Born before 1986?

Recently I came across this email. It’s about how kids born in the 1960’s, 70’s and the early 80’s (like me) survived without today's 'luxuries' ' - internet and mobile phone, among them :P

Here’s one particular bit from that email. (I believe they are things some of us could relate to. Also, I’ve kept mainly to the ‘technological developments’).

- We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games, no 99 channels on TV, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chatrooms

And on whether or not we’re getting old, they had this to say –

- You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers – They can probably never imagine life before computers.

- When you see children play with mobile phones you shake your head – they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone. If I may add here, I also shake my head when 10 year olds carry fancy handbags. Ha. What do they have in there? Some fancy make-up set? I must ask.

While I was reading this, I remembers how last week this kid (meaning, still at school person) told me, by attending a particular student camp or something, he learnt to do presentations using flip charts and cardboards. Earlier he’s been doing presentations on using a laptop or projector. Oh, this kid was about 12. Nowwww, I was thinking when I was in school, which was not so long ago, I’ll like to add (No, I don’t consider myself old, I’m not even 25), I used cardboard for my presentations or just delivered them orally. Man, these kids are modern and advanced.

Oh, on the mobile phone bit, no I didn’t have a mobile when I was a kid. I got a mobile – a gadol bage at that - when I was about 17. HAHA. Yes, it was pretty huge.

With all these developments I guess we're becoming more global. I'm glad. I like them. They are fun and 'developed'. The world is also shrinking. But I think it’s shrinking on the wrong side – shrinking in values, while expanding in violence, crime, poverty and disease.

And this is when I can’t help thinking, for all these developments, are we free?