Past and Present

The differences we have between the past and the present are astonishing.  Today, we have cell phones, GPS's, iPads, iPods, laptops, video games, HD TV, DVR, Internet access almost anywhere, and all sorts of other technology I am sure I am forgetting.  If you look at your parents, they had none of that.  They had black and white TV's with very few channels and no video game systems.  They had no cell phones, computers, email, Facebook, and quick messaging.  Kids seriously don't know how good they have it.  Many kids at my elementary school have cell phones!  They are way too young to have phones in my opinion.  I often wonder how my parents and grandparents survived without the technology we have today.  I know so many people that tell me they cannot live without their cell phones, iPad, etc.  I absolutely cannot stand how reliant we all are on our technology.  Is it cool and fun to play with?  Absolutely!  Can we survive without it?  Of course we can!  Our parents did and I'm sure we can too.  I am not a big fan of cell phones and didn't want an iPhone.  I only got one because at that point, every phone required a data plan and the iPhone was only slightly more expensive than the other phones and I would get so much more with it than any other phone.  I can't stand texting.  I like my phone for easy Internet access when I need to look up something when I am not on a computer, to look up sports stuff, and of course games.  I know that as a kid, cell phones were just coming out and the Internet was just getting popular.  I survived no problem.  I really wonder what it would be like today if we didn't have all of these exciting toys.  It would be interesting to see if the kids do better in school.  I truly believe they would because there would be far less distractions at home.  Unfortunately, we will never know because technology is getting better and better every single day.  It sure will be interesting to see what it looks like in 10-20 years.