Thought exercise: Turning the clock back to the 1970s

[alabamagirl]

This is why I always back up my important files. I would never want to lose cherished photographs, letters, etc. They may be digital now, but that doesn't make them any less real or cherished to me, and if I want them in a physical form, I can always print them out. And now I can store them on my iPhone and show them to anyone at any time.

I do, however, sympathize about the degradation of society's writing ability. Somehow, in an age with spellcheck, auto-correct and dictionaries at the click of a button, our English has become worse than ever. I still don't understand how that happened.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

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

See, when one does things in reality 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?

Well, I'm just going to tell ya what I think about this and how it related to my life back in those days.

When I was a child, yeah I got up and I would go outside and do stuff from time to time. But it got old most of the time since I was usually alone. It really isn't all that fun when you are spending most of your time by yourself. Plus, almost all of my cousins were girls so you can imagine how much this sucked. Knowing that I could never join in with what they were doing due to how I was stuck with the wrong body and the wrong label.

When I got to around age 9, this began the long period where going outside by myself usually resulted in being harassed and sometimes (for the time that we lived in this horrid apartment complex while we were waiting on our house to be finished up) getting beat up.

Then, once we moved out to the house and I changed schools, it was like going from the frying pan to the fire. From the middle of 4th grade until my Freshman year of high school, the harassment and physical attacks increased by a very large margin. Life really began to suck for this and many other reasons. Even when all of those particular bullies were gone by 10th grade, I still had to put up with other assorted idiots and douchebags.

As far as a "keepsake" box is concerned. Things like photos, home movies, etc, don't mean a damn thing to me. 99% of it makes me want to vomit. One day I know this stuff will be in my possession once my parents are gone. I plan on boxing it up, going somewhere that is appropriate and lighting it on fire. I don't want to be reminded of probably 85 to 90% of those days or anything about them.

They sucked. I was miserable and I hated my life with every fiber of my being. I don't need any reminders of that.

[Beth Andrea]

I understand that trauma affects everything, Laura. But, I'm not talking about bringing back--as in, making a time machine to go back to the literal 1970's--I'm talking about "unplugging" from modern conveniences, at least enough to bring back a sense of reality to one's life.

Reality, meaning more face-to-face contact, a slower pace of living, more physical, in-your-hand things to remember good times and the occasional hard times.

For example, I have a number of documents made with Word 95...which isn't available anymore. Neither is the OS that used it...unfortunately the format isn't supported by the newer versions of Windows. Yes, it can be opened...but the point is that as technology changes, the ability to use prior images, documents, etc can be affected.

For example, an IPhone was mentioned...what if the phone was lost or destroyed? No backups there...what if Apple went out of business? No support for its products afterwards...

But if one has photos already in an album, and the bookbinding company went out of business...no problem.

This is just a thought exercise, would like considerations given to what might be different if one were to de-technologify by 40-50 years.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

I'm talking about "unplugging" from modern conveniences, at least enough to bring back a sense of reality to one's life.

Reality, meaning more face-to-face contact, a slower pace of living, more physical, in-your-hand things to remember good times and the occasional hard times.

Yeah, but that has become such a cliche.

I've heard many people say this stuff and yet, no one actually does it. The way I see it, if someone is going to talk about how advanced technology has been so detrimental for society and making things more impersonal, they should put their money where their mouth is and throw the stuff out.

But, no one does this. They are all still glued to their Iphones, their laptops/desktops or for those that don't use the internet, they stare at the 500 channels of rubbish on television.

No one that is attached to this stuff is going to give it up. Hell, I know people that talk about how bad the internet is and they say "It's a timewaster". But those same people think nothing of sitting in front of a TV and vegging out. They don't even think about what they are watching. They just stare off like a bunch of friggin' zombies.

[Jess42]

The 70's no thanx. ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS was the only channels we had when I was a kid. And then I remember hearing The National Anthem and then nothing but fuzz, or the test picture. The 90s maybe when there were cellphones for convenience but not everyone had them to their ears. No Smart Phones that make some people go stupid. So somewhere between hear and then about halfway might be OK. I remember the movie Poltergeist and everytime the TV would go to the fuzz after the end of the broadcast day, it would freak me out. I was young enough. Not to mention, after midnight, there was absolutely nothing to do other than something up to no good.

[Beth Andrea]

Ok then...thank you for your time, and for adding nothing to the conversation.

Peace.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Pfffft....

So, a conversation is started about basically longing for a bygone era. Then when it is suggested that IS what is being talked about. You get told "no, that's not what I meant". Then you are told that "nothing you said added anything to the conversation".

Sure....got ya.

[Jess42]

Ok then...thank you for your time, and for adding nothing to the conversation.

Peace.

Sorry, but yeah I know what unplugging is. I don't walk around with my cellphone to my hip. I don't even have an I pad. I have a smart phone only because I need one for business. So in all actuality I am unplugged right now. Very rarely text and so on. No apps or games I paly on it.

All I am saying was in the 70s where I grew up with the TV going off the air and in Tornado Alley, it was dangerous. No sirens, no Weather Channel. It's nice not to be connected and would be nice to live in a world that wasn't 24 hours go, go, go. But a lot of conveniences are actually life savers for some people. 24 hour TV is nice when you can't sleep. In the 70's if you couldn't sleep, all you could do was twiddle your thumbs and that got old fast.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Sorry, but yeah I know what unplugging is. I don't walk around with my cellphone to my hip. I don't even have an I pad. I have a smart phone only because I need one for business. So in all actuality I am unplugged right now. Very rarely text and so on. No apps or games I play on it.

I think that I am the last person on earth that uses a landline.

[Jess42]

I think that I am the last person on earth that uses a landline.

Huh uh. I hate using a cellphone. First if you have a long conversation, the thing gets hot. And it's just easier to hear on a landline. Landlines don't hardly ever break up either.

[big kim]

No thanks it was rubbish in the UK.Scared to death in case the Russians or IRA blew you up,3 channels on a black and white TV,crap cars(Dad had a dog turd brown Allegro),attitudes to LGBT and non white people,motorbikes with kickstarts only,football hooligans,power cuts,strikes,horrid food(crispy pancakes)worse drinks(Scotsmac a fearsome mix of white wine & whiskey drunk by tramps and spotty teenage brats).