shows were much better back then. And, I miss those days. I can't recall the last time I watched anything on any of the so-called big three networks.
I can't say that I miss cassette tapes or renting videos from the local Blockbuster. Although, I will admit to being excited when we purchased a VCR. But later, cable TV came our way, and at some point, we didn't use the VCR as much, and then it became all about DVDs.
The times they keep changing. And it can sure get to be mind-boggling. It's hard to keep up with all the new-fangled tech stuff. I am not sure I want to keep up with it.
Today we have lots and lots of technology to make our life easier and more enjoyable. There is so much of it that I find it to be overwhelming.
So now, after dinner, you want to watch a little television. You have to give some thought to what you want to watch. You can watch something from whatever cable subscriber you have signed up with? There are live streaming options like Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max, to name a few. Decisions and more decisions.
Forget relaxing on the couch or your favorite chair. You can watch it anywhere you want. You have your Smartphone, your tablet, your laptop, or even your computer. Another decision to make.
Gone are the days of looking through the TV guide. Nope, pick up the remote and find all your viewing options right on the television screen. I think the TV guide was much easier and faster, but that's just my opinion.
You don't have to worry if you miss the first part of your show. You can start it from the beginning. Life is good. Or is it?
We used to know what we wanted to watch; it was a simple matter to settle down in the living room to watch our favorite shows.
Now it's a whole process of what to watch, where to watch it, and what device to watch it on.
And don't get me started on music. I still miss the vinyl records and record players. Yes, those were the good old days.
Some days I am not sure if all the information and news we have available every minute of the day is a blessing or a curse. Probably a little of both.
But I still find it amazing how we can find out anything we need to know with just a few clicks.
Life may have been more somewhat more simple years ago, but we have become spoiled by all we can do today without ever leaving our homes. Talk about simple, huh?
But we all need to remember to get up and get out. Mingle and interact. Just because we can do just about everything without leaving home doesn't mean we should. Do you want to live your life interacting via an app on your phone? I don't.