Technology Overload
by Sister Maria Juanita van Bommel
While we were in the dining room, a topic of discussion came up. We wanted more information on the topic, and Sister Corita came to the rescue when she pulled out her smart phone and got the information we needed. This brought home the fact of how much technology has changed our lives.
When I was growing up, we listened to the radio for news and entertainment. I delighted in The Shadow, the Green Hornet, Fibber Magee and Molly, and Let's Pretend.
Then T.V. came into my life. That was a change! The early programs were presented like theater productions with a list of characters and lots of musical background. They also had white papers or documentaries. I didn't have to go to the movies, but had programs broadcast into my own home.
We also had a telephone at home. We didn't use it much for visiting family and friends, especially if they didn't live close by. It cost a lot of money to make the calls. It is easy to use your cell phone and no more looking for a phone booth or using a home phone. The cell phones or, should I say smart phones, are handy with us all the time. We can call whenever we want, also we can get all kinds of information such as the weather, directions while driving to unfamiliar places and sending out text messages. Remember Sr. Corita and her phone?
Communication has changed. Instead of writing letters that took cards, stationery and stamps, we can text others. But it is hard saving a message that is truly significant when it is an email or a text as you did with cherished letters and cards.
Speaking of texting! As texting becomes more and more widely used, we are using writing skills less and the English language is being changed drastically.
The Community is using technology more and more. We no longer have huge "mailings." Instead we use computers and emails, conference calls and use Skype and other equivalents.
This has made us very well informed, even to overload. Often we get impatient when we don't get instant responses or information quickly. When I was growing up, my favorite comic was Flash Gordon and my TV show was Star Trek. Rockets and space stations were science fiction dreams. Holograms and beaming up a storm were part of those dreams. Maybe in the future we will have colonies on other planets.
Yes, technology has done much to enrich our lives and also complicated them. New challenges come up frequently, urging us to new frontiers in communications, science and just plain living. How we handle these things will be a great challenge.