Obsolete Technology

Harry Papasavas

 Obsolete technology is a topic we discussed in class that caused everybody to have some flashbacks. I myself was thinking back to the Sega genesis days and the original black and white Gameboy. Obsolete technology is basically outdated equipment that has either been replaced or modified to be better and more productive. Technology is always changing with the goal to be more convenient and appealing to the consumer.  Another piece of technology that has become completely obsolete is the beeper. I remember when I was little and my older brother had a beeper and I used to think that he was the coolest most important person in the world whenever it would ring and he would have to go find a phone to call the number back. Now, if you need to contact someone all you have to do is shoot out a text to them and usually get an answer back within minutes. Growing up in a neighborhood with a lot of kids, I would come home from school and start knocking on doors for kids to come outside and play. Today, all someone has to do is send out one mass text to all their friends and it is usually to get together on some online video game. Obsolete video games are another thing that is contributing to the lack of face-to-face interaction we encounter today. Before the internet, I used to get together at a friend’s house and a bunch of us would play Mario party and other fun games. But now because of the internet, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to play with your friends.

I personally think that the fact that technology is constantly changing is both a good thing and a bad thing. The perks of all the changes is that there are a lot of things that have drastically changed the way we do things. Pretty much everything can be done through the use of technology. Anything from taxes to online banking can be handled online now. When I am hungry I don’t even have to pick up a phone and talk to someone, all I have to do is go online and place an order and in about 20 minutes my food is at my door. When I want to go to the movies, the internet is there to purchase the tickets from. All these conveniences although good, can have negative effects as well.  Since technology has pretty much taking over the way we do things, it has pretty much taken away most of our face-to-face interactions. Peoples social skills are starting to deteriorate due to the presences of social media. Our way of life today pretty much revolves around our technological devices. When was the last time anyone has seen someone reading a newspaper, magazine, or even a payphone? We can even get books online which eliminates having to go to a bookstore. Some may argue that the technological age is a “lazy” generation. There are plenty of pros and cons to the new technologies that have made other technologies obsolete and I guess we just have to accept them.