I’d be scared to time just how much time I spend on my laptop on a daily basis. Moreso, I’d be scared to estimate how much of my life I spent on a computer. My mother bought me my first laptop when I was about 11 – a 10GB Compaq model. We had an old Macintosh model since I was in 2nd grade that just gave us an endless amount of trouble. (Also one of the main reasons why I refuse to pay $1099-$1799 for a Mac laptop) It constantly froze, the sound stopped working, and the screen had a permanent shade of aqua-blue.
These were the days before DSL or cable so I spent even more time waiting for websites to load with a 56k. Did Google even exist back then? I was obsessed with the concept of email and a “social networking” website (bolt.com) before the concept of myspace was deemed normal. I suppose it was almost exotic – I could talk to anyone from anywhere in the country or even world. I frequented chat rooms (oh my god, remember those?) of all sorts and developed a list of people I chatted with regularly on MSN and AIM. I bash myspace users who are “friends” with people they never met, but at the same time I went through this same phase five years before myspace was developed.
The main things I remember is all the arguments I had with my mother about how much time I spent on the computer. Obviously it was a generation and culture gap because she grew up on a Polish farm that might’ve lacked a television. (..which would make sense why she never watches TV) She was really against all forms of technology such as TV or video games and constantly tried to instill rules or take away the main cable for the machines to work. Since she never used any of these things (well, until now) she just could not comprehend that something like a laptop is as useful as her cell phone. Both my parents criticized this new technology endlessly but now my father sits on his laptop for a few hours after work before going to sleep.
Now it just disgusts me when I see people lug around their MacBook everywhere. I know it was built for convenience and looks far easier to tug under my arm than my Toshiba – but how is that a good thing? How is hiding behind a computer screen in Starbucks or another cafe a good thing? What is so important that you couldn’t wait until you get home? Why did you show up to class if you’re just on your Macbook?
