Oh the times....They are a changing....... "a rant"

[Frank]

 I remember reading in the late 80's that one of the fastest growing sectors would be communications. Huh?? I thought.... What could be any better I wondered? I had a big bag cell phone, a pager and we could use the wonders of a fax machine to send material lists in to our supplier. I mean seriously.. it was all pretty amazing stuff!!
Yes it was....but the way we communicate now nearly 30yrs later is nothing short of incredible! I can be anchored at remote Allens-Pensacola Cay in the Abaco's and check the weather, do my online banking, post a picture here on Sailfar, then talk on "FaceTime" to a friend sharing a drink and the views each of us have in current time. We can google just about any repair and watch a video of how it's done. Shopping is forever changed...as is booking travel. Pretty incredible stuff when you think it was only a few years back I'd have to trec and sit out front of friends homes that were kind enough to give me their password so I could steal wifi....which, after travelling to get there, generally faded in and out.
But all this is not without a price... we seemingly live in an "instant" society now compared to a few years back. Responses to emails or texts (there's another one.....who'd a thought us old folks would be texting and sending instant pictures) are expected immediately. Having a bad hair day or too many drinks at a party can now have you ending up on Facebook or YouTube.
Writing skills and the spelling of words have certainly diminished.
I guess the extent of change was driven home to me last winter at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbour. I had sailed down for "Rib night".  They have awesome BBQ'd ribs every Wednesday evening with both locals and cruisers gathering to enjoy the meal and a few drinks. I arrived in time for lunch and couldn't help but notice 2 couples at a table close by. They were mid 60's+ and there they sat....each with their iPhone or iPad out....totally engulfed in whatever they were doing....oblivious to their partner sitting across from them, their friends beside them or the beauty all around them...for their entire lunch stop! It is doubtful 10 words were spoken by any one of them!  It seemed odd at their age but I guess all of us are effected with this ability to be somewhere other than "here" and in "present time" so easily with technology now. I pointed them out to the friend I was having lunch with and they too couldn't believe the intense focus each had on their individual device.
Later that evening we returned for a few drinks and to socialize before the ribs were ready. Unbelievably the same 4 people returned, ordered a drink and again set about becoming focussed on their devices....each in their own little world. It was actually humorous....but sad. It was only when the 'ribs are ready' call was made that they actually put their devices down and interacted.
Yep....technology is truly amazing. Free apps like iSailor have given us the ability to turn our phones into chart plotters. From Tide tables to banking to weather forecasts...it's all just an instant click away. Pictures and movies are taken and stored on our little phones as well as documents and manuals.
My OMG moment the first time I witnessed the wonder of a fax machine now seems more akin to the first time man created fire.
But....as with anything in life...when something is gained, something is usually lost.
As I watched those 2 couples sitting in paradise....it was all too obvious some of what was lost in this "instant" world...
I think it's called humanity....

[Bob J (ex-misfits)]

I have to agree, seems so many are glued to their devices regardless of age.

Reminds me of the joke going around many years ago of the lady coming out of bathroom with a trail of toilet paper dragging behind her. All of her friends put their cell phones/smart phones down to ask her what she was doing, receiving a fax was her reply. 

[maxiSwede]

@Frank. - very good observations and well written too!  As you say, when you gain something, something else is lost. I realize once in a while , that I too, often end up like those folks you observed. Specially after a few days away from the web, once in a spot with free wifi...very practical and also darn SAD,!

[Travelnik]

Back in the 80's & 90's I was a bit of a technocrat. I had a pocket computer and laptop before most people did, and could write code and hack into systems just for fun (i.e. not to do any damage, just for the challenge).

By the time technology became really user friendly, I was pretty much burned out on it all, and it was dumbed-down so much that it lost the challenge.

I don't hardly use my phone, and never to connect to any wi-fi away from home. I don't really keep up with news and world events since I worked for most of the major networks and saw that it is mostly lies edited down to prove their political viewpoint.

I quit watching TV years ago, and can't say that I miss it at all. After they cancelled Firefly, there wasn't anything worth watching anyway! I do have to use the computer and internet for work, but I take a lot of breaks from it when I don't need to use it.

My car is a 1967 Mercury Cougar, so no computer junk there, and my wife and I won't even own a vehicle newer than 1985. No fuel injection, no airbags, no computers!

Now, my wife is addicted to all the electronic toys. She does Facebook, Twitter and all that garbage that I won't, and she feels like she has to be in the know all the time.

One of my favorite things to do is just spend time with my dog (It used to be dogs, but I lost one to cancer last December. I still miss my baby!  :'( ). Living things take priority over electronic junk and so-called "friends" online. Social media has gotten too far out of hand for me. I like this forum, and I have a couple of others that I get involved with, but I don't care about status updates and all the other things that everyone else finds so important. Maybe I'm just a mid-fifties old timer!  ;)