I’ve never really been one to care about technology. I should say I never really used to care about technology. I am now ruined and I blame my husband, who is a self-proclaimed nerd when it comes to anything technical. Before I met him, I had no need for such a thing. I didn’t own a computer or cell phone.
When I bought my first brand new car in 1996, I refused the upgrade from cassette player to CD player. I remember driving it home and my younger brother looking at me with complete bewilderment that I stuck with the cassette player.
“You are spending thousands of dollars on a new car and you can’t pay a few hundred dollars more for the upgrade? You’re going to regret that.” He laughed at me.
“Pssh, yeah right. I’m perfectly happy with my cassette tapes. Who knows how long CDs will even be around.” I’m sure I rolled my eyes thinking what does this punk know?
Well, I was partly right. Who buys CDs anymore? Maybe I was a little off track in thinking I would still be blasting my Alanis Morissette cassette while cruising in my Honda Civic, which is now long gone.
Anyway, the point it, I have never been one to care about the latest, greatest gadget. Like they say, if it ain’t broke… So here’s the thing…
I didn’t have an email account until I met Andy. I was fine with communicating through my land line and letters. Now I have three different emails and I prefer emails and/or texts (which I’ll get to later).
I held out on getting a cell phone for awhile because why would I need that? People have been getting around just fine without them. I’m not so sure I want people to constantly be able to call me anyway. Do I sound like a grandma yet?
I gave up the fight in 2002 after Coleman was born. I don’t even know what kind of cell phone it was. The kind that just makes calls. No photos. No texts. When it was time to upgrade our plan a couple of years later I said to the man at the mall kiosk, “I just want a plain phone. I don’t want a camera.”
“Uh, ma’am, they don’t really make them without cameras anymore.”
When Andy first showed me how to text, I said it was ridiculous. Who wants to spend 3 minutes trying to type a sentence? But slowly, I started to come around.
I wasn’t totally ruined, though, until the iPhone entered the picture. Andy got one soon after they came out. I didn’t even understand how to make a phone call on that thing, let alone do any of those other things smart phones do. Less than a year later, Andy was ready to upgrade to the next iPhone, whatever number it was at the time. He suggested that I try out his old one.
“No way. I have no idea how to use it. I just got the hang of texting on my phone. I won’t use it and I don’t need it.”
“Just try it,” he said. “I bet if you give it a few weeks you might like it.”
I reluctantly agreed. I had that phone for two weeks before I dropped it in a parking lot and shattered it, not just the screen, but totally busted the phone altogether. Oops.
“No big deal,” I told Andy. “I have my other flip phone. I told you I don’t need an iPhone anyway. I’m good.”
I lied. I was already hooked. I tried texting on my old phone and was instantly annoyed. I wanted the iPhone. No, I needed the iPhone.
And on it goes. Andy upgrades. I get his old iPhone. I say I’m fine with the one I have and I don’t need anything else. I eventually learn the phone’s new features and decide I can’t live without it. So here I am, checking email, texting, taking photos, instagram, twitter, blogging…all on my phone. The phone I said I never needed in the first place, but now can’t seem to live without.
I’m ruined.
