How the Electronic Age Has Affected My Life


Modern technology is a wonderful thing but it�s beginning to take over our lives. I�m reminded of a particular Christmas day when I tried to hook up our Super Nintendo. Now, the advantage of Super Nintendo over old Nintendo is that on your TV screen the grass is more green, the sky and water are more blue, and the flowers are more vivid. Heck, we used to call that playing outdoors, but I digress.

I couldn�t figure out how to hook the darn thing up properly and requests for assistance from family members went unheeded. Looking up, I understood why--electronic gadgets had taken over my children.

Eldest son was wearing his new headphones, blasting his eardrums with music (and I use the word �music� very loosely) from his new portable CD player. Youngest son was also wearing new headphones, listening to new music on his new tape player, as he played his new Game Boy. Middle son was blasting the home stereo as he played games on the family computer. They were all in their own little electronic worlds.

However, these aren�t the only examples of how electronics have taken over our lives. Eldest son decided he needed his own telephone and purchased a cordless one. Like conjoined twins, boy and telephone are inseparable even, how can I put this delicately, while he�s using the commode. Now I ask you, what is so important that one must converse on the phone while using the bathroom?

Speaking of phones, cellular phones have contributed much to the electronic take-over. Whether you need one or not, whether you can afford one or not, it seems mandatory that you have a cellular phone. I saw someone the other day in old dilapidated car. There was a piece of cardboard in place of a passenger window. The front bumper was secured with a rope, no hood was over the engine, and at least one door was damaged from an accident. As the driver passed, I noticed he was talking away on a cell. Any questions as to how his car got in that condition? I recently spied a lady driving her car, smoking a cigarette, and talking on her cell phone all at the same time, scared me.

Of course owning a bunch of electronic goodies means spending half a year�s wages on the necessary accessories they require�batteries, chargers, extension cords, electrician�s tape, etcetera, etcetera. It makes one consider buying stock in the corporations that make said accessories.

Whether we like it or not, electronics have taken a prominent position in society. They�re here to stay warts and all. Now, it�s time to wrap this up. I need to turn off my computer, send out material via the fax machine, turn off my stereo, throw lunch into the microwave oven, set the alarm on my watch to remind me to make a call, and check my answering machine for messages. Ah heck, I can check messages from my cell phone as I go careening down the highway.