Anti-Technology Genealogy

I inherited a technologically-challenged gene from my parents. We subscribed late to cable because my father believed it to be harmful for his children. “May bold doon”, he remarked. We only got internet in college after my siblings and I convinced my dad that it’s impossible to survive school without it. He refuses to enroll the epass to the credit card because of his false belief that the computer charges without the need to do so. As a result of this home-grown backwardness, I hardly watch TV; in high school, I almost cried when we were asked to re-create the school logo by entering commands in the computer via autocad; in college, I only went online to survive, and I never owned an i-pod until I was given one as a gift. It’s a year old.

Technology, however has a way of catching up to people. It’s a bandwagon that people need to join, lest we be unable to maximize our competitive advantage. Slowly, I see it happening in my parents. My father’s clients asked for his email so he told us to make him an account. He doesn't know his password, but it’s a start. He wants to learn how to use the computer and has conceded that his typewriter is not as reliable, despite it being ‘electric’. My mother is now addicted to text-twist. She called dibs on a free i-pod that we got and brings it with her when she goes jogging. She has also found it useful in zoning my father’s voice out. Behold, technology and its advantages.