Thought exercise: Turning the clock back to the 1970s

[Beth Andrea]

Ok, so there are times I get fed up with the amount of time I spend on the Net....and sometimes I don't like having a cell phone or even a debit card. My mind wanders..

Well, it does anyway, but sometimes I long for The Old Days, when one had to write checks, find a payphone to make a call when out and away from home...remember buying a book of stamps every few weeks or so?

And buying and turning in film...I liked those old 110 cameras.

There's more, I'm sure, but mainly I want to hear why you would (or would not) simulate a 1970s level of technology.

One more word..."points."

[alabamagirl]

Well, I think they generally made higher quality stereos back then, and I do have a certain appreciation for vinyl... And I love cassettes. But... I wasn't even alive in the 1970s, and it really shows in the fact that I've never, ever done most of those things you listed. Never written a cheque. Never dialed a payphone. Never bought stamps. Um... I did go to turn in film for development with my parents when I was really little, does that count?

[Jill F]

Go back to stone knives and bearskins?  No thanks.  My father-in-law is living proof that this wouldn't be so good.  He is a technophobe whose office is a complete throwback to the 70s, down to the wood panels and furniture.  No voice mail, no cell, no computer.  I think he still even uses a ledger book.  He refuses to get a computer or email account.  Since he never tells anyone where he is or is going to be (he has like 4 houses), tracking him down is next to impossible unless he decides to call us on our landline and we happen to be home.  He won't even call our cellphones.  He reminds us all the time why technology is good. 

If I had a time machine though, I would go back and see some epic concerts, buy some guitars and save Jimi Hendrix.

[alabamagirl]

Go back to stone knives and bearskins?  No thanks.  My father-in-law is living proof that this wouldn't be so good.  He is a technophobe whose office is a complete throwback to the 70s, down to the wood panels and furniture.  No voice mail, no cell, no computer.  I think he still even uses a ledger book.  He refuses to get a computer or email account.  Since he never tells anyone where he is or is going to be (he has like 4 houses), tracking him down is next to impossible unless he decides to call us on our landline and we happen to be home.  He won't even call our cellphones.  He reminds us all the time why technology is good. 

If I had a time machine though, I would go back and see some epic concerts, buy some guitars and save Jimi Hendrix.

Oh my gosh, he won't even call someone else with a cell phone from his landline? Why? Because he'd be encouraging the spread of cellular technology? He sounds kind of awesomely eccentric, actually.

[Jill F]

Oh my gosh, he won't even call someone else with a cell phone from his landline? Why? Because he'd be encouraging the spread of cellular technology? He sounds kind of awesomely eccentric, actually.

Eccentric.  Yes, that's a good word for him.  He happens to be a wealthy, elderly Englishman who is also a bit batty.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Screw that. I don't want to go back to the 70's. I was: A) not born yet or B) an infant.

[Athena]

I'm a technophile, so many things happened because of technology. I found to not to hate myself for feelings that I previously would never have told anyone. I have a closet full of dresses that I would not otherwise have. I found a support network that I otherwise would not have.

Now I do hate that people abuse and misuse technology phising scams hackers and all that crap but I do like the progress we have made and hope to see more.

[Carol Chastleton]

... I want to hear why you would (or would not) simulate a 1970s level of technology.

Not only was I alive in the early 1970s, that's also the time when I first embarked on transition.  Despite the lack of technology & trans-resources that are so prevalent today, the 70s were a truly magical time to be alive.  I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything.

But speaking of having to use payphones, for a bit I had an advertising sales job that required me to be on the road every day so I frequently had to make calls from pay phones throughout each day since there was no such thing as cell phones back then.  Once I inadvertently left my wallet in a phone booth next to a Howard Johnsons (anyone old enough to remember them?) just off the interstate and I didn't realize it till I was 30 or 40 miles down the highway.  Of  course, I had to make a U-turn and go back on the off chance that some honest person had found it and turned it in.   When I asked the HoJo's manager if anyone turned in a wallet he recognized me from the photo on my drivers license and returned my wallet to me.  All the cash, drivers license and credit cards were still in it!!  Evidently a truck driver had found it and turned it in.   I seriously doubt that would happen today. 

