540 Blog Post #1

Your Technology Autobiography


I feel like I’ve always been surrounded by and connected to technology. My first memory, and I’m not sure if it really is my memory or one created from old movies my parents have, but I had this pink plastic telephone with which I would have entire conversations with an imaginary person on the other line. My imitations of my parents talking on the phone was an early use of technology, but my parents videotaping it, is another example of being surrounded by technology. Later on, I remember our first computer, which was one of the original boxy Macs with a box for a mouse. My cat would sit with me as I played on the computer and bat at the screen because the mouse graphic moved so slowly that a digital tail would form. A literal cat and mouse game. We had Oregon Trail and Carmen Santiago on that computer, which were technically educational games (learning about the wild west and geography) seemed purely fun to my brother and I. Later on, we got the next version of a Mac, this one with a separate monitor from the actual computer and with CDs to put in it. Computers were still about games for me then, playing Sim City and Sim Tower, but this is when my brother and I split interests, as he moved into the Descent games which are more video game style and require more precise hand-eye coordination. We had almost all the technologies we wanted, but comparing stories we didn’t have the same usage that other kids did. We didn’t have cable TV and the videos we saw were few and random ones my parents thought we would enjoy. I remember using the stereo to record books on tape for car rides, or to listen to music while playing with Legos. But even playing outside became filled with technology, specifically laser tag and Skip-It that both required batteries. Dad was always the one to go to when electronics or technology broke, probably because we saw Mom ask him to fix things too. Alex, my brother, and I were usually pretty equal in the things we got. We both got Gameboys at the same time, mine red and his blue, so we had the fun technology, but I don’t remember always wanting more and more.
Today I still feel surrounded by technology even though I don’t consider myself to be a technologically gifted person who has all the latest fads and uses everything to the max potential. I usually call my dad or brother for simple technological questions, but having my cousin’s husband, a computer systems analyst, in the family is even more beneficial. Through him, I’ve learned a lot more about technology and ways to use it. Each time I visit them there is another lesson on how I should be using my ipod or my MacBook better, which in turn makes me more able to help others. My mom got a droid phone for work so she could check emails, but of course my brother and I had to teach her how to use it, which prompted me to get one when my phone died. I think that growing up around technology, but not having it consume our lives helped my brother and I to have the relationship we have with technology today. I try to keep technology in the position of helping my life without taking over it and making me so connected that I lose value in real human relationships. Today I usually have my web-based phone with me when I leave the house, my keys (which contain a car clicker, more technology), and small wallet with magnetized cards inside. I try not to bring other things on a daily basis, but when the occasion arises I will bring my laptop to do work somewhere other than home, my camera to take photos (I forget that my phone has a camera) or my ipod for a long drive.