[General Discussion] Experiences lost with new technology

I think you hit it on the head, Shorty, with snail mail, but more particularly with writing in general. I think it must have been nice to sit down and write long letters to friends, but then, perhaps not. I can't, after all, even write a damn email half the time to friends and family, and if I had to actually pay to send it off (cheap or not) I don't know how willing I'd be to write.

I guess I dislike e-readers like the Kindle. I'm an avid reader, but that has nothing to do with it. I don't know why I dislike them. They seem cheap to me; I like the physical copy you can hold in your hand. I should probably embrace it. Oh well.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

handheld video games for children (oh boy i can't WAIT to see what you guys say to me about that)

Those have been around for quite awhile. Do you mean how they proliferate the market today, or do you mean to evoke, like, the 1980s? Because I think I agree with you, but I feel kind of weird for saying that when I grew up playing handheld games.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

No, you're right about the derpy kids always being around, sure. It's not just video games.

But kids don't always employ moderation voluntarily, and if a kid REALLY LIKES video games, it's up to someone to step in and say "enough." You understand. I just happen to think video games are much more likely to evoke this behavior than, say, sticks and mud.

I think this is less about how much time a child puts into gaming and a lot more about the variety of activities she engages in. When I was a kid, I used to play games quite a bit (of the console variety, that is), and, after turning off the Super Nintendo, would go outside and play with my friends. In that sense, the games sort of encouraged us more to do surprisingly creative things.

All the stranger that I'm not particularly engaged in life today. Not in that way, anyway. I'm not sure if that's the fact that I'm an adult now or that I don't play games or other interactive mediums. I think as adults we tend to tune out and take the paths of least resistance. It's so much easier for me to watch a movie for two hours than get involved in a thirty-hour game. But then, maybe I'm being nostalgic.

I guess I'm just saying that it depends on whether or not the child is engaging solely in the games he has or whether or not he has other interests. I think we're on the same page here.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Zip: I can't stand GPS in most every day uses. It's fantastic if you're going cross country and want the best routes, but the majority of people who OWN GPS units rarely seem to go ANYWHERE that they'd NEED it, and it only encourages them to never actually LEARN where to go.

Just want to point out here that I just got a GPS system a few months ago and it's encouraged me to learn the local area a bit better than before.

But I've definitely met the idiots who use the GPS to go down to the mail box, so I understand that.

There's nowhere I can't reach.