Technology: the rise and fall of our generation. While we are technologically advancing in ways we never once pictured I can't help but notice that it's also taking us away from the things that matter most. Family, friends and reality.
We have seen rapid change in the way us humans interact with one another. Respect and chivalry has now been replaced with arrogance and incivility. People rather sit on their phones and scroll through Instagram than attempt to converse with the others around them. As technology has rapidly advanced, so has our dependence on it. Children are given iPads and laptops as gifts as opposed to bikes or a new set of skates. When did kids start to prefer staring at a television screen all day rather than outside playing with the other kids on the block?
Growing up in the "millennial generation", we were introduced to technology at a young age, allowing for technology to be something we learned to use and rely on early on. I'd be lying if I said that I was reliant on my phone and checked it just as many times as I blink each day, but I can say that I hate it. And thats when it hit me, I would give anything to grow up in another era.
While kids spend more time on their Friday nights worrying about what selfie to post on Instagram, I can't help but wonder what would it have been like grow up in the 50's? What was it like to grow up and play air guitar alongside your record player as it's playing The King. Imagine being unable to flip a magazine without seeing Marilyn Monroe or turning on a TV and having I Love Lucy on? Could you picture yourself listening to music by Ray Charles and dancing with your friends to your favorite jazz track with your poodle skirt on? I can.
What about the 60's? Singing every word to Mustang Sally or Build Me Up Buttercup? Would I have been a hardcore Beatles fan, following them around the country sitting and singing along in the stands? ( I already know what the answer would be: yes) I would count down the days until Friday so my friends and I hit could hit the drive in or the diner for some milkshakes. Or maybe I would have replaced Olivia Newton John in Grease.
Whatever the era, I am continuously intrigued by the previous generations. The class, the music, the outfits; all of it. When I hear stories from my Mom or my Aunts about the childhood they lived, which consisted of spending every day outside riding bikes or playing ball, I envy them. I wish even for just one day I would be able to see what it was like to grow up in another era. To be able to experience life then. I would trade all of the electronics I own to experience a groovy night out on the town.
