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Everyone that knows me knows I that love technology, and I love it a lot.
I’m the type of person who is always chomping at the bit to see what new innovation pops up next to make our lives easier or more fulfilling.
But truth be told, as awesome as modern technology is, it has some serious downsides as well. And in my humble opinion, one of the most serious downsides of the bunch is how it has impacted the lives of today’s children.
When I was a youngster the world of technology revolved around a “dumb” TV that had no remote and picked up just two channels, a staticky AM radio, a “turn-table” record player (or if you were lucky, a cassette tape player/recorder) and a landline rotary telephone that was tethered to the wall by a short cord…
And who could forget the “party line” telephone connection that made you wait until your neighbor was finished with her call before you could start dialing yours.
Back then there were no computers, smart phones or tablets to keep us addicted to an endless stream of TikTok videos or instant messages.
Kids of that era entertained themselves by heading outdoors to ride a bike, playing a pickup game of baseball, seeing how high they could go in a tree swing or walking to their favorite swimming hole, which was usually at the nearest creek or river.
I enjoyed all of those outdoor activities, and so did most of the other kids I knew.
Simply put, being outside meant freedom, and it didn’t depend on the season or the weather.
Winter was just a much fun as summer because we spent hours each “snow day” sledding down the hills that were ubiquitous in my neck of the woods. Some kids had sleds while others used inner-tubes, or even cut-up cardboard boxes. But regardless of what we slid down those hills on, a great time was had by all.
One of my favorite childhood activities was riding my bike the two miles down our gravel road to the country store. All along the way my eyes would be scanning the ditches on either side of the road looking for “pop bottles” that had been tossed out the windows of passing cars.
By the time I made it to the store the basket mounted on the front of my bike would usually contain enough bottles to swap for a candy bar and a bottle of pop. And most days there would be enough left over to buy either a fudge cycle or an ice cream sandwich as an extra treat.
On the rare occasions when the ditches failed to deliver enough pop bottle loot, just one bottle would net a decent-sized paper bag full of chocolate-drop candies, which were sold individually from a large jar – three for a penny!
Of course there was also Little League baseball and all the other organized sports that so many youngsters of the day enjoyed playing as well.
And the world was a much safer place back then. We could play outside and ride our bikes up and down the roads – literally from daylight till dark – and not have to worry about a thing except making it back home before the porch light came on.
To be sure, those were good times to be a child.
These days when I look around I can’t help feeling a little sad for today’s generation of kids. Most of their free time appears to be spent either playing games on their Xboxes or watching videos on their smartphones or tablets. Very few seem to be interested in doing things outdoors. I truly doubt if they will ever know what they’re missing out on.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not throwing shade on technology. Like I said above, I love it. All I’m saying is I feel greatly blessed to have been able to navigate my childhood years without it.
To finish up, check out this short video featuring 17 nostalgic things from the 1970s that today’s kids will never understand. How many of them can you remember?
Pretty cool, right? If you enjoy waxing nostalgic about the latter half of the 20th century, you just might love this. (#ad)