12 Reasons Why I Miss My Low-Tech Life

photo by bookjunkie

1. I used to meet my friends at a prearranged time at a prearranged spot like outside a movie theatre or at the train station.  They couldn’t be late, because there were no cell phones then for calling and giving lame excuses.  Latecomers got an earful from everyone else who was waiting.

2. We met up and talked to our closest friends and family over a meal.  There was none of the impersonal conversations we have on Facebook.  It was a more intimate, one on one conversation and not a status update or comment that everyone could read including people we don’t know, like friends of friends.  I miss the real connection with my few close friends whom I’ve known for years.  Yeah, I really do miss them a whole lot although I have become quite the hermit these days.

3. We had a few good friends and not the countless number of people we hardly know and now regret adding on Facebook.

4. There was no email or blackberry and at work we were not constantly distracted by new mail or a buzzing inbox 24/7.  We did what was critical and important and didn’t have to deal with all the noise.  Consequently we could leave work on time and have a life outside of work.  Life was slower and better – we could breathe.

5. This is an ironical one – instead of blogging, surfing the net and being addicted to Facebook games, we spent more time reading books and going to museums and movies.  The movie theatre experience is a millions times superior to watching a DVD.  It just can’t compare.

6. We actually penned well thought out letters and sent them by airmail.  I wonder if a young person today has ever done this in their life.  Email and webcams have obliterated the need.

7. We wrote in our diaries with a pen and paper and not in an electronic device which when lost means freaking out and the end of the world.

8. We were more alert and did mental sums for simple calculations or used what we learnt in simple Math, rather than rely on a calculator.

9. There was something nostalgic and romantic about using a coin operated phone.  You only see that in old movies these days.

10. You didn’t have to get annoyed by the social isolation caused by someone constantly texting during a meal.  People talked more.

11. We did not have to worry about privacy leaks before Google and Facebook.  There was no such thing as a firing over an inappropriate Facebook photo.

12.  We used to be healthier and cooked food in an oven rather than heat up processed food in a microwave . I still think microwaves cause cancer and there are bad health consequences although there is no real proof yet.  I am also sure that cell phones fry brain cells and do us a world of hurt like causing neck aches and finger cramps from too much texting.

About bookjunkie

Blogging about life in Singapore & recently cancer too.
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6 Responses to 12 Reasons Why I Miss My Low-Tech Life

  1. Casper says:

    I agree with you on all of these points. Because I too felt this way, I still send post letters to my friends every other week they love them =)

  2. You know sweets, like my dad said, you can’t stop progress. He liked to tell me stories about the onion fields where the housing develpments went up.

    I’m so thankful though that I get to talk to my mom and sister from half the world around now with Skype and facebook. I used to suffer a lot being so far from them. There are positive benefits of this new technology. 🙂

    Plus, for me, I know what you mean how reading and writing is fantastic. But I’d like to add that my learning curve is so high reading first hand accounts of bloggers around the world. I can see why it’s addicting. I think we just have a voracious apetite for knowledge, and that’s a good thing.

    Julie

    • bookjunkie says:

      I think it’s that aspect and yearning for childhood that’s behind the dislike of technology or advancement. Read that somewhere. I guess I remember how wonderful and carefree life used to be back in the 70’s and 80’s.

      I have never seen an onion field…must have been gorgeous 🙂 But I do love to keep in touch with my cousin overseas with all the tech stuff.

  3. Nuna Bech says:

    Lovely post. I miss sending and receiving snail mails too. For me a snail mail (and a hand written letter) is sweeter than emails. <3

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