THE FUTURE

I've been thinking about posting on technology for awhile now, especially since at Christmas I was given an iPhone that I was terrified of. It has now changed my life, just as I had been told/greatly feared. I can't keep my hands off of the thing, and I can definitely say this- while it has made everyday things more convienent, it's a kind of convience I never knew I needed.

While talking to friends about technology (which seems to happen often), we talked about how it all must be leading somewhere...is life improving? It's certainly progressing, but is that always necessary, or even wise?

I also realized that I was born in the wrong generation, most likely. I certainly was born in a great time, having seen the internet from inception to what it has become now, and I am still able to relish the idea of CDs (which I still buy), records (before my time, but I still enjoy/buy them), and books (which I've been warned will be obsolete- once again, I still buy them). But the rate at which technology improves has easily doubled since I saw the transition from walkman to portable CD player to iPod, and kids today are far more prepared to cope with such rapid advances. I already feel behind in my understanding of the internet, and I had a 26 year old friend say he had already reached his limit in what he knew (although I don't really believe him). Jezebel has an awesome dissection of that feeling here.

 What's also amazing is how impossible it has already become to keep up. One must make due with their own version of the iPhone while watching other improvements pass them by; the same can be said for computers, mp3 players, etc. It will be interesting to see which things become indespensible and which others people find they can live without.

Here is proof of the younger generations advantage on us "outdated" 20-somethings: A Valleywag post on Six Child Media Prodigies who are already using the internet to their advantage, not to mention blogger sensation Tavi, the 13-year old responsible for Style Rookie, whose large number of followers have garnered her a Harper's Bazaar column and a seat at Fashion Week, not to mention thousands of interviews and articles about her in newspapers and magaznies all over the world. I feel old, dated, and unscuccessful. Damn.


For more speculation on how technology is effecting our culture, here are some Gawker-affiliated posts on the matter:
-Modern Technology- Destroying the Family As We Know It
-These Teens Are Our Sorry Future
-Childhood is Dead

To be fair, every major change has sparked a similar controversy (think the invention of TV and TV in color, teenagers and the telephone, video games, etc). But even just in the last decade is had become readily apparent that the way we live has changed in terms of how we communicate, how our businesses are run (I don't have a Twitter but I assume one day I'll need one- for work.), how we take in our information. Will it calm down, or will we just have to get used to rapid change?