We are living in a time when technological advances and change occur just about every day. The introduction of the internet allowed for so much expansion in thought and innovation that it can be desensitizing. We can easily take for granted the seemingly incremental advances and improvements that are constantly occurring. A century ago the world experienced the industrial age, when new inventions popped up all over the place. The airplane, motion picture, the telephone, stainless steel, the electric stove, and X-ray imaging were all invented within a 30 year span!
This past spring The Washington Post ran a fantastic piece on 36 Ways The Web Has Changed Us, highlighting some truly poignant observations on how our lifestyles, experiences, and world view have changed since the internet got our attention. Now think of the innovations that the internet has afforded us. Social media, email, online shopping, file sharing, online gaming, GPS, video conferencing, and those are only a few! We live in a world of Lyft, Uber, and Zipcar; a world of Groupon, Living Social, and Urban Daddy; a world of Fresh Direct, Peapod, and AmazonFresh. We live in a world of Google for crying out loud! And don’t even get me started on how connected the world is via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. The encyclopedia is rich with information, but TEDx and WebMD are cool, engaging, and offer multiple perspectives.
The questions of better or worse is and will almost always be subjective. But the question of change is unquestionable. Inevitable. And as much as the old guard hate to accept it, irreversible.This is now. This is our lifetime. So please, miss me with the complaints and memes about how the kids today don’t know the “struggle” of having a CD collection, Etch-A-Sketch, or action figures. The generation of youth today are growing up in a world where imagination is nurtured and possibilities are truly endless. Not only is almost every screen a touch-screen, they’re growing up in a world where every screen should be touch screen. And every mobile phone should be a smart phone – until then innovate and make the technology even more user-friendly. Our job is to encourage them to pursue the greatest possible achievements. Leave off nostalgia for a moment. Your grandchildren will thank you for it.