So to answer the question, I absolutely would not want to return to 1970s "technology".  8-tracks were the worst, people seem to romanticize vinyl music these days but frankly I don't miss the scratches & skips on well-worn favorites, not to mention how cumbersome the average record collection and the necessary equipment to play it on really was.  Of course there is a certain nostalgic charm associated with taking photos on cameras that had film and winding the phone cord around my finger while talking with my boyfriend on the phone (much like winding my hair around my finger when we chatted in person). 

Having said all that though, I embrace modern technology and what's more I'm thrilled to now live in a time when transkids (even in elementary school) are supported in living as who they know themselves to be.

Carol

[Ms Grace]

I wonder if the technology of the 2050s will make our 2010s tech seem as quaint as the 1970s do now? The only thing I lament about technology today is it enables ignorant, rude, aggressive as much a platform for their hate and propaganda as everyone one else. Other than that, being a child in the 1970s I don't think I miss the comparative lack of tech that existed then... I love being able to pay bills via my computer instead of hassling all over town to do the same... 2 minutes verses two hours or more? I know which I prefer.

[alabamagirl]

I wonder if the technology of the 2050s will make our 2010s tech seem as quaint as the 1970s do now? The only thing I lament about technology today is it enables ignorant, rude, aggressive as much a platform for their hate and propaganda as everyone one else. Other than that, being a child in the 1970s I don't think I miss the comparative lack of tech that existed then... I love being able to pay bills via my computer instead of hassling all over town to do the same... 2 minutes verses two hours or more? I know which I prefer.

Oh, I'm sure. Just think how much technology has progressed in the last decade or so alone. Big, bulky CRTs to sleek LCD high-def widescreens. Dial-up to having high-speed internet in our pockets... I can't even imagine how different things might be in another 40 years.

[Jill F]

Where's my flying car?  They totally promised us flying cars.

[rosinstraya]

Ah, the 70s - rows of Hillman Imps, Morris marinas, Minis and Allegros parked on the roadside. A lot of things seemed to be produced with wood effect. Avocado was a happening colour in the bathroom stakes while jeans and trousers were wide enough to sweep the leaves off the streets. Sideburns were big, maxis were super long and floral was everywhere. Cassettes needed spooling, or they'd get chewed up, tv in the UK was only 3 channels, war was something that only old men had done (those like my father.) there definitely wasn't going to be another war because all the kids were on drugs, and if anyone went nuclear, well, we'd all be dead. It seemed almost everyone smoked - which sort of explains the fondness for wood panelling.

Then in 77 we had the revolution (for a while) of punk, in the same year as all the flag waving for the queen's 25 years. A strange mix of street parties, bunting, loud music, resentment and a change in clothing styles. But really, it depended where you were- if you were not in the major cities it could feel as though a lot of this change was passing you by. You had to keep buying the NME or listening to the one or two radio programmes that didn't play ancient music or Top 40 rubbish. As for what you wore...well, we were lucky to have school uniforms, how radical was that(!)

Communication outside of face to face was difficult, and the phone was still expensive. What went on in the world was given to you by just a few media outlets and you had little or no right of reply. Whilst the internet is full of reams of garbage-like rhetoric and troll dust, there is the sound of people somewhere between it. In the 70s, growing up, gender issues..........were nowhere to be seen or discussed in a sensible or meaningful way. I'm grateful that that has now changed.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Where's my flying car?  They totally promised us flying cars.

The hell with the flying cars. Where is my real life anthro porcupine?! Come on, scientists!! Get crackin'!! 

[Jill F]

The hell with the flying cars. Where is my real life anthro porcupine?! Come on, scientists!! Get crackin'!! 

I don't think we're allowed to speak of drug use here, Laura. 

[Miss_Bungle1991]

LOL

Huh???

[Beth Andrea]

Interesting responses...seems like the younger whippersnappers have a bit of attitude about how great they had it...

