By Timothy Deal
June 26, 2015
Continuing in our June theme of sequels, today I offer the next lesson I learned at my Grandma’s house. It’s not a lesson many would expect from a grandparent, but it remains relevant for today’s culture and I’ve recently been trying to remind myself of it more often.
2. Try out new technology but don’t become beholden to it.
When Grandma bought a Macintosh in the early to mid-‘90s, it was partly for my aunts who were in college at the time, but also for her grandchildren. Personal computers were just coming into their own and she wanted us to be able to learn how to use them. Grandma’s house was probably the first place I encountered CD-ROMs, heard the otherworldly sounds of a dial-up modem, and surfed the primitive waters of the World Wide Web. It was an exciting glimpse into the future that helped prepare me for the technology-soaked world we live in today.
At the same time, Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of the family rarely cared to jump on every technology bandwagon that came along. Though my teenage aunts had owned an original Nintendo system for years, they saw little need to get a Super Nintendo when it came out; it seemed a money grab in the name of a slight improvement in graphics. We made do with the Macintosh for years past its prime. And if memory serves me right, Grandma thought my parents were basically betraying the VHS format when we got a DVD player before them.
I think this sort of attitude toward technology is somewhat reflected in my own habits. Certainly, I use a lot of technology in my video work and use the Internet heavily in my everyday life, but I’ve always had a fondness for old tech and rarely feel the urge to upgrade to the newest models.
In fact, I only bought my first smartphone a few weeks ago, almost eight years after I first played with a friend’s iPhone. I always thought smartphones looked neat, but for awhile they seemed to me an unnecessary expense. Plus, there was a certain liberation in not being tied down to a device that seems to command so much of people’s attention. But eventually, I needed to replace my cell phone and the time seemed right to finally pick up my own iPhone. As with any new tech, it’s been fun to explore, but I also want to remember the lesson I first learned back at Grandma’s house.
Being aware of and experimenting with current technology is valuable; but because that technology is always changing, finding contentment with whatever you own is even better. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with upgrading when need arises. Yet there’s a relief in the realization that you don’t always have to.