So I took a break from the blog this weekend to spend some time with my family. A family that lost one of its most influential and oldest member as my Grandmother passed away a few months shy of her 90th birthday.
So you may wonder as you read this what does my Grandmother have in common with technology. Quite frankly it depends on your point of view. She never touched a computer on her own and was very old fashioned so even when computers and the internet came into the mainstream and became household essential services rather than luxuries about fifteen years ago, no one ever got her on the band wagon. I was fortunate enough that some of my family members who visited my Grandmother on a regular basis were tech savvy and I could see her on Skype a few times and she was able to see her great grand kids.
But to me, when I look at people like my Grandma, I see individuals with a diversity of knowledge and experiences. Many just like her who were born in a time when electricity and running water were luxuries. These people and their experiences are crucial to us as we sit in front of our connected device of choice, frustrated that our connection is slow or spotty. Why? Because these people went through real hardship.
A few weeks ago, there was no water in the house for over 12 hours due to a burst water pipe on our street. With two toddlers at home, water, especially hot water, is essential but taken for granted. All we have to do is turn the tap and 99.9% of the time we have hot water instantly. Kids can get messy, especially when they are trying to become autonomous around mealtime. I was frustrated because I had no water at supper time and had to use wipes and paper towels to make do. I also thought about Grandma and the stories told by my Dad about living in the country in the fifties without running water and let alone a hot water tank. I must say that my Grandma and others from her generation were quite brave and hard working to cook, clean and do laundry all by hand. Today, we have a washing machine, a dryer, iron free shirts and the internet.
As we can see technology has rapidly evolved over the past 60 years or so. Today we have instant access to information electronically whereas before, students in schools had books (I know they still exist and I enjoy them from time to time). I remember my Grandparents reading newspapers and magazines as a pastime and a means of keeping informed. I still have tucked away post cards and letters they sent to me, hand written. I also have a few black and white photographs and a camera that belonged, I believe to my Grandfather. I also own a record player and a few records. Today we have one device, mainly a smart phone, which allows us to take unlimited pictures and videos, listen to music, read a digital newspaper and contact each other through Skype or Face Time.
So one device has replaced my Grandmother’s TV, VCR, newspaper, magazine and stationary. But nothing can replace her vast life experiences and resilient determination in a world where self-entitled individuals who believe that all is due to them find ways to complain even though they are warmly tucked in with their smartphone or tablet and have access to content so vast that most of it is rubbish, while their microwave oven cooks their processed dinner, their washer washes their clothes and they have disposable diapers to clothe their children.
So there you have it, a salute to my Grandmother as well as all of those who like her have witnessed life first hand without digital interference.
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