Why, I remember when...we had to actually get up and walk 8'+ to the TV to change the channel (we had 4 in the US--ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS) using a round knob you turned...*clunk-clunk-there's channel 4-clunk-clunk-there's channel 6-clunk-PBS-clunk-clunk-oh damn, NBC is broadcasting EBS again...*

[alabamagirl]

Interesting responses...seems like the younger whippersnappers have a bit of attitude about how great they had it...

Why, I remember when...we had to actually get up and walk 8'+ to the TV to change the channel (we had 4 in the US--ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS) using a round knob you turned...*clunk-clunk-there's channel 4-clunk-clunk-there's channel 6-clunk-PBS-clunk-clunk-oh damn, NBC is broadcasting EBS again...*

I don't even own a TV anymore.

I just watch whatever I want, whenever I want, without commercials over the internet.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Interesting responses...seems like the younger whippersnappers have a bit of attitude about how great they had it...

Why, I remember when...we had to actually get up and walk 8'+ to the TV to change the channel (we had 4 in the US--ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS) using a round knob you turned...*clunk-clunk-there's channel 4-clunk-clunk-there's channel 6-clunk-PBS-clunk-clunk-oh damn, NBC is broadcasting EBS again...*

We had that too. (Until I was around 8 or so, ....with a brief period where we had cable tv for a while. Hello HBO & Fraggle Rock! ) Eventually, we could afford to have cable tv on a permanent basis. Honestly, though, I think that TV was better back in the day in most instances. (Especially late night programming. Movies Til Dawn! FTW!) Cable was cheaper too. Even up until recently. When I moved out on my own in 98', I only paid $8 a month for basic cable. I dropped it in 06' once it increased to $80 a month.

I don't even own a TV anymore.

I just watch whatever I want, whenever I want, without commercials over the internet.

I tend to watch DVD's.

[Jill F]

I remember when I was a kid, we had a black and white TV that usually only got one channel until my dad broke down and got basic cable in late 1973.  Our house wasn't even wired for cable until then.  I had to go months without Sesame Street.  Don't do that to a 4 year old!

[Beth Andrea]

Ahh...shag carpeting and wood paneled walls...flashlight lightsabers with interchangable color disks...

But that's not what I'm really thinking about when I mention turning back the clock...back in the day, it seemed like when we got out of bed (preteen/early teen) we'd just get our clothes on and run out the door, ready to do* something fun.

*"Do" = actively, physically partake in activities which made one sweat and/or breathe hard

Texting was not evening invented yet...classes were called "typing", not "keyboarding"...which meant if we wanted to talk to someone, we had to go where they were, or they had to come to us, or (if we didn't want/need FTF) we could call them or write* a letter.

*"Write" = Use one's hand and the combination of pen and paper to create words, using good grammar and penmanship skills.

If we called someone, we were restricted in our movement by the length of the cord, which did not seem to affect the "feel" of a call, until I personally noticed a difference in the "feel" of my first cellphone call from a city park to my then-wife. It was a lot more relaxed, more free, not only in terms of walking around, but also my mind was marveling at the awesomeness of making such a call without ANY wires or outlets nearby.

Emails and digital cameras were also awesome, when they came out. But...there are no longer any hand-written letters to hold and cherish, no photo albums for family and friends to gather around and remind each other of days gone by...

I noticed this loss a few years ago...we got our first digital camera about 2002, and in 2007 we found our last film camera, still with a half-used roll of film. After we got it developed, we went to put them in the photo album, and noticed we didn't have any pictures in there since 2002...right before we got the digital.

Unfortunately, we'd already replaced our first (and second) computer) by then, so we had no duplicates. 5 years of family photographs...gone.



See, when one does things "in real life" one has memories...either film, or friends, or written journals/letters...yet we spend so much time on-line, and while it "seems" we have more free time and have it easier, are we setting ourselves up for old age without truly valuable things for a keepsake box?

I guess that's what I'm thinking about, not so much how technology and society have changed...but how much is lost due to technology.