Connected?

While driving home from the Y yesterday we drove passed a video rental store.

You know what I'm talking about. One of those stores, where as a kid, you'd eagerly walk down row after row of VHS tapes, prudently choosing what brand new (to you anyway) movie you would take home with you. What movie would magically become yours for 5 whole days.

You'd eat popcorn and zebra cakes (do those even still exist??) while huddled under blankets in the living room, watching the video that you so carefully chose. And when it was over, you always followed the instructions plastered to the case of the VHS that read: Be kind, rewind.

I haven't thought about a video rental store, well, in my entire adult life, I suppose. Netflix, red box, sure. But actually going to a store and renting a movie? No.

It's something that is certainly dying in our extremely connected, Internet-loving society these days.

I suppose it's far more convenient to rent a movie with the swift click of your remote control and instantly have it on your screen, but man, I have some pretty good memories from renting movies.

Mostly because I've always been a movie junkie. If they're B level movies, even better. If I never heard of them. Score!

To realize that this is an experience my kids will likely never have is a bit sad. Silly, I know, to be sad that they'll never rent a video from a video rental store, but still. Sometimes I forget how far removed we've come in just a few short years to actual human interaction.

I mean, before, you had to go to a store to rent a movie. You had to interact with the person working the register. I think it was nearly impossible to not run into someone who you knew while renting a video. It was a big event. A social event, even.

And yet slowly but surely with seemingly harmless, and for the most part "better" technology, we are cutting these things out of our lives.

The more technology advances, the more "connected" we all are; the less connected we are.

I mean, when is the last time you had a real phone conversation with a friend? Like, a real conversation? And texts don't count. I couldn't tell you, to be honest. When I was younger I could talk to my friends on the phones for hours. Even after having spent all day at school with them.

Now everything is through facebook or text messages, even email seems to be going out the window these days. No one sends emails anymore.

Then again, we have more "friends" these days too. Once upon a time my friends were all people who I knew and spoke to on a regular basis. Now that doesn't necessarily constitute a friend. I've got friends on facebook who have THOUSANDS of "friends." I'm not even sure if I know thousands of people.

I see all the benefits of technology and being connected and what not, but at the same time. I don't. I just don't.

I feel more isolated than I did as a kid. More disconnected. Maybe it's age. Maybe it's just me. Likely it's just me.

I love that my children are growing up in a techno-filled world. I love that Peek-a-boo Barn is always to my rescue when I need to wrangle B for a diaper change, and allowing H to watch home movies on my iPhone gives me those last 2 minutes I need to get dinner on the table. But I don't love that they will likely never have their friends phone numbers memorized. That they won't really know that snail mail used to exist outside of birthday cards, and it was freaking amazing.

We are just so connected.

But we're not.

Time for an "update"

J is constantly trying to get me to “update” my life.

“Your computer is too old,” he says. “We can get you a new one. Faster, more updated.”

“My computer works,” I tell him. “After it’s fallen out of a window a few times, we’ll talk.” (Some of you get that!)

“How about a new phone?” he asks. “At least a smart phone. We can start small.”

“My phone works,” I tell him. “Why would I mess up a good thing? I see how much trouble you have with yours. Mine is no trouble at all.”

“How about a kindle and you can condense your library and read on the go?” he suggests.

“How about not and we’ll pretend you never suggested it,” I reply.

It’s not that I’m against technology (though I may have not given in to CD’s until high school or owned an iPod until college…way after they’d been the “norm”). I just really hate screwing up a good thing. I don’t believe in fixing something that isn’t broken.

But if it’s broken – I say, okay! Let’s update. Let’s fix it. Let’s see what’s newer and better out there. But I’m not going to do it if I have something good and functioning.

Take my eyes for instance. I just “updated” them. They sucked. They were blurry and couldn’t even read the freaking alarm clock without contacts or glasses.

So, I was all for it. A super quick procedure later, and I can see. Like perfectly. Without glasses. Or contacts. And it’s amazing.

So sure, when my computer has seen better days (or fallen out of a window) we’ll talk about it. Until then, I’m not in the market to fix something that isn’t broken. Even if there is “newer and better” out there.

Maybe I’m set in my ways.

Maybe.