Techno-Biography

Where would the majority of us be in this world if we were not able to rely on technology? I definitely think that I would be one more lost soul walking this Earth if I did not have access to a television, an iPod, and the Internet. I have to wonder, though, about how many people do not have access to certain technologies and have they manage to survive each and every day without such luxuries.

My story with technology did not begin until I started school. My father was a very strict man who believed that his children should spend their time outside in the fresh air instead of sitting in front of a television all day. If you wanted to know what was going on in the world, then you better pick up a newspaper because you were not going to check the news on Yahoo. It would not have mattered anyways because we did not have a television in our house until I was twelve and we did not get a computer with Internet access until I was in my freshman year of high school. That's right, I actually had to go to the library throughout middle school if I needed information.

I first got to use a computer for more than just playing games in middle school. The teacher asked us to create a PowerPoint presentation and I looked like I was a deer caught in headlights. I had never even heard of PowerPoint, let alone ever used it. Needless to say, I went to the public library after school that day and received a basic understanding of all of the Microsoft programs. I eventually got much better using the computer as well as the Internet especially since I attended a high school where technology was integrated into everything. My only problem now was that I needed to learn how to use a cell phone.

I did not get a cell phone until I was in my junior year of high school and I only got it then because I started driving. Thankfully, learning how to use a cell phone was much easier than learning how to use the computer. To this day, I am still restricted on what I can use my cell phone for unless I want to pay the phone bill. I can only use my cell phone for emergencies because my mother wants me to always remember that face-to-face interaction is much more "respectful" than sending a text message.

I would have to say that I am not as technology savvy as probably most of the kids of my generation. I do not understand gaming consoles or audio/video recording and manipulation. I think we just need to realize that there are people in this world who manage day-to-day activities without all of this technology and maybe we could do ourselves a favor by taking a lesson from these people. Our lives do not have to revolve around technology because we are eventually going to forget how to do things the old-fashioned way.