This year for Christmas my dad got us tickets to a Genesis tribute band concert, which if you haven't been through my music library may seem like it was more of a gift for him. I am probably the only eighteen-year-old girl who wants to see a '70s rock band whose audience is primarily middle-aged and old white males, and I could not be happier. Growing up, my dad would play the Phil Collins era of Genesis records, and recently I'd been getting into the earlier periods of the group from when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer. When we went to the concert, I probably knew more of the words than half the older people in that room. The man sitting next to my mom even turned to her and commented how happy it made him see my little brother and I enjoying ourselves so much and how he was so impressed.
Growing up all I heard was my dad preaching about how life was so much so much better in the '80s, accompanied by a soundtrack of anything from Foreigner to Earth Wind and Fire. As I get older, I'm starting to agree with him more and more. While I'm sitting here writing this article in my mom jeans with Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl" as my background music, there are still certain aspects I wish I could've experienced about growing up in the '80s.
I text and Snapchat 24/7 and post on social media using my latest iPhone just as much as anyone else you know, but I often think about the simplicity of life before the societal need for the iPhone or even cell phones in general. Too many people live their lives through the lens of a digital world, pausing their enjoyment of experiences to record the moment and share with the world. On top of that we can never just be present at the moment with the one person we are with without being in contact with five others through text, twenty others through Snapchat, and our thousands of followers on Instagram.
It's crazy to think that people would go to the mall and be able to meet up with their friends without texting them "Hey, wya?" and yet they somehow made it work. Spending time with friends and partying seemed so much more enjoyable without the distraction of screens in front of everyone's faces.
The sad part is our lack of ability to function without the technology. It has infiltrated our workplace, home, and everywhere in between. Another year has gone by and the way we communicate and live out our lives continues to evolve with technology. Not to discount the conveniences that come with these changes or sound cynical, but I really believe that technology is inevitably weaponized changing life for the worse. People say technology is "advancing," but at what cost? I am convinced I was born in the wrong generation because I look around thinking these so-called "advances" are really setting us back in terms of quality of life.
