The Old Fashioned Way

I know that everyone will agree with me when I say that technology is helpful. I'm sure that most of us have experienced its wonders. Apparently, it’s really as good as advertised. But there are times when I secretly wish that it didn't exist.

For instance, I miss receiving letters – you know, the crisp thing with all the letters scribbled in ink that you can hold in your hands? I still prefer those snail mails over the faster and more reliable e-mail. Don't get me wrong, I know how to work the e-mail and I actually use it. But I just find the snail mail more personal. I appreciate the effort that one exerts in picking the paper and the pen to use, thinking of and writing down the contents of the letter, going to the post office, paying for the stamps and attaching them to the envelope and finally dropping the letter in the proper box. I guess that's much better than writing a message and clicking on the "send" button to transmit your letter. That's the reason why I still send my letters, Christmas and birthday cards, etc. to my friends abroad by snail mail. I still feel excited and thrilled everytime I see a letter addressed to me in our mail box.

My next example would be something my fellow seniors can relate to. Last Tuesday, we were all excited to receive the contact prints of our graduation pictures. We couldn't wait to see our photos. However, I'm sure most of us were disappointed when we were given CDs instead of the usual printed contact prints. The unfortunate ones like me who didn't carry laptops had to wait for a few more hours before we can see our precious pictures. I'm grateful for the file copy of the photos but I also want to see and feel the contact prints.

Indeed technology is good and beneficial and really, really awesome. But it also has its disadvantages, just like every single thing in this world. One of those disadvantages would be that it tends to remove the human touch in our daily activities. So while almost everyone gushes about how cool technology is, I still find myself yearning to go back to the basics because, you know what they say, some happiness cannot be bought by money, just like some thrills cannot be given by technology.